2008 Woodie Awards
BOO! Ghosts inhabit Central dorm
Ronald Goodwin
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Central is not the stereotypical spooky place, conjuring thoughts of ghosts, ghouls and goblins.
But scary stories surround one dormitory, the oldest on campus, where a floor remains closed and people report seeing and hearing strange things.
At Yeater, the all-female residence hall located at the corner of South Holden Street, some believe the third floor is haunted.
Yeater is the oldest dorm on campus dating back to 1942. The strange phenomena started decades ago, according to urban legend, after a student resident supposedly hung herself on the floor now closed to inhabitants.
"For the last twenty years, different lights on the third floor come on at around 10:30 p.m. and are turned off by 7:30 a.m.," said Tara Mullins, long-time janitor in the building. "And remember, no one lives on that floor; it is chained off. So for someone to do that, they would have to sneak a key, turn the lights on, and come turn them back off by [daylight].
"Who would do that for 20 years?"
Mullins reported another incident from last summer.
"I saw something that looked like a girl going into the women's bathroom, and I was the only person in the building at this time," Mullins said.
Yeater apparently has the most ghost stories of any on campus. There are four floors, and second-floor residents such as Katy Bird report hearing activity, bumps in the night, up on the third floor.
"I occasionally hear furniture being moved around above me and even hear the showers above me come on sometimes," Bird said.
Some people believe a strange event to be a haunting, but others look for an explanation. Even though ghost stories are fun to believe, there is a more justified reason for these strange happenings.
The third floor has not had residents for the last four years. There are a few reasons there have not been any students on that floor.
"The absence of residency on the third floor has nothing to do with the myth, but more to declining in occupancy. And since it is the oldest hall, there were concerns with the electrical wiring and potential safety hazards," said Alan Nordyke, director of residential life.
Some students are skeptical and want to experience it for themselves.
"I really don't believe in ghosts stories," said Brett Boggs, student. "I want to spend the night up there and see if anything happens. That's the only way I would believe any of that. I think it could be someone living on that floor. That makes more sense than a haunting."
"It would be nearly impossible for someone to live on that floor," Boggs said, "without being spotted leaving or coming in."
But scary stories surround one dormitory, the oldest on campus, where a floor remains closed and people report seeing and hearing strange things.
At Yeater, the all-female residence hall located at the corner of South Holden Street, some believe the third floor is haunted.
Yeater is the oldest dorm on campus dating back to 1942. The strange phenomena started decades ago, according to urban legend, after a student resident supposedly hung herself on the floor now closed to inhabitants.
"For the last twenty years, different lights on the third floor come on at around 10:30 p.m. and are turned off by 7:30 a.m.," said Tara Mullins, long-time janitor in the building. "And remember, no one lives on that floor; it is chained off. So for someone to do that, they would have to sneak a key, turn the lights on, and come turn them back off by [daylight].
"Who would do that for 20 years?"
Mullins reported another incident from last summer.
"I saw something that looked like a girl going into the women's bathroom, and I was the only person in the building at this time," Mullins said.
Yeater apparently has the most ghost stories of any on campus. There are four floors, and second-floor residents such as Katy Bird report hearing activity, bumps in the night, up on the third floor.
"I occasionally hear furniture being moved around above me and even hear the showers above me come on sometimes," Bird said.
Some people believe a strange event to be a haunting, but others look for an explanation. Even though ghost stories are fun to believe, there is a more justified reason for these strange happenings.
The third floor has not had residents for the last four years. There are a few reasons there have not been any students on that floor.
"The absence of residency on the third floor has nothing to do with the myth, but more to declining in occupancy. And since it is the oldest hall, there were concerns with the electrical wiring and potential safety hazards," said Alan Nordyke, director of residential life.
Some students are skeptical and want to experience it for themselves.
"I really don't believe in ghosts stories," said Brett Boggs, student. "I want to spend the night up there and see if anything happens. That's the only way I would believe any of that. I think it could be someone living on that floor. That makes more sense than a haunting."
"It would be nearly impossible for someone to live on that floor," Boggs said, "without being spotted leaving or coming in."