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Haunted Hall

On September 23rd, Erin Way awoke to the sound of her roommate’s screams. Inside their Alexandra Hall dorm room, her roommate said she witnessed a woman standing in front of their mirror who, upon being confronted, vanished.

On September 23rd, Erin Way awoke to the sound of her roommate’s screams. Inside their Alexandra Hall dorm room, her roommate said she witnessed a woman standing in front of their mirror who, upon being confronted, vanished.
After visiting the university archives, Way was shocked to discover a spate of reported hauntings, eerily similar, coming from residents of Room 304 of Alex Hall. Reports have been frequent enough that the King’s library archivist has been building a collection of them for over 10 years.
However, sightings are not limited to Alex Hall. Another spot oft-frequented by King’s undead is the Pit. Kate Connolly, a fourth-year student, describes her unusual experience while on Patrol last year. Walking from one tunnel to another through the Pit, she overheard a conversation. Upon eavesdropping, and not being able to discern what was said, she called out. In reply, she heard a “distant voice”, but after looking around, found no one. Connolly, while “not a huge believer in ghosts,” says that “at 4:30 in the morning walking alone it can be quite creepy.”
“It is natural to be frightened.” says Nick Hatt, Dean of Residences. “If we’ve learned anything from FYP, it’s that spiritual realities are ever-present and alive, and we live and move within them at every stage of our being.” Hatt says despite not encountering any ghosts himself, he has spoken with many people who have. Although these spirits are quite regular at King’s, neither patrol nor facilities workers carry any means of self-defense. Hatt is unfazed, though, and insists that if you find yourself face-to-face with such a spirit, you should “be as polite as possible and offer the ghost cookies…Chocolate chip.”
King’s resident ghost expert John Adams concurs: “I imagine ghosts don’t get cookies very often. They’re probably just craving a cookie.” While this strategy has not been employed in the past, a ghost-hunting team did investigate The Pit and Angel’s Roost with infrared cameras and sound recorders last year. They evidence was not transparent, however, and the hunt was inconclusive. Nevertheless, Adams sees the ghosts as “fun parts” of the school’s history, and particularly enjoys “watching people twisting and squirming as they tell their ghost stories.”
Many of the sightings have their supposed origin in actual events. For example, one may witness what looks like a man jumping off the roof of the bays to his death. Legend says that this is the ghost of a student who jumped off the building many years ago.
Others, such as in Room 304, have no known reason. Dr. Neil Robertson, who has always maintained his lack of knowledge about the hauntings, admitted, under questioning: “I am hiding something.”

By David J. Shuman

David is the current editor-in-chief of The Watch and writes on student issues and events. Find him on Twitter: @DavidJShuman

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