"Albert" of the Sagebrush Theatre (Kamloops, British Columbia)

I think it would be safe to say that the odds of a town having at least ONE place that can be considered to be haunted are pretty good. If that place happens to be a theatre, the odds of a spirit being around are better... and if that theatre just happens to be next to a cemetary? All the better.

One such place is located at 1300 9th Avenue, Kamloops, British Columbia. The Sagebrush Threatre actually used to have its stage on top of the graveyard, until a flood in 1939 revealed those buried beneath. The city decided to move the caskets, and the 100 hand-carved gravestones across the street.

Some say, however, that the city workers missed one. Albert's.

Albert is the name affectionately given to the spirit reported to haunt the theatre. This spirit's real name is suspected to be Arnold Mallot, who was the first man to be hung in Kamloops when he was tried and convicted in November 1886 of murder. He was a bartender who worked at O'Keffel's Saloon near Revelstoke. Mallot suspected a man of stealing from his bar, and killed him.

Some of the phenomena experienced at the Sagebrush Theatre are knockings from behind the walls of the stage- an area that can't be accessed. It was reported that one session that Bronwyn Bowlby (the head technical director for Western Canada Theatre Company at the time) experience lasted for half an hour. The sounds ceased after Bowlby asked Albert to stop.

Lighting configurations have also been manipulated by the spirit. Lights that had been programmed for upcoming show have been found to be re-programmed for the previous show... even though the software disk and lighting cues were nowhere to be found.

And of course there's the voices. One former employee reported hearing a little girl singing coming from the speakers in the green room, despite the microphone used to tell actors their cues for appearances was not on. In one case, a voice even saved an employee's life. While practicing cues for spotlights, Auben Muillwrath, was alone nine metres above the seats. Muillwrath neglected to clip her safety harness on until a voice said, "Auben, clip in". Right after obeying the voice, one of the spotlights slammed through the catwalk in front of her, taking her after it. When she was found, Muillwrath was dangling by her harness eight metres above the seats. "Albert saved her life," claimed Bowlby.

A janitor was "saved" by Albert as well, when they were unexplainably prevented from taking a potentially serious fall into a hole after the lights had burnt out.

Some people have claimed to see apparitions in the theatre. Samantha MacDonald, former technical director, called out to one such apparition, receiving no reply back.

Of course, there are those that don't believe in Albert. One such person found out that disrespecting Albert was not wise. Roger Lantz, a former sound technician, would laugh at people who believed in the spirt, and often ask, "where are you Albert?" jokingly. After one such jest, during a performance, Lanzt lost control of all the sound cues. Afterwards, he came to believe that Albert decided to get revenge for Lantz's disbelief.

Of the 706 seats in the Sagebrush Theatre, there is one that is never sold... or at least not to anything human. Seat Z24 is Albert's seat, and has been reported by audience members to lower at the beginning of shows, and raise back up at the end of a performance.

If you're ever in Kamloops, feel free to stop by and catch a show at the Sagebrush Theatre, and say hello to Albert... as it's become tradition for employees to greet the spirit when they enter and leave the theatre...