This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Kenyon chapter.
Kenyon College has been an institution for just under 200 years. It makes sense that in its long history it would pick up a few ghosts along the way. Here is a review of all of Kenyon’s haunting tales.
- Hill Theater: Theaters have long been hotspots for paranormal events. There have been many reports of ghostly happenings in the Hill Theater. The spirit of a driver who died in a car crash nearby the theater is said to take up postmortem residence in the building, unscrewing lightbulbs and pulling back curtains. One night during a lighting test, a shadowy hand blocked out one of the spotlights. The students working that night swear no one was near the ladders that access the lights.
- Stuart Lathrop Pierson: Legend has it that Stuart died tragically during a fraternity intiation ritual. The older members left him blindfolded out in the woods near the railway tracks. However, when they returned an hour later, they found Stuart’s lifeless body dragged twenty yards away with a note pinned to him that read “This will do for this time, but if we come again it will be worse.” Stuart’s spirit is said to dwell in his old dorm room on the fourth floor of Old Kenyon. On October 28th, the anniversary of his death, he can be seen staring through the bullseye window. One night the student who lived in Stuart’s old dorm room was woken up by the feeling of cold hands strangling him. When he got up, he found a small door near his closet ajar despite the fact it had previously been locked. Upon investigation, the student found a crawlspace filled with pledge books, fraternity pins, and signatures scrawled along the walls. One signature read “SLP 1905”.
- Old Kenyon Fire: On February 27, 1949, a fire erupted in the center of Old Kenyon. There were nine fatalities that night. The ghosts of these students are rumored to roam the corridors. Sightings of transparent legs hanging from the ceiling, lights going on and off, and toilets flushing on their own plague the building. Disembodied screaming like “Help me!” and “Fire, get out!” have been reported as well. Once a yearbook from 1949 was found open on the floor to the list of the victims of the fire.
- Caples Elevator: In 1979, a male student was involved in a fatal accident in Caples. The student was headed back to his girlfriend’s dorm after a party one night. The elevator got stuck, however, between floors 7 and 8. In his attempt to escape, the student fell down the elevator shaft. While he later passed away at the hospital, his ghost remained behind. Furniture has been moved without explanation and some students have even seen his transparent form leaning against doorframes. On one particular night during the summer, when Caples was vacated, security received three calls from rooms 511, 611, 711, and 811 in quick succession. Each time they picked up the phone they would hear a girl scream and then the line would go dead. When the rooms were checked, the lights were on and all the phones were unplugged. Security, after confirming that no one was in the dorm, retraced their steps back to the elevator. However, before they could enter, the elevator started moving down of its own accord.
With spooky season in full swing, it is the perfect to time to round up the haunting parts of Kenyon’s past. Remember to keep your eyes peeled because you never know what walks unseen along our hallways.
