2008 Woodie Awards
Campus ghost rumors supported by psychic
Paige Gabriel
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
By Paige Gabriel
Staff Reporter
Stories of haunted campus buildings and restless ghosts are often told by students this time of year, but do they have any basis in fact?
In 1986, Chuck Cantrell, assistant vice chancellor of university relations, met with a psychic to find out more about some of the ghost stories he had heard.
"[The psychic] told me this tale of a man named John whose face he could not see," Cantrell said. "John had something wrapped around his neck and he was in a room in Brock Hall that was filled with chemicals. He was dead and had committed suicide."
At first, Cantrell dismissed the story because Brock Hall doesn't have any rooms filled with chemicals.
After more research, Cantrell discovered that chemistry classes used to be taught in Brock Hall and he found records of a groundskeeper named John who lived and worked on campus in the early 1900s.
Unable to cope with the loss of his family to a fire, John committed suicide in a chemistry lab in Brock Hall.
He tied a burlap bag on his face to hide his identity and wrapped a cord around his neck to asphyxiate himself.
Cantrell also asked the psychic about hauntings in the old math building.
Until it was torn down in the 1990s, the math building was located outside Brock Hall, where the student park is now.
The psychic said he saw many dead bodies and asked if this was a graveyard.
"I said no, but I did know a little bit of the history behind this building," said Cantrell. "When it was first built, it was a medical school and the legend is that the caretakers, graveyard owners and doctors in hospitals would bring dead bodies at night, under the cover of darkness. They would come in this back door and leave the bodies in the basement.
"The medical students would come down and practice dissecting these bodies as a part of their training. They stored the cadavers in the basement of the old math building," he continued.
Lacy E. Bobo, a Morristown, Tenn., sophomore, is skeptical about ghosts haunting buildings on campus.
"If there is any way that the psychic had time to research the area, he could have just gathered the information," Bobo said. "I find it difficult to believe that he just pulled all of that out of thin air. It's possible, but unlikely."
Lashunda S. Hill, a Chattanooga sophomore, has heard the story about ghosts in the old math building.
"I think that it contributes some character to the campus to have the stories about ghosts and other spooky things," Hill said.
"I've never seen a ghost so I can't really say whether they're real or not, but they are interesting to think about," said Hill.
Staff Reporter
Stories of haunted campus buildings and restless ghosts are often told by students this time of year, but do they have any basis in fact?
In 1986, Chuck Cantrell, assistant vice chancellor of university relations, met with a psychic to find out more about some of the ghost stories he had heard.
"[The psychic] told me this tale of a man named John whose face he could not see," Cantrell said. "John had something wrapped around his neck and he was in a room in Brock Hall that was filled with chemicals. He was dead and had committed suicide."
At first, Cantrell dismissed the story because Brock Hall doesn't have any rooms filled with chemicals.
After more research, Cantrell discovered that chemistry classes used to be taught in Brock Hall and he found records of a groundskeeper named John who lived and worked on campus in the early 1900s.
Unable to cope with the loss of his family to a fire, John committed suicide in a chemistry lab in Brock Hall.
He tied a burlap bag on his face to hide his identity and wrapped a cord around his neck to asphyxiate himself.
Cantrell also asked the psychic about hauntings in the old math building.
Until it was torn down in the 1990s, the math building was located outside Brock Hall, where the student park is now.
The psychic said he saw many dead bodies and asked if this was a graveyard.
"I said no, but I did know a little bit of the history behind this building," said Cantrell. "When it was first built, it was a medical school and the legend is that the caretakers, graveyard owners and doctors in hospitals would bring dead bodies at night, under the cover of darkness. They would come in this back door and leave the bodies in the basement.
"The medical students would come down and practice dissecting these bodies as a part of their training. They stored the cadavers in the basement of the old math building," he continued.
Lacy E. Bobo, a Morristown, Tenn., sophomore, is skeptical about ghosts haunting buildings on campus.
"If there is any way that the psychic had time to research the area, he could have just gathered the information," Bobo said. "I find it difficult to believe that he just pulled all of that out of thin air. It's possible, but unlikely."
Lashunda S. Hill, a Chattanooga sophomore, has heard the story about ghosts in the old math building.
"I think that it contributes some character to the campus to have the stories about ghosts and other spooky things," Hill said.
"I've never seen a ghost so I can't really say whether they're real or not, but they are interesting to think about," said Hill.
