Charlie, Friendly Ghost of Shortgrass Playhouse

As I promised in an early blog I am going to attempt to  relate the story of "Charlie". As I stated previously, last Monday evening I attended the play " Nunsensations!" at the Shortgrass Playhouse which is located above the Fire Station.

Fire Station and home of Shortgrass Playhouse

  I had met a lovely lady named  Barbara Doyle there and during the intermission she   introduced me to Larry and Paula Willis. During the course of our conversation,  Larry  began to tell me the story of Charlie.  Apparently, about the time the Shortgrass Playhouse was being renovated a tombstone was found in the Firehall with the name Charles D. Savage on it.  It was placed in the side stairwell of the Shortgrass Playhouse and there were attempts made to find its origin but no one claimed it. While painting in the Greenroom, a voice asked  "What are you doing in here?". The person responded that they were "renovating the theatre" The counter response was "I wish you would hurry because you are making a lot of noise". The next day a ghostly image appeared on the wall where they were painting.  Larry informed me that the image has been painted and repainted but the image keeps reappearing. Larry took me to the room where the image was and also took me to look at the Tombstone in the stairwell.

Image of "Charlie" in the Green Room

Tombstone of Charles D. Savage

I have asked around town about "Charlie". Some people do not believe in his existence, but many do and stated they have experienced his presence. I was told at the library that I should talk to Kathy as she knew a lot about Charlie.  I  tracked Kathy down at a local insurance office and sure enough she truly did know a lot about Charlie.  She invited me to meet her at the playhouse this evening. She took me through the green room and told me that when the image first appeared one of the painters traced the image on the wall afraid that otherwise it might disappear. She also told me that once when she and a child were in this room that a very audible sigh was heard from the side of the room. She then took me through the dressing rooms  and showed me where clothes often moved as though being brushed against, and she took me into another room where she said she often heard "whistling".

 Kathy  also told me that children could often be heard running and playing there and that a voice calling "mama" has been heard. She related an occurrence when she and a  friend were painting or decorating and one of them asked, "Okay Charlie, why are you still here?" A soft answer came back saying, "Children".  Kathy informed me that some of these things she has on video tape and audio tape. 

Kathy was a very down to earth person and was not in any way intimidated by "Charlie". I got the feeling that she liked having Charlie there. Another story she told me was of them coming into the playhouse one day and finding one of the pictures of past plays on the floor with the glass on it broken. When they bent to pick it up they discovered that the picture on the floor was of the play  "Curious Savage". They tried stamping their feet on the floor and banging on the walls to see if they could make any of the other pictures fall but they could not. 

Kathy in front of  pictures of Plays at the Playhouse

There are several walls full of pictures of past plays put on at the Shortgrass Playhouse.  

 












 Another story she related to me  was of her and a friend working in the playhouse and  the  friend asked Charlie for a sign that he was there. Immediately, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor of the stage was heard and then the sound of a chair being thrown down the stairs.

Kathy told me  a story of  years back  tombstones   from the Indian graveyard outside of town being found on main street. All of them were claimed and returned except for one. After doing some research and reading some old newspaper articles I found one that stated the the police department had found  a Tombstone with the name Charles Savage on main street and placed it in  the side stair case of the "Playhouse". I do not know if Charlie's tombstone was the one that was not claimed. 

Also of note is that at one time there was a Funeral Home in part of the Fire Station. 

So that is  as much as I can tell you about the story of "Charlie, the Ghost of the Shortgrass Playhouse in  Hobart". It was fun tracking down the stories and reading the articles about Charlie. He seems to be a favorite of the town. Whether you choose to believe in him or not is up to you. 

Keep warm.

Quote of the Day: Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
                                 Marie Curie