Ghost still reigns at the Grand Opera House

The late Randell Widner worked at the Piedmont Grand Opera House only four months in the summer of 1971, but there are some who believe he never clocked out.

For the past 54 years, he has been the house ghost at 651 Mulberry Street. 

He doesn’t have tenure. Paranormal tales have been passed down at the Grand for more than a century. 

Yet Randell is the default resident ghoul. He gets blamed for every backstage bump in the night, mysterious tap on the shoulder and unexplained wisp of air that floats through the auditorium.

There are 986 seats at the Grand, but the chair on the end 11 rows back to the left facing the stage is unofficially reserved for Randell. It’s where he sat with his sack lunch every day while he watched the theatre renovations.

“He has been my constant companion for 31 years,’’ said Bob Mavity, the senior technical director at the Grand. “I’ve been dealing with him almost since the beginning. I speak to him on a daily basis and have to deal with all his shenanigans. He has been known to make his point on more than one occasion.’’

Mavity said he has witnessed light racks levitating 10 feet above the stage. On surveillance video, he has seen washes of light sweep from corner regions of the stage and seep from side doors along the west wall.

A black Steinway grand piano is used for musical performances, but Mavity said he has heard piano music from an unknown location after he has sealed up the building for the night.

“It’s like an apparition is saying, ‘I’m going to play this piano,’ ’’ he said. “Sometimes, I don’t come out of my office. I just say, ‘Enjoy the piano, Randell.’ ’’

Before he became phantom of the Opera House, Widner was a  theatre director and classical pianist. He entertained troops with the U.S. Marines during World War II and once performed for Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

He came to Macon as director at the Macon Little Theatre. In May 1971, he was named managing director at the Grand to oversee the theatre renovations.

“A group of community leaders came together with money and a petition to save the theatre and return it to its original glory,’’ Mavity said. “It was down to the wrecking ball. We were due to be that parking lot next door.’’

Although he never met Widner, Mavity said he has done some research on his life.

“He put a lot of energy into restoring this theatre,’’ he said. “He had a great deal of love and passion for it. He considered it a great honor and privilege.’’

That’s why Mavity has long been suspicious about some of the details surrounding Widner’s death at the theatre on September 9, 1971. It was first ruled a suicide but later concluded to be an accidental overdose. 

Widner was 47 years old. After an arts council meeting that night, he climbed a spiral staircase to the “Thunder Room” at the top of the theatre. It was called the Thunder Room because lead balls were rolled across the wooden floor to replicate the sound of thunder during theatre performances.

“He went up there with sleeping pills, whiskey and a pistol,’’ Mavity said. “His death has always been suspicious to me. There are a lot of gaps in the story.’’

Mavity said Widner was reportedly estranged from his wife. His body was not found for four days. The gun was never fired. It was reported that he apparently took the pills and passed out from the heat. The corpse had to be removed in pieces with ropes lowered from the upper windows.

The staff at the Grand often receives requests for “ghost” tours, and Mavity is happy to oblige. He said cast members of the annual Nutcracker performances sometimes ask to be guided around the haunts of the house.

“There have been occasions when I’ve taken 20 to 30 young ladies up the spiral staircase into the rafters,’’ he said. “It can be a little spooky. But, if you want to leave a lasting impression, something has to happen. So I will tell the story of Randell. I will show them the greasy spot on the floor that never traps dust.’’

Does it frighten them?

“They’re asking for it,’’ he said. “They know what they’re up there for.’’

Randell apparently is not the only Casper in the building. One of the most enduring ghost tales is the “Lady in White.”

“I’ve never been able to find her name or a date,’’ Mavity said. “As with anything in theatre lore, things can get fuzzy as time goes by. The description originally given to me was that she was a  performer and singer who passed away at the theatre. I’ve also heard she was a longtime patron here, and she could be seen sitting in the second box. She loved the arts, and no one knows why she haunting the theatre.’’

He said he has had three encounters with a “female spirit” in the building late at night. Twice, he heard a woman singing, but her voice  faded out as he walked across the stage. Another time, he said he saw what appeared to be the silhouette of a woman walking through a curtain in the balcony box seats.

Mavity said he had an “active imagination” as a child and is often asked if he still believes in ghosts.

“Well, I’ve never had a disbelief,’’ he said. “The first thing you have to understand is that I am the perfect person to be involved in a place that has these spirits. There are a lot of disbelievers in this world. And who is to say who is right? I just know what I have experienced.’’