Now that it is officially “spooky season,” why not kick off Hallo-week with some super scary stories told by some of our fellow peers? I have asked several students on campus this week to share their own crazy ghost stories or supernatural experiences. Let’s see what our friends and classmates had to share!
The first story, recalled by yours truly, goes like this: “I did my undergrad at the College of Saint Rose, which I knew was rumored to be haunted. I had heard many stories, but had no idea what I was in for when my best friend, Rose, and I moved into our freshman building, Brubacher Hall, the oldest building on campus. During the first week of living there, we had experienced a few odd things: lights turning on or off by themselves, random tapping or whispery noises and don’t even get me started on the rapid sound of footsteps running towards our room at the end of the hall at night when no one was there! But the scariest instance of all happened in Rose’s closet. We had stayed up late watching TV one night, and started falling asleep around 3 a.m. when we heard a very faint creaking sound coming from the opposite end of the room. I tried to focus my eyes in the dark to determine where the sound was coming from. After about five minutes of still hearing this creepy sound, I asked Rose if she had heard it too — she had. We waited in silence, debating what to do. My eyes suddenly adjusted to the darkness and across the room I saw Rose’s closet door opening itself; it was already about half a foot opened. Now, keep in mind, this was the oldest building on campus. So old, in fact, that there wasn’t even an elevator present in this four story building! You can imagine how hard it was to pry open our thick, wooden closet doors ourselves every morning, which is why we were scared out of our minds to see the door open itself! To this day, it still gives us the chills. What do you think, Hawks? Was it a ghost?”
— Maia Kirk, English & adolescent education graduate student of 2023.
Another very creepy story told by a classmate, passed down from his father, follows the tale of a Ouija board experience. He stated, “When my dad was a kid, he and my aunt had stayed at my grandmother’s house. I can’t remember if it was for a sleepover, or what. While they were staying at my grandmother’s house, they had a Ouija board. They decided to play around with it to see if it would really work or not. I can’t recall who exactly, but someone had actually passed away in that house prior. My dad and aunt began to ask questions, such as ‘What is your name? Where are you?’ and other basic questions you would ask a spirit — the usual boilerplate stuff. Then, they decided to ask the spirit to show them a sign if someone was truly present. Now, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know this was not a good call. However, they were kids, so I understand it. At first, nothing had happened; they thought it didn’t work. Suddenly, they heard a random door in the basement slam shut forcefully. There were no footsteps or knocking, just a door slam shut aggressively, as if it were angry. When that happened, they quickly ended and put the game away, threw it out, and ran to bed.”
— Ashton Fariello, social studies & adolescent education graduate student of 2023.
Another student here shares the tale of his old haunted home in Long Island. He shares, “Trigger Warning for violence and suicide. When we purchased our nice Long Island home, the owner had to legally disclose that not one, but two people, had lost their lives in our home; one brother committed suicide via shotgun in what used to be my old bedroom, while the younger brother had overdosed on drugs. That being said, my room was always the coldest in the house. There were a few peculiar incidents, including lights flashing in curious patterns or ‘orbs’ showing up in pictures. On one haunting instance, a chandelier fell on my family during a pizza dinner; it just crash landed right on the table. Miraculously, none of us were harmed by the shattered glass, despite being inches away from it. The glass was everywhere except for ourselves. That same kitchen is the only place where we had an actual paranormal ‘sighting.’ Both my cousin and I reported seeing a mysterious figure that had vanished upon second glance. When it happened to me, I saw a man in a full-black suit and a top-hat standing in the corner. When I looked again, he was gone. Because we have never been harmed, we refer to him as ‘the friendly ghost’ — my mom claims he protects us. At this time, we do not know if he likes the nickname or not. Aside from this story, my dad passed away when I was 18. My elder sister sought guidance in psychics that claimed to communicate with the dead. I, myself, am a massive skeptic. There was one psychic that my sister spoke to who was eerily able to point out things my skepticism couldn’t ignore. The thing that still shocks me is that the psychic claimed my dad knew that I carried his wallet, which I do to this day, and that I even have his old driver’s license in it — which is all true. She said to look through it a little more; after my sister told me this, I went through it and found a small picture of my sister that I had never seen before. Sometimes I feel him with me; I was even once convinced he possessed a stray cat to cheer me up one day. Not sure if that exposes me, or just shows that even a skeptic will believe in things when it suits their needs.”
— Michael Clark, fourth-year English major with specialization in creative writing.