Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: Headlines

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Halloween is on the way, and with it arise rumors of haunted buildings and age-old ghost stories.

The campus is 150 years old-a perfect setting for rumors of spooks and ghouls. Unbeknownst to many, there are in fact several buildings that are supposedly haunted. Included are Todd Hall, Rice Auditorium and a fling on the fourth floor of freshmen dorm Heritage.

Built in 1912, Todd Hall was the first student dormitory at Western Oregon. It was named after Jessica Todd, the campus' first Dean of the Women and Supervisor of Dormitory Living, who was an extremely strict woman and refused to let any men in to the dorm except for Sunday brunch. No longer a dorm, the building is today best known as home to the psychology and modern language departments. There's no better place for the ghost of Jessica Todd to dwell, and it's claimed that her ghost still roams the hallways of the third floor of Todd Hall as well as the Cottage nearby.

Assistant Director and Supervisor of Campus Safety and Security Joe Hutchinson experienced one questionable incident in Todd Hall several summers ago.

"I came in to the building, and it was a Saturday night," said Hutchinson. "I came in the front door, and to the right is a parlor. I heard a female laughing and wondered if maybe the windows were open."

He checked around and started up the stairs when he heard the laughter a second time. The third time he heard the laughing, it came from right behind one of the doors he stood next to.

"The windows were shut, there was no one in the building, it was 2 a.m. and the campus was completely empty," recalled Hutchinson.

As if one haunted building isn't enough for a campus, Rice Auditorium is also supposedly home to its own ghost. According to one such story, a ghost appeared in the form of a person standing nearby, but at second glance had vanished.

"[The ghost] lives in the rafters and up in the catwalks," said David Compton, admissions counselor.

Fourth Henkle is the haunt of yet another ghost-Emma Henkle. It is rumored that she roams all of Henkle, but sticks primarily to the fourth floor.

"One night my roommate was gone and I was sitting in my room on the computer," said Sevi Freeman, Fourth Henkle resident. "I looked out of the corner of my eye and I seriously saw a hooded person sitting in an empty chair. [My R.A.] let me hang out in his room because I was scared to be by myself."

Other residents agree that though they've never seen a ghostly figure, strange happenings have spooked them.

"My roommate and I were sleeping and-I know it could've fallen on its own-but something loud fell in our closet [and woke us up]," said student Liz Mura. "Sometimes we hear people walking above us."

Considering the fact that Fourth Henkle has no floors above it, such sounds understandably cause residents to wonder about Emma.

In response to students' interest in the ghost stories, the school is hiring a ghost hunter to visit the campus and give a presentation on his practice. John Zaffis has been hunting ghosts for 32 years and works with demonology and exorcism as well.

"He presents true encounters he's had on other campuses and how to be a ghost hunter," said Patrick Moser, Assistant Director for Leadership and Operations.

Zaffis will have a 150-slide presentation and at the end, will select certain students to join him on a ghost hunt in Todd Hall and possibly in Rice Auditorium.

"I do weekend programs, and I have a trade magazine for presentations and entertainment," said Moser. "I saw an ad for a ghost hunter and thought it would be really cool."

Zaffis will be coming to the school on Feb. 3 and present his slide show in the Pacific Room at 7 p.m. All interested students are welcome to attend.

The rumors don't stop at the edge of campus, however. Just down the road in the town of Independence lies a restaurant and bar known as Lenora's Ghost. This tavern is home to the ghost of a woman named Lenora who worked for the restaurant's owners back in the early 1900s. Her parents had bought and lived on a hop farm, and when their daughter was only 15 or 16, both died of tuberculosis, leaving her with very little. To help pay off the debts of her parents, Lenora agreed to work for the owners of hotel/saloon Beaver Hotel. According to current manager Vidal Peña, while she was working, "she fell in love with a man and wanted to move away with him but couldn't because of her debts."

It was the beginning of World War I at the time, and her love shared his plans to join the army and make enough money to come back and pay off all her debts so they could move away together. He was killed the first week in battle, and upon hearing this she threw herself from an upper floor and fell to her death in the building.

"You can still see the original blood stain where she fell through," said Peña. Indeed, anyone interested in seeing the spot where Lenora died can visit the bar and see for themselves.

Not able to leave with the man she loved, apparently Lenora never left at all. Strange occurrences still take place in the now restaurant and bar, reminding visitors of her remaining presence.

"She's not a mean ghost; she's more mischievous," said Peña. "When she visits, she moves things. Chairs fall, and one time a cooler door flew open and scared the crap out of me."

Skeptics may claim those were just coincidences, but Peña feels otherwise.

"I totally believe. I've had ghost chasers come in and they took 750 infrared pictures," he said. "They were looking for blurs, and in two pictures they actually found orbs. We have definite scientific proof of paranormal activity."

Anyone at least 21 years old can visit Lenora's Ghost to try and find traces of Lenora.

 

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