Beyond Star Trek: Sir Patrick Stewart's Paranormal Experiences

Since Sir Patrick Stewart's death, I've spent some time listening to tributes from fellow actors and Star Trek fans. Having grown up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, I've been reminded of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but also of some of the paranormal experiences Stewart has described over the years. Among them were an encounter at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket and strange occurrences in a house he once owned in Los Angeles. However, his experiences with the paranormal went back much further, with some dating back to his childhood.

Patrick Stewart's experiences with the paranormal began long before he became famous. In his 2023 autobiography, Making It So, he recalled several incidents, some dating back to his childhood in Yorkshire. One of the earliest occurred while he stayed at the home of his acting teacher, Ruth Wynn Owen, when he was around twelve.

Stewart remembered two paintings of women dressed in seventeenth-century clothing, surrounded by a strange mist. One hung in the room where he slept and gave off an unusual glow at night. When he mentioned this to Wynn Owen, she told him that she believed spirits were associated with her family. She also described seeing the apparition of a young girl who would appear at night, smile and then disappear. Stewart never saw the girl himself, but his experience with the paintings stayed with him.

Another experience occurred in 1977, following the death of his mother, Gladys. While spending time alone with her body before the funeral, Stewart recalled hearing her familiar voice saying, "Oh, hello, Patrick, love." He recognised his mother's voice immediately and was convinced that he had heard her speak. He would remember the experience and eventually describe it in his autobiography.

In 1989, while filming Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stewart bought a house in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighbourhood. Not long after moving in, he began noticing strange occurrences. He described smelling food cooking when the oven and stove were off, hearing voices from empty rooms, and hearing footsteps on the staircase when nobody was there. He also experienced an uncomfortable cold sensation whenever he reached a particular point on the stairs.

During a visit from England, Stewart's son Daniel was alone in the house watching television when several books suddenly flew from the shelves across the living room. The incident frightened him enough that he left the house and waited outside for his father to return. When Stewart arrived, Daniel showed him the books scattered across the floor and explained what had happened. The experience had frightened him so badly that he refused to spend another night at the property.

Eventually, Stewart decided to move and rented the property to another family. Some months later, the woman renting the house contacted him about a problem with an appliance. During their conversation, she asked why he hadn't warned them about the other things happening in the property. Her daughter had seen the shadowy figure of a man standing near the bottom of the staircase, the same area where Stewart had experienced unexplained cold sensations and heard footsteps.

The woman explained that the disturbances had eventually stopped after she confronted whatever she believed was responsible. Awakened by voices in the house, she went to the staircase and angrily demanded that the presence leave her family alone. According to her account, the activity stopped and never returned.

Stewart also recalled an encounter with the property's previous owners. When he approached them and mentioned the strange experiences, they appeared uncomfortable and quickly ended the conversation. Their reaction left him wondering whether they had experienced some of the same strange occurrences while living in the house.

Another of Stewart's best-known paranormal encounters occurred in 2009, while appearing alongside Sir Ian McKellen in a production of Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. During a performance, Stewart noticed a man standing in the wings, wearing what appeared to be a beige coat and twill trousers. The sight distracted him enough that McKellen asked what had happened when they came offstage for the interval. Stewart replied, "I just saw a ghost. On stage, during Act One.”

The theatre already had a long history of reported paranormal activity, and staff suggested that Stewart might have encountered the ghost of John Baldwin Buckstone, an actor, playwright and comedian who managed the Haymarket from 1853 until 1877. Buckstone died in 1879, but stories of his ghost appearing backstage and in the auditorium had become part of the theatre's history.

Stewart wasn’t the first actor to describe an unusual encounter there. In a 1997 interview, Sir Donald Sinden recalled a 1949 incident involving himself and fellow performer Gillian Howell. While walking downstairs, they passed a man standing on a landing who appeared to be their co-star, Sir Ralph Richardson. However, they soon discovered that Richardson was already performing on stage. When they returned to the landing, the mysterious figure had disappeared.

Dame Judi Dench also described an experience at the Haymarket. While attending a memorial service, she recalled seeing a man wearing a black tailcoat descending a staircase towards the stalls. By the time she reached the bottom, no one was there.

These experiences were part of a long tradition of ghost stories associated with the Haymarket. Theatre staff believed the man Stewart encountered was Buckstone, whose association with the building had continued long after his death. His supposed appearances had become so familiar to theatre staff that seeing him was sometimes considered good luck.

Stewart became more open about his paranormal experiences following the publication of Making It So in 2023. In an interview with NPR, he acknowledged his belief in spiritual presences, though he admitted he felt uncomfortable discussing the subject. Even after experiencing unusual events for much of his life, he was still reluctant to talk openly about them.

Much of the attention following Stewart's death has understandably focused on his acting career and the characters he brought to life. His paranormal experiences were a much smaller part of his life, but they were clearly important enough to him that he chose to share them.