Leaving from the ACC at 9:30 p.m. a group of about ten Loras students were in for a haunted history lesson.  In the spirit of Halloween, Loras offers a haunted tour of Loras almost yearly.  All of the students that chose to participate in the tour were first timers.  They were led on this haunted history tour by a Safety Officer and myself.  I am a former Safety Officer, now student and love the haunted history of our school.

Smyth Hall, where the story of Derek originated, was the first stop of the night. The exact history of Derek is not known, but he is a mischevious spirit.  Not only does he like to pull down door decorations and hide them; he also likes to burn out light bulbs and turn on the showers when the hall is empty.  Many members of the housekeeping and maitenence staff will tell you all about Derek. All you have to do is say, “Derek, that’s enough now knock it off,” and he will leave you alone. At least for a little while.

The cold night air welcomed the travelers as they made their way from Smyth to Christ the King.  This is where we heard about Harry and Flora Whalert.  The story was told: ” It is said that sometimes in the night, piano music can be heard coming from Christ the King Chapel. When it was investigated there was an older woman sitting at the piano playing it for a man sitting in a wheel chair, and young boy sitting in a pew.  The people that are seen are Mrs. Whalert playing for her husband and son.”

During the tour, a former resident of one of the campus houses shared her story with us as well.  In her time in this residence there were unexplained knocks, bangs, sounds and happenings.  “It was odd, at right around 2 am we heard what sounded like a television in my room,” she said. “But I didn’t have a television.” She went on to say, “My roommate and I huddled under the blankets for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do.” Her story continued:  “Another time we could hear what sounded like people walking back and forth between the rooms; we ran out of the house and got in the car and drove around for a few hours before we could go back, we were to scared.”  After the tour was over, I asked her about the rumors that the pictures cried in the house: ”It was strange” she stated, “It was like nothing could have made the photos look that way, but when you touched them the surface was smooth. It looked like they had been wet, like they were crying.”

The adventure moved onto St. Joseph’s Theater, where we told them about the ghost light; the tales of ghost light turning on and off on their own; and the elevator making calls to the information desk at 3 a.m. periodically. There were thumping noises that were heard by some of the tour goers, and a definate chill fell over them as well. Pops and creaks, feelings of being watched.  We pressed on though, and the mood became a bit more ominous as we headed to the final resting place of the tour,  St. Joe’s Chapel.

Entering the chapel, we told the students about the priest who failed to fulfill his promise of saying masses for those that had passed, because he too died unexpectedly.  The story goes that the chapel lights up in the months of October and November and if  people see it and approach the chapel, they would see the priest with his back to the congregation, saying the masses that he had promised the members of his congregation.  The chapel is lit with an eerie white, almost angelic light, and then he disappears.  Also, the chapel underwent an investigation that occoured after several other smaller incidents: there were knocks and bangs on the closet doors and a mysterious whistle.

The haunted history of Loras is something that is passed down over the years.  As each year goes by, more and more tales of Loras hauntings begin to come out.  Perhaps it is time for Loras to create a Paranormal Activites Club…

There was a slight bite in the autumn air that night.  It was a perfect night for a paranormal investigation. I readied the batteries for all three digital cameras, two digital recorders, and one flip camera. A quick burst of static electricity shot through my flesh, sending tingles everywhere.  The night felt as though it would start off well.  My teammate (who will remain nameless at his/her request) and I set off into the night.

The first building on the radar was Hoffmann Hall.  A solitary, ghost light shown between the thin crack in the door. I made my way down the endlessly dark and menacing hall. The ghost light was like a beacon, and I was drawn like a moth to a flame.  It is said that every good theater has a ghost.  St. Joe’s Auditorium is no exception to this rule.  I have to be honest, I don’t know the history of the ghost light, but I am glad that it is there. The unexplained creaks, pops, and snaps are easier to hear with some light rather than in complete darkness.

Did we find anything? When I started this investigative process I was not sure anything could be found.  Many people are familiar with the many number of shows engaging in similar activity: Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, or Paranormal State. My investigation happened much the same way, except without all the cool, expensive gadgets-I am a college student after all.  However, my cheap recorders seemed like enough to do the trick.

I asked my questions to the ghosts: What is your name? Why are you here? Sometimes just sitting in the quiet was all that we would do, to see if we could simply hear the spirits moving around.

The creaking of the stage, the quiet of the auditorium, snapping random photos here and there. Although the old auditorium is filled with dust, I managed to capture some interesting orbs. The most interesting thing was the marked change in the temperature that happened when we started to ask those questions. There was a significant chill in the air around me and my other investigator.

We continued on down into the caves where the actors change for their performances and proceeded to ask questions.  We spent around 45 minutes in the caves before coming back up and gathering our equipment. Upon review of the recorders from the caves, the question was asked “Are you afraid of the living?”  Immediately you hear the short response of “Yes.”

The next location was St. Joseph’s Chapel. I have heard several stories about the haunted lore that surrounds this particular building. The loud creaking door opened heavily as I passed through. I stated for the voice recorder where I was entering and then stated, “It’s been a long time, my friend.” Upon review of my recorder you hear singing and clapping. The rest of the night was filled with chills, tingles, sensations of being watched, heaviness in the air and unexplained creaks, pops and bangs.

I wasn’t satisfied, so I went in to the chapel another night with fellow Lorian Staff member, Nick Joos.  Both Nick and I made our way into the chapel and began to ask some thought provoking questions in an attempt to get the spirit that haunts the chapel to respond to us. Nick and I could feel the chill in the air. We got the sensation of pins and needles on our arms, but we wanted more. Questions got a bit more personal, a touch less friendly in nature. At this time I had thought one of my digital recorders had gone missing.

Could this be the work of the spirit when we weren’t looking? I started to walk to the back of the chapel, looking for my recorder. As I passed by the main doors of the chapel, Nick called out to the spirit “What did you do with it big guy?” and within moments, five feet from where I stood, the closet door on the north side of the chapel began to bang. I quickly found myself behind Nick, who was at the altar. I figured if something wanted to get me from behind that door it would have to go through him first. Nick promptly thanked the spirit for letting us know it was there.

Nick and I investigated where the sound came from; it was a closet door, closed when we first came in, and now ajar about 3 inches. Going over and closing the door tightly and then trying to rattle the door in the same way that happened earlier, we found that it could not have opened on its own, nor could it have rattled in that way while closed. The lock was too tight. Making sure the door was secured tightly, we continued on with our investigation.

Fifteen minutes later, the door began banging again. Flashlights in hand, we turned to the door only to find that there was nothing there and that the door was not open. Again, Nick thanked the spirit for the notification of its presence.  It was approaching 2 a.m. now, and it was time to wrap up our investigation of Haunted Loras.

At present time we are still reviewing all of the audio evidence. However, hearing what has been found so far is promising.  I can, without question, say that St. Joseph’s Chapel  and St. Joseph’s  Theatre are haunted.

So next time something goes bump in the night, grab your phone or digital recorder, set it to record, and say “hi.” You never know what you might get in response.