William Terriss and the Ghost of the Adelphi Theatre

Actor William Terriss was murdered outside London’s Adelphi Theatre in December 1897 by Richard Prince. A later theatre tradition holds that Terriss’s ghost continued to haunt the Adelphi.

The murder is documented history; the haunting is later professional folklore. The story also preserves the memory of a once-famous performer whose name now reaches many people through the ghost tradition.

Source trail: The Royal Parks, Brompton Cemetery biography of William Terriss; London theatre history resources.

Related Journal record: Haunted London.