A light, often a bare bulb, is still left downstage center on the stage of theatres so the venue is never completely dark. This is called the Ghost Light. In the early 19th century, theaters were lit with natural gas lanterns. Many theaters burned down between the installation of the first gas lighting system in Philadelphia (1816) and the installation of the first theater to have electricity (The Savoy Theatre in London, 1881). To reduce gas line pressure and the risk of explosions, crews would leave a flame burning overnight. Some also reasoned that, by giving the theater’s ghosts a light to perform by, they wouldn’t curse the production!
—From “Nook’s Tidbits” by Nook Schoenfeld, PLSN, Oct. 2015
