MELISSA MARTINEZ
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

Growing up, you may remember the ghost stories that were told to you, passed on from generations that kept us afraid of the dark. Learning about goblins and monsters that seemed to hide anywhere where light fails to shine. As we got older, the stories got better. Suddenly, these “monsters” were potentially people whom once lived among us. Just an average Joe that kept to himself but secretly kidnapped teenagers and put their bodies in dungeons.

Now that we are technically “grown up,” it’s silly to still believe in ghost stories, right? But tell me, Cougars: have you ever been on campus alone and felt something eerie creep up your neck? Have you ever been in the library and suddenly a book falls with no explanation of how? What about the first floor? Have you ever made the long walk from the Math Lab to the Writing Center and heard other footsteps or saw someone swiftly walk by, yet no one was around?

When I asked students about their “haunted” experiences in Kellogg Library, the looks of skepticism told me that they were sure ghosts weren’t “real.” And quite frankly, they’re right. Ghosts aren’t real. They don’t have physical bodies, but does that mean they don’t exist?

Upon much investigation, I found that our very own Kellogg Library has a few regular guests that occupy the building once the doors are locked for the night.

The first account I received was from Dr. Geoffrey Gilmore, who has had his own experience on the first floor of the library. Though his haunting was a few years ago, in the summer of 2009, it still sent chills through me as he recounted his memory.

Around 11 p.m. on a Sunday evening, Dr. Gilmore was coming down the stairs and noticed there was a strip of water leading down the hallway. Dr. Gilmore knew that the library was empty, since it had been closed to students earlier. Instead of walking past the Writing Center to the back entrance to his office, he decided to go through the front door of the Math Lab. It was then when he saw a girl, no older than twelve-years-old, mopping the floor with a broom and an old-fashioned metal mop bucket. He was startled to see a girl so young, mopping the floor. He told me that most of the time, the custodial staff would clean and mop the first floor late at night, but this girl wasn’t wearing the usual uniform. Instead, she wore a flannel shirt and said nothing to him, even after he apologized for startling and interrupting her.

I also spoke with Maureen Dupont of the Math Lab, and she recounted some memories she’s had on the first floor. Footsteps, doors opening and closing, certainly it can’t all have logical reasonings, right? How far can wind blow through the basement of a building?

I also spoke with UPD, and they informed me of more urban legends. Supposedly, a young girl haunts the third floor library, mysteriously playing with toys. The fourth and fifth floor’s usual guest is a girl in a white dress with a “slit throat,” as some claim, knocking all the books down from the shelves.

Was the girl Dr. Gilmore met just a figment of his imagination? What about the footsteps Ms. Dupont hears when the rest of the building is empty? How can we possibly explain the sudden book drops on the fourth and fifth floor?

We may not be positive if ghosts exist, but there is one thing we can be sure about: there is more going on in Kellogg Library that we don’t know about. Whether we call it a ghost or a spirit looking for its unfinished business, it up to you to decide.

Just beware, the next time you’re typing the last of your paper on the fifth floor or working late on your math quiz in the Math Lab, just remember, you may not always be alone, even when it appears that way.

Photo by Morgan Hall