Case file · Haunting
Federici, ghost of the Princess Theatre
Opera singer Frederick Federici died after playing Mephistopheles in Faust in Melbourne, and is said to have haunted the theatre ever since.
1888 CE · -37.81, 144.97 · status: legend
The account
On 3 March 1888 Federici collapsed with a heart attack as his character descended through a trapdoor into hell, and died soon after. Cast members said he took his curtain call that night. Staff still leave a seat empty for him on opening nights.
The sceptical view
The death is documented; the ghost is theatre lore.