In the Barn Theatre a little boy has been seen wandering around the stage. He is thought to have been killed by farm equipment a long time ago. Children’s voices have been heard in the theatre and the corridors echo to the sound of unearthly footsteps. One young couple had remained in the building late at night and later wished they hadn’t when they were frightened by ‘something’ walking on the stage. They fled the theatre and refused to return unless accompanied. The kitchen at the back of the theatre used to be the wardrobe area and is now unnaturally cold and people who dare to go in there feel decidedly uneasy. One woman brought her pet Labrador in and was surprised when it suddenly stood up and started growling. The woman thought there may be someone in the building so she went to search taking the dog with her. As she approached the stage the dog became highly agitated and she had to take it out of the building to calm it down.

Set builders have had their share of unusual experiences as well. One man was working up a ladder when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down a corridor. He was surprised by this as it was 03:00 and he thought himself alone in the building. As he looked down he saw bits of wood moving around by themselves. He didn’t hang around any longer and was out the building before he could blink. One other set builder was also working through the night on the stage when all of a sudden the lights came fully on then slowly dimmed. He looked up to the lighting control box thinking someone was playing a trick on him but there was no one there.

The Barn Theatre was, as the name suggests, originally a barn in the village of Lower Handside. When Lower Handside Farm was built, at the time of Waterloo, the barn was moved to the farm. It had close associations with John Bunyan who is believed to have preached there.

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