The Pittsburgh Playhouse

Posted: 04.17.2025 | Updated: 04.17.2025

The Pittsburgh Playhouse is a charming theater that was the prime place for entertainment in the city during the early 1930s. Many fascinating and dramatic performances have been held at the playhouse, but this theater is home to more than fictional stories of love and tragedy. It is also home to a number of spirits who have some tragic tales of their own they’d like to share.

Pittsburgh is filled with many historic locations that tell stories of our nation’s past and how our country was built. But many of those places hold some deep, dark secrets and are haunted by dark entities who refuse to move on. If you would like to find out more about the dark history of Pittsburgh, schedule a ghost tour with us here at Pittsburgh Ghosts today!

Is the Pittsburgh Playhouse Haunted?

The Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University has a long history dating back centuries. Before it was converted into a grand playhouse, the building was a synagogue, a church, a restaurant, a speakeasy, and, at one time, a brothel. 

With such a complex past, it is no surprise that several dark entities call the Pittsburgh Playhouse their eternal abode. It seems they enjoy taking in a good show amongst the living while giving audience members a scare now and then.

The History of the Pittsburgh Playhouse

During the 1930s in Pittsburgh, one of the most popular hotspots for entertainment was the Pittsburgh Playhouse. A local advertising tycoon, Richard S. Rauh, purchased the building when it was the German Social Club in 1934 for his wife, Helen. He promised her he would convert it into a playhouse for performing arts if she agreed to remain in Pittsburgh.

For 30 years, the Pittsburgh Playhouse was a bustling community theater. Rauh purchased the house adjacent to it as his primary residence as he continued to make improvements on the property. 

Soon, the location was also home to one of the most glamorous fine dining restaurants in the city, the Pittsburgh Playhouse Restaurant, which was located downstairs under the theater, which was once a ballroom. The restaurant included three lavish dining rooms with seating for up to 250 people.

During the late 1940s, the playhouse began offering theater classes to promote hands-on learning. The theater continued to improve throughout the 1950s by adding an upstairs theater, known as the Rauh Theatre, the Craft Theatre, and, a few years later, the Rockwell Theatre.

By the 1960s, the Pittsburgh Playhouse began experiencing monetary woes and joined with Carnegie Tech for financial support and to create a professional theater. A few years later, in 1968, the playhouse was acquired by Point Park College, which helped to further enhance the theater’s performing arts education efforts.

The Haunting of the Pittsburgh Playhouse

If you research historic theaters throughout the country, you will find the majority of them have one thing in common: there’s a ghost story or two attached to each one. Ghosts and theaters go hand-in-hand, and the Pittsburgh Playhouse is no exception to the rule.

According to the lore, the Playhouse is haunted by as many as six ghosts of the dead, though there could be more lurking in the shadows.

The Lady in White

Among the many spirits at the theater is the Lady in White, an actress who is said to have shot her adulterous husband on the night of their wedding. There are several variations about what happened next. 

Some stories say the bride turned the gun on herself and took her own life. Other tales claim that she ran to the balcony and leaped to her death. Whatever the case may be, the Lady in White has been haunting the Rauh Theatre ever since then.

The Mischievous Meanie

Another ghost at the playhouse is an entity known by a few names, such as “Green Meanie,” “Red Meanie,  and “Bouncing Red Meanie.” This spirit was once summoned in a séance held at the theater in the 1970s. 

He crossed through from the other side and has remained there ever since. He is a trickster spirit and highly energetic; it has been said that he likes to bounce off the walls and the ceiling, frightening audience members with his ghoulish antics.

Gorgeous George

The spirit of an actor who has been nicknamed Gorgeous George is a frightening apparition who has a disturbing face mutilated by gangrene. According to the legend, George will tap visitors on the shoulder and scare them when they turn to see his rotting face.

Weeping Eleanor

It’s been said that before the theater was built, there used to be several row houses on the property. Tragically, those houses burned down. 

A mother and her young daughter lost their lives in the fire. Now, the spirit of the mother, named Weeping Eleanor, haunts the area, looking for her long-lost daughter. She cries out to her in the darkness, and her mournful cries can be heard throughout the theater.

The Staircase Spirit

Another spirit is said to have belonged to an actor who, in the 1950s, suffered a fatal heart attack while at the theater. The man was carried into his dressing room, room 7, where he died. Visitors and staff members have reported hearing phantom footsteps heading up the stairs toward that same room.

Haunted Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is filled with many interesting and unusual ghost tales that will likely keep you up at night, but for haunting fanatics, that’s all part of the fun. If you would like to learn more about the many mysterious and creepy places to see while in the Pittsburgh area, be sure to book a ghost tour with us here at Pittsburgh Ghosts. 

You can also check out our regularly updated blog for information about the places we visit and our favorite haunted spots in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to learn more about the most haunted locations throughout the country!

Sources:

• https://playhouse.pointpark.edu
• https://playhouse.pointpark.edu/about/history
• https://lawrencecconnolly.com/2022/11/17/this-week-on-mystery-theatrethe-most-haunted-place-in-pittsburgh/
• https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/experiences/pennsylvania/haunted-theater-pittsburgh
• https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburghs-most-haunted-places/