Among the ghosts who took a bow, they say, at the Stiwt in Rhos, were those of a man who helped manage the historic building in the 1920s, a one-eyed cleaner and a young man who died when he fell from the fire escape.

A seven-strong team from North Wales-based Soul searchersnw.com spent part of the night at the grade two listed former miners' institute.

The group, including two qualified mediums, was equipped with an array of hi-tech equipment, including infra-red cameras and 'K2' meters to detect signs of electrical energy.

Group spokesman Steven Pryce said: "We arrived at 8pm and even before our cameras began filming, our mediums, Eileen and Lizzy, picked up a man called Edwards.

He is connected to the theatre and has previously been seen there by staff.

"We know a Mr D. Edwards was involved with the construction and first management committee of the institute in 1926.

"We also detected the presence of a cleaner called Mary with one eye who used to work at the Stiwt and is thought to be related to the present technical manager.

"A man in a white cloak was also seen by our mediums, and tragically, they also sensed a young man in his mid-20s who committed suicide from the fire escape."

He added: "We had a number of staff members with us, including Tony Griffiths, the grandson of former Stiwt manager Bob Parry.

"A member of staff alerted us to what she said was a pair of feet in one of the stage wings.

"Another member of staff was touched on her arm, and grunts and groans were heard coming from the balcony area."

Mr Pryce said that at a seance session conducted later in the evening, a 6ft table around which people were sitting was physically shifted, taps and bangs were heard and mediums detected a presence in the upper balcony.

A glass on which people had their fingers then flew off the table and shattered on the floor, he recalled.

Mr Pryce said: "We then encountered a six-year-old boy called Bryn who had fallen from the upper balcony in the early 1960s.

"He was a very playful soul and at one point knocked the sweet I had offered him off the table.

"Later we heard a female voice say that she was Gwen Connors, and I am wondering if anyone has heard of her or knows her connection to the Stiwt."

Soulsearchers.com members are planning an 'encore' investigation at the theatre on June 13.