Have you ever been sitting in a math class in Gilbreath and felt like someone was watching you? Have you ever gotten chills down your spine walking into the Campus Center Building? Has the inexplicable sound of marbles crashing to the floor ever woken you up in the middle of the night in Lucille-Clement Hall?
Don’t worry, you’re not crazy. You’re probably just experiencing some of the paranormal activity that makes ETSU one of the most haunted campuses in America.
On second thought…maybe worry a little.
ETSU’s spooky campus has gained national attention from publications like the Huffington Post for its myriad of ghostly residents. While it would take a book, or at least a very large pamphlet, to list all the instances of paranormal activity on campus, there are a handful of haunted locations that are worth paying special attention to.
First on the list is Lucille-Clement Hall. Almost every resident of this hall is familiar with the legend of Marble Boy, the supposed ghost of a young boy who fell down the elevator shaft after dropping his marbles. Over the years, students have reported hearing the sounds of marbles being spilled on the floor above them, but when they go to check no one is there.
Scottie Garber, a resident of Luntsford Hall, has had her own experiences with Marble Boy.
“I think he comes over to Luntsford from Lucy sometimes because at night I’ve definitely heard the sounds of marbles above me and it makes no sense where they would be coming from,” said Garber.
Marble Boy apparently has company in Sink Girl, also referred to as Lucy, who is supposedly responsible for the random and frequent shutting off of faucets throughout the building. Some say this ghostly pair is also accompanied by the ghosts of three passengers of a small airplane that crashed in the dormitory’s parking lot in 1985.
Gilbreath Hall also boasts its own share of haunted activity in the form of old Glibreath himself. Sidney Gilbreath, the university’s first president, is said to roam through the buildings at all hours of the day. But don’t worry—he means no harm. Most students that run into Gilbreath report that he simply closes windows, turns off lights in empty classroom and occasionally messes with the stage equipment in the Bud Frank Theatre.
Gilbreath isn’t the only faculty alum that can’t seem to stay away from ETSU. Christine Burleson, who taught Shakespearean Literature at ETSU in the 1970s, is said to haunt Burleson Hall. The hall features a portrait of Christine’s father David Sinclair Burleson, and students say that the portrait is inhabited by the ghost of Christine whose eyes will follow you no matter what angle you view the picture.
Another ghostly lady haunts ETSU in the Ada B. Earnest House, also known as the Honors House. Many students claim to have encountered Ada’s ghost in the attic of the old house. One such student is Shahrukh Shah.
“I never go up to the attic alone at night anymore because it’s too freaky and I can feel her presence,” said Shah.
Rounding out our list of spooky ETSU haunts is the Campus Center Building. Reports have circulated for years that Quillen School of Medicine used to use the basement of this building as a morgue. Alex Scott, a student at ETSU, has experienced firsthand some creepy “mumbo jumbo” of the campus center building.
“I had a professor my first semester whose office was in the basement and she told us on the first day of class that there used to be a morgue down there,” says Scott.
“I’ve been down there before and it gives me the creeps; I always feel like someone is watching me,” Scott said.
Whether or not you believe in ghosts it’s undeniable that ETSU boasts its fair sure of paranormal coincidences. So this Halloween make sure to keep your eyes open. Happy Haunting!
