The articles, below, tell of the murder of William Terriss. The Aldwych theatre is a walk of a couple of hundred metres from the underground station and his murder occurred before the underground station was built. So why did he haunt the underground station? The third article explains that he used to visit a bakery that stood on the site of the station. Why he did not haunt, say his tailor, pub or any other place he may have regularly visited can only be speculated at.
Why not try the spiral staircase during the late evening? You may find you are not alone!
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The beneficiaries of the Actors Benevolent Fund (ABF) have always been able to rely on complete confidentiality concerning their identities and circumstances. This is a paramount requisite in a profession where many are very proud and protective of their dignity, and is taken extremely seriously by all concerned in the working of the Fund. However, there was one instance when this confidentiality had to be abandoned, and it must surely be the most macabre incident in the history of the Fund.
In 1897 Richard Prince, a beneficiary with a grudge, murdered the actor-manager, William Terriss, owner of the Adelphi Theatre, and great friend of Henry Irving. Terriss had employed Prince as a supernumerary and perhaps small part player in the spectacular productions that were mounted at the Adelphi Theatre. As a result of unprofessional behaviour and heavy drinking Prince had been fired, and was often seen in West End pubs denigrating his former employer. Terriss, though never on the Council of the ABF, had personally recommended him for aid, and on several occasions Prince had been granted sums of money to cover his daily expenses.
On the day of the murder he turned up at the office in Adam Street demanding money, but was told by the secretary Mr. Colston that the Council was not due to meet until the following day, when his case would be considered. Prince, disbelieving this, and perhaps mistaking the name of Terriss for that of Edward Terry who was at that time a Council member, simply crossed over the Strand to Maiden Lane where he knew Terriss had his own private entrance to the theatre separate from the Stage Door in Bull Inn Court, and waited for him to turn up for the evening performance. As Terriss was letting himself in to his private door, Prince ran up to him and stabbed him three times with a dagger. Prince was seized by horrified passers-by, and a doctor from the nearby Charing Cross Hospital tried to save Terriss, but he died a few minutes later. To the policeman who arrested him Prince uttered the chilling words, “He has had due warning, and if he is dead, he knew what to expect from me. He prevented me getting money from the Fund today, and I have stopped him!”
In the witness-box during the trial at the Old Bailey, Colston said that if only Prince had returned the following day when the emergency committee was due to meet, the Fund would no doubt have helped him once more. Prince was declared insane and committed to Broadmoor, where it is said he spent the rest of his days producing plays with himself as the leading character and the other inmates in supporting roles.
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William Terriss
Location: WC2 (Greater London) - Covent Garden Station, Piccadilly Line
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Around midnight, winter months (reoccurring). Last seen 1972?
Further Comments: An actor, Mr Terriss was stabbed to death in December 1897 at a nearby theatre. His ghost, tall in stature, has been seen dressed in a grey suit with white gloves, standing on the platform late at night.
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Good-looking actor William Terriss (born William Lewin) was a very popular stage figure of Victorian England. He was noted for his portrayals of heroes, which earned him the nickname of "Breezy Bill". He was popular offstage as well, being noted for his generosity, especially towards fellow actors. One night, he arrived at the theatre dripping wet, as his contemporary, Ellen Terry, recalled. He shrugged off the usual jokes ("Is it raining, Terriss?"). It was only later that everyone learned he had dived into the Thames to rescue a child in danger.
Terriss would, eventually, have enormous cause to regret his generosity towards Richard Archer Price. Terriss had helped Price to find work as a struggling young actor, but Price's alcohol problems and mental illness made him difficult to deal with. Eventually, Terriss had Price fired, though he continued to send Price money (through the Actors' Benevolent Fund) and tried to help him to find work elsewhere.
On December 16, 1897, now desperate and out of money, but impossible to work with, Price caught up with Terriss at the door to the Adelphi Theatre, which Terriss was unlocking. Price stabbed Terriss in the back, and as Terriss turned towards him, stabbed him in the side and again in the back. Actress Jessie Millward, Terriss' leading lady and lover, heard the commotion and opened the door from the inside, when Terriss fell against her. His last words were whispered to Millward: "I will come back." He was buried in London's Brompton Cemetery.
Price was caught instantly, telling the police, "I did it for revenge. He had kept me out of employment for ten years, and I had either to die in the street or kill him." Price was found guilty of murder, he was also found to be insane. He died at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum in 1936, frequently writing and acting in his own plays, performed for the amusement of thrill-seekers who enjoyed visiting psychiatric hospitals.
True to his word, Terriss has indeed come back, and stayed. His ghost has been seen at the Adelphi, as well as making frequent appearances at the Covent Garden tube station. (Terriss was murdered ten years before the tube station opened; he used to buy goods from a bakery that stood on that spot, hence his tendency to revisit the area.) In 1955, ticket collector Jack Hayden saw the ghost of Terriss, wearing an opera cloak and gloves, holding a cane, and "with a very, very sad face and sunken cheeks"; the specter was seen walking the platform or climbing the spiral staircase. Once, the ghost entered the former cafeteria through a closed door. He stood, wordless and unmoving, before leaving through the same closed door; the employees were thunderstruck.
In distinct contrast to the kindly nature of Terriss during his lifetime, his ghost is often a frightening one. The spirit made itself known for what may have been the first time in a dressing room at the Adelphi in 1928, when a young actress known only as "June" was trying to sleep before a performance. First, the couch underneath her began to shake. When she investigated, she found nothing. The couch continued to shake, and then she saw a greenish mist. Her arms were clutched tightly by unseen fingers. A sound of two knocks ended the supernatural display.
Later, June found that her dressing room was once used by Jessie Millward. Terriss, during his life, was in the habit of knocking twice on her door with his walking stick as he passed it.
June's arms were bruised for several days.
Several Adelphi employees witnessed Terriss' last appearance at the theatre, in 1950. He tended to appear (as with June's experience) from a green mist, frightening spectators. The last sighting of the ghost in the Covent Garden Station occurred in 1972, but staff members still hear footsteps and whispering in the station.
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