Muskingum has Ghostly legends
Friday, October 31, 2003
KRISTEN LOSEY
Black & Magenta Staff Writer
If you’re looking for ghosts this Halloween, you might not need to look any further than your own backyard, residence hall, or classroom building. Most places have their ghost stories, and Muskingum College is no exception. According to the Ohio Exploration Society, www.ohioexploration.com, several ghosts are said to haunt Muskingum College and the surrounding communities. Patton Hall, the Stag House and a road off of Route 83 are popular places for ghost sightings.
Some residents of Patton Hall claim to be all too familiar with eerie occurrences. Legend has it that several ghosts haunt the building.
One of the most well known of these legends is the story of a resident assistant and member of the Delta Gamma Thetas who is said to have committed suicide on the third floor of Patton Hall. Stories abound this student and her purported ghost abound in the community.
“When the building was being renovated during the 1995-96 school year, you could see a rope swinging from the rafters on the third floor of the FAD/Delta area,” said Financial Aid Counselor and former Patton Hall resident Amber Gump.
Legend has it that from the top of the hill (near the French House), her silhouette can be seen in the third floor window on the building’s southeast corner. Residents also say they hear her high-heeled shoes clicking through the corridors.
“[She] usually turns up when you’re feeling lonely, since that’s how she died,” said FAD Club President Christina Ainsley.
Another apparition that is said to haunt Patton Hall is infamous for locking and unlocking doors of a corner room on the second floor.
“We never lock our door, but this day I did,” said sophomore Michelle Teetz. “When we came back into the room there was a mysterious blood-colored stain on our mini blinds.”
Teetz and her three roommates reside in the FAD Club’s second-floor quad. They claim to have tried numerous times and with several products to remove the stain, but have had no success.
“It’s something we’re getting used to…We turn the air to seventy degrees and come back to a room with its head on ninety,” added Teetz.
But Patton Hall is not the only place to find ghosts. Room Four of the Stag House is also said to be home to a specter.
“Some funny things have happened in that room. Bolted items have literally flown off the walls,” said senior Michael Thompson, the room’s current occupant. His Stag brothers urge him to “keep it down” so as not to anger the ghost.
This Stag Alumni is believed to be somewhat violent towards those with whom he is unhappy.
“I figure the worst he can do to me is kill me, and then we’re on the same level,” said Thompson.
Several Muskies have also enjoyed hunting the “horseman ghost” off of Route 83. He was, so the story goes, hit by a passing motorist while traveling down the country lane. The man is said to be mounted atop his horse just off the right side of the road, and in the glow of high-beam lights he can be spotted trotting along. Some students are confident that they have seen the ghost, while others think it was just the fog.
“I actually did go on the ghost hunt,” said Sophomore Sarah Schmidt. “[I] found out that when you point your car a certain way with your headlights on it shines the light onto two puddles which shows you the butt and head of the horse but not the middle which we were told was the “saddle.” Si it wasn’t really a ghost, but a lot of really bored college kids!”
Bored nor not, many believe these events to be real. So the next time you get locked out or the heat gets turned off just remember that, according to some, this place is haunted.
Haunted Sites in Muskingum Community
- Montgomery Hall – the wailing women
- Layton Theater – footsteps of a former theater student
- Stumpy’s Hollow (Norwich) – the man-faced dog
- Patton Hall – several ghosts lock doors and fuss with electrical equipment
- Stag House – Room #4, angry alumni
- Secrest Auditorium (Zanesville) – ghost of Mr. Secrest
- Convent of St. Thomas (Zanesville) – ghostly, praying nun
- Zanesville Y-Bridge – Dr. Fowler and his horse who missed the bridge on a foggy night
- Deep Cut (between Cambridge and Old Washington, Route 40) – murdered road worker’s ghost
Copyright © 2003, Black & Magenta
Thanks to Jake Simpleton for sending us the information about the article. Another thank you to Kristen Losey of Black & Magenta (Muskingum College’s newspaper) for referencing the OES in her article about the haunted sites of Muskingum County.