Ghost allegedly caught on camera at Oldham Coliseum

Friends of Oldham Coliseum, the group that successfully campaigned to save the theatre following its closure in 2023, posted the spooky photo on Facebook today (January 29).

They said the photo was taken by a contractor working on the theatre’s ongoing refurbishment.

It shows scaffolding in a backstage area of the theatre, but there appears to be a small boy in the bottom left corner of the image.

His hands, legs, clothes and facial features are faint, pale and grayscale, but clearly visible.

The post reads: “We all know the story of Harold Norman who is thought to haunt the theatre but this image seems to show a young boy stood below the fly tower.

“When Derek Acorah filmed Most Haunted at the theatre, he mentioned a little boy called Tom, could this be him?”

The episode of Most Haunted referenced in the post aired in 2004, when ghost hunters Yvette Fielding and Derek Acorah visited the theatre to investigate its long history of alleged paranormal activity.

In one scene, one member of the ghost hunting team, supposedly speaking as ‘Tom’, says: “We want you out, the man is chasing me- Harold, Harold is chasing me because I stole from him."

This is a reference to the Coliseum’s most famous ghost, Harold Norman, an actor who was killed on stage in 1947 while he was playing the lead in Macbeth. According to newspaper reports at the time, he was stabbed accidentally in the final scene by the actor playing Macduff.

These are not the only ghostly experiences related to the historic theatre. A number of people have commented on the post to share their own spectral sightings.

Tony Joyce said: “I have seen the lady on stage when I used to volunteer selling programmes and ice cream in the late 80s and a door opened and closed once on its own.”

Sue Dalton said: “Never saw anything but felt them around, had a few things happen, glad to know they're keeping an eye on what's going on.”

Aileen Menzies said: “Frequently had to make someone else come with me on backstage lock ups after getting the light sequence wrong and ending up in pitch black under-stage to hear the scaff bars where LX hung the spare lamps being beaten together!

“Thought it was a prank, but ran to the bar and everyone who it could have been was there, and believe me no one could have beat me there!”