Theater Andrew Lloyd Webber called in a priest to rid his house of a phant...um, a poltergeist Hard as lightning, soft as candlelight, Andrew Lloyd Webber dared not trust the music of the night. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on January 3, 2024 10:39PM EST Midnight. Not a sound from the pavement. Except a poltergeist neatly organizing some papers. That was the scene at one of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's homes, as he revealed in a recent interview with The Telegraph. To help the spirit on its way, the renowned composer employed a priest, Exorcist-style. Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Phantom. Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty; Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Webber was asked by the publication if any of the theaters he owned was haunted — perhaps by a disfigured organ player with a thing for sopranos? “I did have a house in Eaton Square which had a poltergeist," Webber recalled. "It would do things like take theatre scripts and put them in a neat pile in some obscure room. In the end we had to get a priest to come and bless it, and it left.” A poltergeist, German for "noisy ghost," is a kind of spirit known for physical disturbances. One assumes, this exorcising priest identified it as such before blessing the devil out of it. But Broadway is full of supernatural occurrences, both on- and off-stage because actors just can't give up the ghost. Playbill reports that at least nine Broadway theaters are haunted, not to mention the theatres being haunted in London's West End. Some spirits have become part of a theater's traditions, such as the photos of tragic Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl Olive Thomas in the New Amsterdam Theater, which workers greet as they arrive each day to keep Olive's mischief at bay. These spirits are mostly harmless, but thankfully Lord Webber got rid of his poltergeist before it sent a chandelier crashing into his dining room table. Related content: Bad Cinderella review: Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical is bibbidi-bobbidi-basic Andrew Lloyd Webber told an airline he needed a therapy dog because Cats was so bad The 20 best haunted house films of all time, ranked