The Red and Black

Bill Cate claims to have seen several ghosts.

The junior from Flowery Branch has pictures from Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah that he believes are of ghosts.

"A lot of people are interested in the paranormal but they don't want to admit it. I'm OK with it. I want to see ghosts," Cate said.

Cate is only one of many students interested in the legends of ghosts haunting several buildings on campus.

Joseph E. Brown Hall, home to the comparative literature department, is known for its legendary stairway to nowhere.

As the legend goes, the hall used to be a dormitory and during Christmas break one year a student hung himself and wasn't found for several weeks.

A wall was built over the doorway leading to the student's room, which can still be found today. Some people claim to have seen a face looking in the windows of the building at night.

Chris O'Neal, a junior from Scarborough, Britain, is fascinated by the tale and plans to write a short story about it.

"My friends and I went over there yesterday. The door that leads to that stairwell was slightly ajar," he said. "When I went to open it, it snapped shut."

The Demosthenian Literary Society has its own ghost story.

Robert Toombs, a former member of the society, was well known for his eloquent speaking.

According to the story, he was expelled from the University for gambling but stood outside the Chapel and spoke before he left. His speaking was said to be so eloquent that the people attending church left the chapel to hear him speak.

Members of the society have keys to the building and are allowed to stay the night. Some believe they have heard the ghost of Robert Toombs walking at night, but most Demosthenians don't seem to take the rumors too seriously.

"It's a really old building so you hear creaks," said Erin Kovel, a junior from Roswell.

"We have this Halloween tradition where we have new members guard the hall from evil spirits. They have to carry pointy things to protect us," she added.

The Fine Arts building is even rumored to have a poltergeist named James O'James.

In legend, poltergeists are the most mischievous ghosts. They are invisible spirits characterized by an ability to move objects, according to the online encyclopedia, www.wikipedia.org.

The myth of O'James seems to be dying out, said Billy Massey, an associate professor in the Theater department. But in his day, anything that went wrong with a production was blamed on O'James. From time to time the name of O'James would appear in the program.

Massey declined to comment on many of the rumors around the theater. He prefers not to speak about them because those ghost stories are tied to sad moments for some.

"One reason these superstitions exist is that there is intense human emotion in theater and in life," he said.

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