The Ghost of Floyd Collins Comes to Marshall College

View of the Ladies' Hall, pre-1905
Source

The following newspaper article comes from a February 24, 1925 edition of the Hinton Daily News, a newspaper based in Hinton, WV (Summers County). It immediately caught my attention because not only was it about a ghost---but a ghost that was seen in Huntington, WV at Marshall College, now Marshall University!

As the tale goes, Dean Beaumont, along with about 50 female students living in the girls' dormitory heard an eerie, disembodied voice. The voice was praying for his life and freedom, with special mention of freeing his leg. And, as stated in the headline of the article, the ghost was believed to be none other than Floyd Collins. And even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably come across the tragic death of Mr. Collins. 

Earlier that month, Floyd was exploring a new section of Kentucky's Mammoth Cave when he became wedged into a narrow crevice. Valiant efforts were made to free him, but the very few who were even brave enough to attempt reaching him could not quite get to him. His official date of death is recorded as February 13, 1925 and his body was left where he took his last breath. Newspapers across the nation carried daily updates on the rescue mission and surely, the young ladies of Marshall College were well aware of the situation.

Ladies' Dormitory Room
Source

In addition to the prayers, the ladies also reported hearing other strange sounds, including sobs and wails. The college president ordered an investigation into finding an explanation for the ghostly noises, but none was ever found, despite the fact that floorboards were ripped up and walls thoroughly examined.  

I thought surely the dormitory where these strange events took place nearly 100 years ago would have been long ago torn down, but thanks to a helpful archive of 1920's era school catalogs digitized on the university's webpage, I was able to discern that in February of 1925, the ladies' dormitories were located in a space called College Hall, formerly Ladies' Hall. College Hall survives today as the back section of the main administrative building known as Old Main!

So, if you ever find yourself walking the hallowed halls of the oldest building on campus, make sure you take a moment to stop and listen. You just might hear the cries of cave explorer Floyd Collins, still crying out for his life a century later. 

Students "Aroused" By The Ghost of Floyd Collins

Huntington, W.Va., Feb. 24th--"The ghost of Floyd Collins" is haunting a girls' dormitory at Marshall College here and has so frightened the 400 co-eds that school work is virtually paralysed, it was reported when the faculty of the institution called a meeting to investigate the mystery. 

Numerous students said they heard Collins praying between midnight and 3a.m. Wierd noises accompanied the prayers.

"Spare my life, O Lord! Loosen my leg; allow me my freedom, I beseech Thee," the praying voice said.

Dean Beaumont and half a hundred co-eds were aroused by the noise.

The prayer was followed by a series of wails and sobs.

President M.P. Shawkey was notified of the mystery and ordered an investigation.

Floors were taken up and walls were tapped without finding a trace of the "ghost."

The Ghost of Gardiner Hall

Gardiner Hall-Source

Shepherdstown, West Virginia has recently been labeled as one of the most haunted towns in the United States. And while hauntings can be found all over the area, quite a few of the town's ghosts are associated with Shepherd University! I'm sure I'll be covering more of these school spirits in later blogs, but today I wanted to highlight the haunting of Gardiner Hall. 

As legend states, Gardiner Hall, dedicated in 1966, is haunted by the ghost of Patty, a former Homecoming Queen, who died when she slipped in the shower, hitting her head. Patty has been seen walking across the football field on the night of homecoming, but she generally tends to spend the majority of the academic year hanging out on the second floor of Gardiner Hall, where she's been seen roaming the halls. In addition to manifesting in front of terrified underclassmen, Patty also tends to take out her frustrations against a portrait of Mabel Gardiner, former history professor and Dean of Women, for whom the building is named. It is said that to appease Patty, the portrait must be displayed upside down, or else all hell breaks loose. It is believed that Patty somehow blames Gardiner for her accidental death. 

Over the years, quite a few residents of Gardiner Hall have reported experiencing the ghost of Patty. One thing I noticed that was really interesting is that several witnesses claim that the number on their room door was upside down, and they were warned not to change it, unless they wanted to feel the wrath of Patty. Cold spots, phantom footsteps, and unexplained lights are all blamed on Patty, who was described as one witness as having long, brown hair and wearing all white.

Patricia Loy's Grave at Ebenezer Cemetery
Photo by BillionGraves

To many who have lived in Gardiner Hall, there is no doubt that the building is haunted, but for many years, there was a lot of confusion as to just who the Homecoming Queen was or how she died. Fortunately, we have some additional information!

Gardiner Hall-Source

Patricia Loy was a 20 year old college student from Romney, West Virginia who I believe was majoring in Education. Her life tragically ended on July 22, 1988 when, according to her former roommate, she was killed in a car crash in the early morning hours while driving home to Romney from her job. During the academic year, she stayed on the third floor of Gardiner Hall, where she was described by another roommate (in the Senior Wills section published by the school newspaper, The Picket) as frequenting Tuesday Night Jams at The Reunion, and going on trips to the nearby Spook Hill in Maryland. She is buried in Ebenezer Cemetery in Romney. 

So who IS the ghost of Gardiner Hall? 

I honestly couldn't tell you. Patty Loy is obviously NOT the homecoming queen of the legend, because it is confirmed that she did not pass away in the dorm showers from a head injury. Was there another homecoming queen, lost to history, who lost her life in such a manner? If there was, and she lived in Gardiner Hall, there must have been a pretty elaborate cover up, because in the grand scheme of things, the building is not that old. Ouija board sessions from dorm residents seem to convince users that they are indeed talking to someone named Patty. So, maybe it IS Patricia Loy. Just because she passed away in a different manner from what the legend states, and in a different place, doesn't mean that her spirit couldn't return. Perhaps she enjoyed her time at Shepherd University with her friends so much, that she made her way back there after bodily death. Maybe her life was taken so unexpectedly that she doesn't even realize that she's no longer in her physical body, and is still 'living' her best college life. 

Whether the ghost of Gardiner Hall is Patricia Loy, another former student, or even Mabel Gardiner herself, I only have one question: what's with wanting everything turned upside down? 

Sources and Further Reading:

True Identity: Shepherd College Ghost, by Matthew Jeremy Edler, as reported to WVGhosts.com. Published July 14, 2004. 

Shepherd College-Gardiner Hall by Mike, as reported to WVGhosts.com. Published July 14, 2004

Exhuming the Legends of Shepherd University. The Picket, October 22, 2013

BillionGraves: Ebenezer Cemetery--Patricia Ann Loy

The Picket. May 2, 1990. Senior Will of Cathy Junkins. Page 9

Legends of Shepherd University's Campus. SU Website

Man Proposes, God Disposes

Welcome to Theme Week on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State!  For the next seven days, I'll be blogging only about one specific topic...and the topic for January is Haunted and Cursed Paintings!  Throughout the week, you'll be reading about some pretty strange works of art---some that have enjoyed a long infamy for their spooky attributes, and some that are lesser known.  I even hope to bring you at least one haunted painting from here in the tri-state.  Hope you enjoy this week's collection of creepy, and don't forget to follow me on Facebook for a few extra haunted/cursed painting articles.

Man Proposes, God Disposes (1864) by Edwin Landseer

On 19 May 1845, Sir John Franklin led two ships carrying a total of 129 men on a doomed expedition.  The goal was to chart a Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic, a vital component for British trade.  The crew left with only three years worth of supplies, so when 1848 came and went with no word, several rescue missions were employed.  The disappearance of the Franklin expedition was a complete mystery until 1854 when a rescue mission led by John Rae discovered some disturbing information.  A local Inuit tribe he spoke to claims to have found items from the expedition as well as the bones of the deceased crew.  Disturbingly, some of the bones seemed to have the tell-tale signs of cannibalism.

Ten years later, this grisly end to what was supposed to be a crowning achievement in British expansion inspired artist Edwin Landseer to paint his infamous Man Proposes, God Disposes, showing his interpretation of the fate of the expedition. At the time, the painting wasn't exactly held in high regard in polite Victorian society.  However, it captured the attention of the wealthy Thomas Holloway.                                                                                                        

Holloway was the founder of Royal Holloway, an institution of higher learning for women.  The school officially opened on 30 June1886 with the main building on campus being the Founder's Building.  Housed within that building is the Picture Gallery, where the Landseer painting has hung for over 100 years.  It is one of 77 paintings acquired by Holloway over a period of three years, between 1880 and 1883, before the college opened.  He paid a hefty price, 6,615 pounds for it at Christie's auction, which was a record at the time. Apparently after Holloway's death in 1883, a collection of newspaper articles concerning the doomed expedition was found among his personal affects, leading many to believe he might have been a bit obsessed by the subject. 

By Mark Tollerman

In 1900, Royal Holloway became part of the University of London, but it wouldn't be until about 20-30 years later that the first inkling of a curse associated with this painting started to surface.  As the need for space increased, it was discovered that the Picture Gallery offered a wonderful venue for exams.  However, many believed that it was bad luck to sit near, or in front of Man Proposes, God Disposes.  To sit near the painting surely meant that the student was doomed to fail her exam.   

Men were finally admitted to Royal Holloway beginning with post-graduates in 1945 and undergraduates following 20 years later in 1965, and presumably it was during this post-male invasion of the school where many of the urban legends first began.  According to an article from 1984, sometime during the 1970s a popular tradition concerning the painting got its start.  A student assigned to take his exam near the painting flat out refused to participate until the creepy work of art was covered.  In a panic, the registrar grabbed the only thing big enough to cover it---a Union Jack flag.  Since then, the painting is always covered prior to exams with the Union Jack.

Therefore, the next part of the urban legend doesn't really make a lot of sense...

Some students believe that in the 1980s, the painting actually caused a student of unknown gender to commit suicide after gazing into it.  Allegedly, the student wrote "The polar bears made me do it," on his or her exam sheet (or in a diary, in some versions of the story) before committing the act in any number of ways.  But if the painting had been covered up, as it had during every exam season since the 1970s, how did the student even see it?  Did they mean 1880s, or did someone forget the Union Jack one year?  Obviously, the school has no records of any student committing suicide in connection to the painting, but that hasn't stopped class after class from taking a little extra precaution!

Sources:
Davis, Eleanor.  'Grisly 'Cursed' Painting's Story Recalled After Ship Discovery,' 7 October 2014.

MacCulloch, Laura. 'The Haunted Painting of Fabled Franklin Ship Discovered in Canadian Arctic,' 11 September 2014.

Wikipedia Article

Montana's Carroll College Bathroom Ghost

Historic photo of St. Charles Hall

Like most colleges and universities, Carroll College in Helena, Montana has its fair share of ghost stories, including the apparition of a nun!  However, the most prolific haunting on campus is undoubtedly found in St. Charles Hall.

St. Charles Hall was built in 1909 as the first building on the Carroll campus and in its early years, basically WAS the college---it housed not only dormitories, but classrooms, a library, a dining hall, and faculty offices.  In fact, when the school was first established, it was called Mount St. Charles College.  Today, the imposing gothic structure serves as a freshman/sophomore dormitory in its south wing, and performing arts facilities in its north.  It's also home to the most haunted bathroom in Montana!

In February of 1962, a young man returned to the dormitory rather late, presumably after a night of partying.  As he stood in front of the bathroom sink brushing his teeth, the boy blacked out and hit his head.  He was taken to the hospital and underwent two different surgeries to repair the damage from his head wounds. He would survive those injuries, but unfortunately would pass away a couple of weeks after the incident in the hospital from pneumonia.

4th floor men's bathroom, St. Charles Hall

Almost immediately after, the sightings began.  Students standing at the sinks, washing up or brushing their teeth started reporting seeing the image of a young man in the mirror, approaching them from behind with a bloodied head wound.  From there, the reports spun out of control, with reports of heavy breathing being heard, blood pouring from the faucets, and a blood stain on the floor that just wouldn't wash away.

To quell fears, this fourth floor bathroom was boarded up.  However, tales of its haunted past are still well known, and it has become a popular stop on a campus-wide ghost tour, held at Halloween!

The bathroom photo and more information on this location can be found at the KRTV website!

(Theresa's Note: I can't help but wonder if the boy who passes away was really drunk or not, as many websites featuring this story claim.  Could it be that he actually passed out due to some type of neurological disorder, which featured in the two different surgeries he underwent? As a private Catholic school, it would be much more difficult for a student to actually sneak out and get drunk, then sneak back in without getting into trouble.  If you have any information on this story, please let me know in the comments below!)

NC's Dana Auditorium Has a Ghost...or Two

I don't really like posting TWO haunted locations not in the tri-state in a row, but as part of my 2013 resolutions for this site, I am determined to finally finish Round One of my Haunted America series!  I'm also determined to post more frequently, possibly once a day, and I admittedly don't have all my research together this morning for any of the the blogs I have planned out.  So, I grabbed my copy of Triad Hauntings by Burt Calloway and Jennifer Fitzsimons and picked the first location that looked interesting.  Luckily, I was able to find enough supporting evidence online to whip out today's entry:  The Ghosts of Dana Auditorium.

Dana Auditorium was built in 1961 on the campus of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.  It was named for Charles Dana, a local philanthropist who donated $250,000 to the college for the completion of the project, which was built on the former site of an 1891 YMCA building.  However, the land on which the Dana Auditorium stands actually has a history going back even further than the creation of Guilford or its predecessor, the New Garden Boarding School.  It has ties that go all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought March 15, 1781 in which British troops defeated the Americans, leaving over 172 total casualties, and over 600 total wounded soldiers.  In order to assist the many wounded and dying, a field hospital sprang up nearby...directly on the site where the Dana Auditorium would be built.

Shortly after its completion, the Dana Auditorium obtained its haunted reputation.  Many believe the resident ghost is a man who they have dubbed Lucas, and who was a soldier who died at the field hospital from injuries sustained in battle.  Lucas almost always seems to make himself known at the same time each night:  2am, leaving a wake of security guards and the occasional late-night music student his prime targets.  Lucas, while seen and felt throughout the building, tends to favor only two rooms---the Moon Room and the Choir Room.  He especially enjoys playing one of the many pianos located in the Choir Room, and also messing with the locks.

In 1973, Lucas gave two security guards quite a fright, as they entered into the main auditorium to find one of the heavy chandeliers swaying on its own accord.  As they watched, the chandelier fell and crashed, leaving them both pretty shook up.

From time to time, Lucas is actually spotted.  A security guard turning a corner in the hall encountered a weathered looking man directly in front of him.  When questioned, the man said nothing, but turned and walked into the Moon Room.  Lucas has also been seen in the auditorium's balcony, along with another possible apparition. 

In more recent years, the ghost of a little dark haired girl wearing a white dress has been seen, and many say she's mischievous, and possibly, a little malicious.  One student staying late to rehearse on the piano noticed the little girl watching him in the Choir Room.  Creeped out, he immediately left.

As to the identity of this little girl, no one online has really brought forth any theories, however, it is interesting to note that Shadowlands actually has a listing for the Mary Hobbs Hall, a campus dormitory, being haunted by a little girl named Mary.  According to the legend, Mary had a slumber party with several friends in the attic of the home.  Some local boys, wishing to scare the girls, started throwing rocks through their window.  Somehow, a fire started, and Mary didn't make it out alive, and thus, now haunts the dormitory.

However, according to the college, Hobbs Hall was never this private residence as listed.  Rather, it was built in 1907 as a female dormitory and named after the wife of Guilford President, Lewis Lyndon Hobbs.  Mary Hobbs wished to improve educational opportunities for women with financial difficulties, and thus, set up Hobbs Hall as a co-op type facility where girls could live, and share the chores of cooking, cleaning, etc. as a way to support themselves.  By the 1940s, the attic of the building did house up to 12 seniors, which was considered a privileged location. 

There WAS a fire that broke out in the attic on November 29, 1976, caused by a curtain coming in contact with a curling iron. The impact of that fire, as seen in the blackened, charred remains of the attic, is still visible today, and is probably the basis of this legend.

Bluefield State College

Bluefield State College is located in Mercer County, WV and has quite the interesting history!  In 1895, there was a huge need for higher education of WV's African-American population, which made up a large number of the coal company work force in Southern WV.  That year, Senator William Mahood passed legislation creating the school, which opened later that year under the name of Bluefield Colored Institute.  The original campus was a mere 4 acres in size, and the site was chosen because it was centrally located--within 100 miles of 70% of the state's black population.

That first year, Hamilton Hatter served as principal of the school, overseeing 40 pupils and the construction of the first three buildings on campus, one being an administration building known as Mahood Hall, named after Sen. Mahood.  Hatter held this position until 1906, when he was seceded by his assistant, Robert Sims.

During Sims' tenure as principal or president, the school became a "normal" school, or teacher's college in 1909.  However, it wasn't until 1931 that a name change to Bluefield State Teachers' College, cemented this change.  By 1943, the school underwent another name change, this time to Bluefield State College, and less than four years later, received its full accreditation.

Throughout this time, the school was still a predominately African American institution.  However, after 1954, partly due to the Brown vs. BOE landmark case, the school started its transition and desegregation began in earnest.  This was also a time when many of the local coal mines were being shut down, creating an even greater need for higher education for white students, as well as black.  Throughout the next decade, the change became more conspicuous as African-American presidents of the college were being replaced with white presidents, and it was rumored that more qualified black professors were being fired in favor of less qualified white professors meant to appeal to white students.

These tensions over race, combined with tensions over the Vietnam War led to the November 21, 1968 bombing of the physical education building on campus.  Although no one was seriously hurt or killed, massive property damage resulted, and as a result, the president of the college shut down all residence halls, furthering the transition of Bluefield from a residential black school, to a commuter-only mainly white school.

And, like many institutes of higher learning, throughout all of this history, the campus has picked up a ghost story or two.

The stories seem to concentrate on one of the campus' oldest buildings, Mahood Hall.  Although originally housing administration offices, the hall later served as dormitory space before housing the school's Business Department.  At one point, there was talk of turning the building BACK into specialized apartment housing, but the plan was ultimately scrapped, despite several major renovations.

It is unknown who she is, or how she got there, but students and staff alike have reported seeing a little girl in the hallways and in the basement of Mahood Hall.  To those who have been lucky (or unlucky) enough to have stayed there during its time as a dormitory, it is said that upon dozing off, many would suddenly awake and find themselves face to face with this little girl.  Since the college has not had any on-campus housing since the 1968 bombing, and the story of waking up to a little girl is so prevalent on several websites and print publications on WV haunted history, it makes one wonder....are these witnesses simply being punished for dozing off IN CLASS, or is this a simple detail that has been exaggerated or even made up?

We may never know, but at least one paranormal investigation group has been granted access to investigate Mahood Hall, and they walked away with some interesting results.  In 2010, Black Diamond Paranormal Society investigated the claims of the little ghost girl, but also another claim of another apparition seen.  It was reported that around 3am, the figure of a girl studying on the first floor was spotted, but then disappeared without a trace.  Along with several EVPs, the team also caught a video in which they believe the figure of a girl steps out of a first floor doorway.  Please see below for a link to this video!

Ghost Girl Video, BDPS

Photo property of THIS SITE

WVU Tech's Phantom Fire Fighter

On the campus of WVU Tech sits Ratliff Hall, a coed dormitory.  This dormitory was constructed in 1963 and named for Dr. Lavada Ratliff, former head of the Education Department at the university.  The dorm, which consists of two separate wings, was meant to be a coed facility, but up until 2006, primarily served as housing for women only.  Today, the west wing is reserved for females, while the east houses men.

It is presumably the west wing that has picked up a reputation for being haunted, especially the second floor.  On this floor, numerous paranormal experiences are reported by female residents, including disembodied footsteps in the corridors, doors that slam on their own, and curtains that billow out without the aid of an open window or A/C.

Perhaps the most interesting experience reported from this second-floor ghost haven is the sighting of an actual apparition.  Due to a power failure, the lights in the dormitory temporarily flickered out.  While in the dark, one young lady saw what appeared to be the figure of a fire fighter in the hall.  This figure disappeared a moment later when the lights flickered back on.  Many believe that this firefighter has a connection to a small fire that took place on the second floor of the dorm in 2000, although no one was hurt or injured in this blaze.

However, it is interesting to note that very close to campus is where the former Montgomery City Hall and fire department was housed, which was also noted to be haunted by a phantom fireman.  Could it be that when this structure was torn down to make room for a gas station, the spirit of the fireman made his way into the dormitory?

Photo from the WVU Tech Housing Website