Image of an apparition captured at Ohio Wesleyan University - John CiochettySometimes considered one of the most haunted colleges in America, Ohio Wesleyan University certainly has a variety of spirits to choose from. Public Safety Officer, local historian and author John Ciochetty has been documenting paranormal events at the OWU and the surrounding area for almost a decade.
Ciochetty said Elliot Hall, Stuyvesant, Monnett Gardens, the Peace & Justice House, Edwards Gymnasium and University Hall all have ghosts. He said he first became involved with the ghosts on campus when he arrived in 2001.
"I got here and I noticed a lot of things were out of place," Ciochetty said. "I saw an apparition near Elliot Hall and went to the archives where I discovered similar reports."
Ciochetty said the ghost he witness lived when General William Henry Harrison had an outpost near Elliot. He said a fight between two soldiers supposedly resulted in the death of one, who was placed in a tanning vat by the murderer.
Ciochetty said the University Hall hauntings include a hand on the shoulder from a fatherly ghost and a woman chastising children in the hallways. Also present is the little boy who fell from the balcony and died. Ciochetty said this little boy now darts around the aisles of Gray Chapel.
Ciochetty said one of the more famous ghosts at OWU is that of Mrs. Perkins in P&J.
"Once my name was being mentioned, but no one was there," Ciochetty said. "It was very eerie."
He said Mrs. Perkins passed away in room 207, the quad, of P&J. According to Ciochetty, a moderator once called him because she felt a presence in the house when she was by herself. Ciochetty said he has a recording of the voice of Mrs. Perkins.
"I went to a house meeting once and played back the CD," Ciochetty said. "One of the students became visibly upset when he recognized the voice."
Senior Jack Schemenauer, the student in question, said his encounter with Mrs. Perkins happened during his first semester of residence at P&J. Schemenauer said several students were thinking of bringing a medium to contact Mrs. Perkins when he heard her voice late one night.
"I heard someone whisper, 'don't do it,' to me," he said. "So I freaked out and couldn't sleep for the rest of the night."
Schemenauer said he forgot about the incident until Ciochetty came to their house meeting and played the tape much later.
"I freaked the f*** out, teared up and said that was the voice, that was the voice," Schemenauer said.
"Her voice was so creepy. It was really soft and scary at the same time."
Senior Will Condit, another resident of P&J, also had an eerie experience in his house. Condit said he was returning from the library late one night and all of the lights were off when he entered the house and went upstairs.
"I could see the reflection of the computer's blue screensaver on the wall, but then it went blank for one second," Condit said. "It was as if the blue slid off the side of the monitor and was replaced by darkness."
Condit said he then looked down the stairwell and saw something strange.
"I could see some sort of shadowy something at the foot of the stairs," he said. "I watched the shape slide around the edge of the staircase before running to my room." - The OWU Transcript
John Ciochetty notes in 'The Ghosts of Stuyvesant Hall and Beyond':
"One building stands our predominantly as one of the symbols representing the prestige and excellence of an institution often referred to as "The Harvard of the Midwest." This structure can be located on a small hill overlooking West William Street in Delaware, Ohio. In 1931, it was built exclusively for women students. Woman such as Wendie Malick, an Emmy award winning actress of television, film and screen, once resided there.
Stuyvesant Hall"Stuyvesant Hall was the dream and aspiration of Frank Stuyvesant. His life was extraordinary. His father fought in the American Civil War under the command of Major General William Sherman. During the war, he was captured by Confederate forces and incarcerated. At that time, conditions at prisons were so horrendous that normal healthy men died in captivity or were on the verge of death by the time they were released after the war. Frank's father never regained his youthful vitality and strength by the time he was released. At the age of twelve, Frank was given the task of being the sole provider of his family and had to leave school. He began selling carriages and farm equipment. In the early years of the automobile industry, Frank exhibited superior skills in the area of sales and blew out the competition. His impeccable knowledge of human nature and his desire to meet the needs of the consumer brought him success in the business world as a distributor for the Hudson Motor Company. The accumulation of enormous wealth was the result of his honesty and the strict adherence to the American work ethic.
"Frank and his wife, Mary, met E.G. Guthery, a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, and his daughter, Katherine, and through this new relationship, the Stuyvesant's developed an interest in the university. They pondered what to do with their wealth and how it could benefit others. As Frank put it, "The older I grow, the less I find money means to me. I wanted this money to be helping somebody and I wanted that to happen while I could see the results." Frank never achieved true fulfillment. He wished that he had the chance to be able to continue his education. He admired those persons whose collegiate education created an opened door to rich and rewarding experiences in life. He made a decision to use his fortune to assist young men and women at the university.
"During the 1920s, freshmen women were residing in military barrack style buildings. There was a definite need for a residence hall strictly designed for women. In 1930, Frank and Mary donated $400,000 dollars to have a dormitory built of colonial brick in a Georgian style of architecture. The structure would house up to 200 women and built in the shape of the letter "E" with a bell tower containing a carillon of chimes which was located in the center. The bell tower set Stuyvesant Hall out from every other building on the university campus. It was the center of attention. The tower and its' fifteen bells were a memorial to Frank Stuyvesant who passed away before he was able to see his dream realized. The bells were produced by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland. They could be played from an electric keyboard located on the first floor in the lobby near the office of the headmistress or by hand and foot levers in the tower. The largest bell weighs 2,200 pounds and the smallest weighs 325 pounds. The bells would be rung at precisely 5:30 PM for dinner in the hall's cafeteria and at 9 PM signaling curfew for all women residents. The dormitory would be valued at nearly one million dollars. It was entirely fireproofed with the most up to date furnishings and equipment of its time. The hall was built with Simmons steel.
Ohio Wesleyan University was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution. This engraving is of Merrick Hall in 1873."In the 1980's, students have witnessed a faceless woman with long flowing hair and wearing a long white dress walk on the ground floor near the laundry room between the hours of 3:30 and 4:00 am. The same apparition was seen again sitting on top of a dresser. When the student asked her to leave, she turned toward him and he noticed that she had no face.
"On December 1, 2000, a young man went to the laundry room around 3:11 am to retrieve some of his clothes from the dryer. He noticed a woman bending over to pick up some of her clothing she dropped on the floor. When he offered to assist her, she turned around and vanished into thin air.
"The most talked about legend on campus revolves around the sealed room on the ground floor. In the 1950's, a young lady occupied a room on the west end of the ground floor beside the laundry room. She was an honor student and stayed to herself most of the time. She did not associate with the other students very much except during her classes and at meal time. During the second month of her third year at the university she began missing classes, which was completely out of her character. Her fellow floor residents wondered if she went home for the semester due to an illness or family matters. No one was seen coming or going from her room for a week. In fact, nothing was heard coming from her room until the residents were woken up by a series of blood curling screams. Everyone came out of their rooms. The headmistress and dormitory officials were dispatched to the scene. Some of the residents called their boyfriends just in case they were needed to break down the door. It was total chaos!! Once entry was made into the room, the young woman was found sitting on the floor next to her bed rocking back and forth mumbling profusely. Various papers, books and clothing were found strung everywhere in the room. After the woman was assisting to her bed by the headmistress, she screamed that "they were out to get her!!" After she was able to compose herself, she explained to everyone that she could not sleep for several nights due to manifestations of apparitions which invited her to join them on the other side. The young woman admitted contemplating suicide several times during the week. A makeshift noose made from linen sheets was found underneath the bed. She withdrew from the university due to medical reasons.
"Since that time onward, any student assigned to the room requested to move to other rooms within the hall or to other dormitories after staying there for two weeks. The main reason for their requests centered on bizarre and unexplained events. As time went on, rumors about ghosts circulated throughout campus. To put these rumors to rest once and for all, one of the university administrators volunteered to stay in the room for an entire evening. Residents observed the administrator enter the room. The room was silent for the entire night. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, the official came out of the room without saying a word. One of the student residents walking down the hall at that time met up with the official. She noticed that the administrator's face was white as a sheet. The official made his way to the headmistress' office for approximately ten minutes and left the building thereafter. A work order was written up for the maintenance department to permanently seal the room."
Ciochetty notes that "for many years, students have attempted to locate the room. It has been speculated that it was located next to the men's shower and bathroom next to the laundry room. Others have theorized that the entrance of the room was covered over by drywall which has made it difficult to find. Some believe that the room no longer exists and that part of it was renovated to make way for the shower and bathroom. It should be told, however, that students have felt the presence of something or someone watching them in the restroom in addition to witnessing black shadowy figures move along the walls.
"Since that time onward, any student assigned to the room requested to move to other rooms within the hall or to other dormitories after staying there for two weeks. The main reason for their requests centered on bizarre and unexplained events. As time went on, rumors about ghosts circulated throughout campus. To put these rumors to rest once and for all, one of the university administrators volunteered to stay in the room for an entire evening. Residents observed the administrator enter the room. The room was silent for the entire night. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, the official came out of the room without saying a word. One of the student residents walking down the hall at that time met up with the official. She noticed that the administrator's face was white as a sheet. The official made his way to the headmistress' office for approximately ten minutes and left the building thereafter. A work order was written up for the maintenance department to permanently seal the room."
OWU's Legends, Ghosts and History
