Rowan Ghost Stories

Everyone loves a ghost story. No matter how unbelievable they get, most people get a certain thrill from hearing tales that should be impossible. Here at Rowan University, a fair share of ghost stories circulate around campus, mostly centered on experiences in Bunce Hall. Overtime the number of ghost stories on campus has grown. Some people might feel a little frightened about sharing their classrooms with a number of spirits, so let’s all look at the stories together and determine whether the ghost and ghouls of the old buildings are really spirits to fear or innocent imagination.
More than a few tales tell of spirits that walk the halls of Bunce. Some stories tell of objects moving away from and towards people. According to Rob Kilmowski, a theatre major, a nailgun moved away from him as he tried to reach it and then moved back when he looked for it (para 11). Rob Kilmowski also says that he saw a face inside a bathroom near the Green Room, an area of Bunce Hall that is said to be occupied by a dark presence (para 15-19). It isn’t just one student who claims to witness supernatural activity. A theatre professor, Tom Fusco, claimed to hear floors creaking by themselves while working late at night in the building (para 33). He does mention that it could just be a maintenance guy. Obviously, there are plenty of others who haven’t witnessed any of these strange occurences, and plenty of people say that nothing lives in Bunce Hall. For example, Shaheed Sabir, a college junior, says that “it gets inside people’s heads and just makes them mental.” (para 25).
The Bunce Hall hauntings gained enough popularity to attract a paranormal investigation team, South Jersey Ghost Research (para 26). In 2007 after studying the building, the group found evidence the support the hypothesis that Bunce Hall is indeed haunted, including electronic voice phenomena (EVP) and images on an infrared motion sensor (para 29). According to Sharon Carroll, a spokesperson for the group, most of the evidence was found in the auditorium areas like the control booth and seating (para 28). According to the South Jersey Ghost Research group, there is a theory that suggests spirits of the dead return to places they enjoyed in life. This causes many hauntings to center around theatres and classrooms (para 31). Combined with Kilmowski’s statement,” the spirits are benevolent,” the SJGH is suggesting that, the spirits are harmless. They are merely pranksters that don’t have anywhere else to be.
Several of the stories surrounding Bunce Hall have even made it into a book. “Haunted New Jersey” is a collection of orally shared stories from across the Garden State (para 4). “Rowan Today” mentions two different phenomena captured in the local, history book. The first is the old owner of Hollybush mansion, Thomas Whitney. Supposedly, he walks around campus at night, disappointedly looking around at all the changes made to the campus over the years (para 1,3). The other focuses on an old, dramatic arts teacher named Elizabeth Tohill, namesake of Rowan’s Tohill Auditorium. Students often see her during their rehearsals and performances. One time, she was even see briefly in a musical during a song chorus (para 3). However, a later issue of “Rowan Today” says that it is assumed the spirit belongs to Elizabeth Tohill, but the spirit has never been identified (para 14).
Are all these stories true? Probably not. It’s hard to argue with seeing objects move of their own will, even harder when you see ghostly figures yourself. However, hearing a noise “go bump in the night” is hardly a sign of spirits reaching out of the grave, especially when the one who hears it admits it could very easily be something else. Professor Fusco went so far as to give suggestions to what could have made the noise. It could have been a ghost sure, but it also could have been a maintenance guy, a janitor, or a student. It could have easily been another teacher burning the midnight oil also.
Among all this evidence, can you deny that there is absolutely no sort of ghost activity going on at Rowan? Or course not. There have been numerous accounts of students and staff alike who witness unexplained events. Investigators have been in and out of the haunting sites and did not dismiss the accounts as imagination. Who knows, maybe if you visit the old Bunce Hall auditorium and keep an open mind during your stay, you may see something inexplicable yourself. It could even be one of the famous ghosts wandering among their living memories.















Works Cited
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“{rowantoday} - News and Happenings at Rowan University.” Rowan University. 30 Sep. 2005. Web.
16 Feb. 2011.