Assistant social sciences professor Joyce Thierer tells ghost stories to students during the campus ghost tour last night. Giri Nam/The Bulletin.

Excited chatter, flashlights, supernatural tales and cocoa were just a few highlights of the Ghost Tours, organized by the Society of Historians at Emporia State. The tour began last night in front of Plum Hall.

“I was so excited about the ghost tour this year,” said Kyra Strobel, senior communication major. “It’s an event that I actually brought to the homecoming committee and suggested we put it together because they used to do it years ago here at ESU and this year when I found out that homecoming was on Halloween, I thought, ‘what a perfect opportunity to bring that back.’”

Blood dripping from her paled skin, Liz Coffey, junior earth science major and member of the Society of Public Historians, jumped out from behind a wall to scare people at their post as the Towers Complex Ghost. Coffey helped plan the event and investigated the background of the stories.

“We did a lot of research into victim reports and that sort of thing,” Coffey said. “We’ve got our story straight and we have a bunch of little stories for the tour guides to tell.”

Some of those stories included tales about ghosts in different residence halls, the boy who lived in the tunnels and the Wooster Lake monster.

For Strobel, the interest was sparked by the unique history of Emporia and ESU.

“I still don’t really know if I believe in ghosts or not,” Strobel said. “But I found out that Emporia is actually one of the most haunted towns in the nation.”

She began to research ghost stories when she learned that the dorm she lived in was supposedly haunted.

“When I first moved to Emporia, I started hearing a lot of ghost stories here on campus,” Strobel said. “In fact, I lived in northeast Morse 415, which is supposedly one of the haunted rooms. Some people on my floor said that they could hear (the ghost dribbling a basketball), but I could never hear it.”

Audrey Hanning, junior elementary education major, who attended the tour, was unfamiliar with the haunted history of the campus.

“I hadn’t heard any of the stories of what’s happened here,” Hanning said. “But I think I believe the one about Albert Taylor Hall, other than that I’d have to think about it.”

While more enthralled by the actual history than the supernatural, Strobel is excited for the tours.

“I don’t think it’s really the ghosts that fascinate me,” Strobel said. “I think it’s just fun to hear the stories about this campus and it’s fun to hear what other people think about ghosts.”

Alice Christian, elementary education major, attended the tour for a similar reason.

“I’m pretty skeptical,” Christian said. “It takes a lot to get me to believe things. If I had an experience, I’d probably believe it. I liked learning the stories though, and was really excited to come. I had been looking forward to it all week.”

Strobel said that whether or not someone believes in ghosts, it is always fun to attribute peculiar occurrences to their stories.

“Every time a door slams or something, we always blame it on Martha,” Strobel said. “It’s not something I’m spooked about. It’s just something to joke about.”

Sarah Shaw/The Bulletin

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