Old buildings with grandiose public areas, backstage areas with a charmingly gothic air of subtle neglect, all steeped in rich history; London theatres are surely ideal ghost habitats?

Combine these atmospheric locations with plenty of West End performers with fertile imaginations (it's fair to say that the job of West End performer requires a little imagination) and it's hardly surprising that you get more than a few spooky tales.

It would be all to easy to dismiss West End ghosts as the products of actors' imaginations, fuelled by the thrill of the performance and perhaps a little too much gin, or champagne, or both. However, for every 10 'lady in old-fashioned clothes' stories there's one that demands further investigation.

Next time you're in a London theatre having booked West End theatre tickets or even a London theatre break, be sure to keep an eye out for the following stage spooks.

Grimaldi the Clown, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

The oldest and -reputedly- most haunted theatre in the West End, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is home to a host of phantoms.

The ghost of Joseph Grimaldi, one of the first white-faced clowns and the father of pantomime is, after The Man in Grey, this London theatre's most often reported spectre. Grimaldi was utterly devoted to his craft and it eventually took its toll on his health. The clown was crippled by his exertions and was supported by benefit performances and a pension of £100 a year from the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund until his death in 1837.

Strangely, Grimaldi requested that, before he was buried, his head should be removed. This may explain the disembodied head with a white face that sometimes floats around the theatre.

John Baldwin Buckstone, Theatre Royal Haymarket

The actor-manager of the West End's Theatre Royal Haymarket between 1852-1877, Buckstone mainly wrote and appeared in comedies and farces, styles of theatre that he allegedly still enjoys to this day.

Buckstone reportedly tends to only appear during comedies or similar productions that he would have enjoyed in life. The most recent, and perhaps most publicised, appearance of Buckstone came in 2009 when Patrick Stewart saw the ghost in the wings during a performance of Waiting for Godot.

You may have to wait a while if you intend to catch a glimpse of Buckstone for yourself; he does not appear regularly. Before he saw seen by Stewart, the last actor to have clapped eyes on him was Fiona Fullerton some time between 1997 and 1999.

The Man in Grey, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

A limping man in a tricorner hat, white wig, and ruffled shirt who only appears in daylight hours; the Man in Grey would be the least spooky ghost on this list if it were not for a blood-curdling Victorian addition to his story.

The Man in Grey seems to stick to a few repetitive actions, which makes looking out for him next time you're visiting the West End much easier. He either sits in the end seat of the fourth row of the central gangway of the upper circle or he crosses the upper circle and melts into the wall.

In 1939 half the cast of The Dancing Years were on stage for a photo shoot when they all clearly saw the Man in Grey stride across the upper circle and vanish into the wall.

The apparition's preference for a certain wall makes much more sense when you take the story's Victorian twist into account. During renovations in the 1870s workmen broke into a hidden room behind the Man in Grey's favourite wall. Inside they found a skeleton with a dagger jutting from the rib cage and some tattered remnants of grey cloth.

Who the Man in Grey was and how he came to be bricked up in a secret room in a London theatre is still a mystery, but he still appears at the beginning of a successful run at the West End theatre.

The Man in Grey is considered a good omen to this day, despite his grisly long-term residence in his private chamber in the upper circle.