I once spent an entire month arguing with my peers daily at lunch over water not being wet. I’ve done a presentation in front of a science class on why I believe the Earth is flat.

I know water is wet and I know the Earth is round, but there’s just something about arguing against all logic that fuels my provocateur heart. Maybe it’s the middle child in me, but I love combating someone’s carefully constructed argument with a simple “nuh uh.”

This is why ghost stories overall can be pretty funny. No matter how many scientists you involve, no matter how many flashlights you shine in the closet, everyone has that one story that is just unexplainable. Nothing embodies this spirit (pun intended) more than the notorious ghosts of Chatham University. I won’t bore you with retellings of tales you’ve heard millions of times. We’ve all heard about the “Blue Lady” and “Billy in Fickes.” If you haven’t, here’s a story that outlines the basics.

I wanted to revisit this (almost) exhausted conversation from an alumni perspective. At least, that’s what this story originally was. However, as I combed through more and more interesting stories courtesy of interviews with alumni, old Facebook posts and YouTube videos I came to a striking realization – these ghosts are funny as hell! And logically, it only makes sense. Being confined to over a century of observing chaotic, cynical and easily rage-baited students, what’s a ghost to do besides instigate? 

2008 graduate Tishanna Lewison talked about her first year in Fickes, living in a first floor single. She recalled being in her room with friends when the hangers in her closet started to agressively swing back and forth. No breeze. No fan on. Door closed. She also talked about multiple strange encounters leaving Laughlin Hall at night.

“Many times, especially at night, you could hear low moaning in the hall. Like 1-2 a.m.,” Lewison said.

So they did what any freshmen would do: they contacted local ghost hunters.

Lewison discussed how the areas that lit up most for the hunters in terms of paranormal activity were Laughlin, Fickes, the pool (which is now Mellon Board Room) and the Carriage House – which was lovely to hear on the phone as I sat in my Laughlin bed.

2024 graduate Melissa Redding described a haunting experience during her first year in Woodland Hall. 

“It was the corner room by the private bathroom. It’s a very small room and no one lived near me or across the hall,” she said. “I was laying in bed facing the door and all of a sudden, I saw like a shadow of two feet standing at my door. I was freaked out and immediately got up and opened my door and nobody was there. I heard no doors closing or anyone running down the hallway. I don’t imagine things and I’ve never seen anything else like that, so I believe it might’ve been the Woodland ghost.” 

And this is, dare I say, kind of funny. Hear me out – most Chatham students, faculty, staff and alumni have their own version of a spooky tale that only happened once. But we never hear any stories of students being taken by ghosts or haunted to the point of needing to move out, right? They appear, give you a little spook and go on about their day.

If you’re still not convinced of Chatham’s poltergeist population, I hope you’ll still entertain my account. 

I’ve heard creaks and moans at night, but I’ve always been able to chalk that up to the old buildings or college students college student-ing. I’m definitely a big scaredy-cat – I don’t fight or flight, I faint. I’ve had many chances for the ghosts to really send me running over the last four years, from my graveyard shifts in the Broadcast Studio (right next to the Mellon Board Room), my last three years living in Laughlin or my many late-night rounds as an RA on call. However, I have nothing.

But at the beginning of this year, as I was giving all the new Laughlin-residents the good ol’ RA “welcome to college” presentation, I told my residents some of the popular Chatham ghost stories. This is the older sister in me, I’m sure, but from their frightened reactions I was encouraged to drag it out just a smidge more. I pointed to the lamp directly to my right that has never so much as flickered in my last three years of late Laughlin living room nights. Then I lied. I told them that it was haunted, and the spirit would sometimes use it to communicate with us.

Next, the light began to flicker, alarming the entire room (me included,I must admit).

Reflecting on this though, the Laughlin ghost is so funny for that. A little hazing from Laughlin’s oldest resident is such a memorable way to start the year. No one got hurt and everyone walked out with a new memory. I say the ghosts are just trying to give us a special college experience.