On Halloween, it’s common for students to reflect on the allegedly haunted parts of campus. However, for some students, this reflection is not limited to Halloween but rather is an ongoing part of their lives. On Oct. 25, a group of seniors living at the beach had their beach house blessed by Father Michael Doody, S.J. after members of the house had multiple encounters with a ghost.
The girls first noticed the presence the day they moved into the house on Fairfield Beach Rd.
“I saw a male figure walking through our hall the first day we moved in. Since then, we have seen or heard the male figure about five more times,” Paige Honeycomb ‘19 wrote in an email to The Mirror.
“One of which [her roommate] was awoken by men yelling in her ears and the feeling of being pushed down in her bed. And two of my other roommates were awoken by the feeling that someone was staring at them and opened their eyes to see a male figure watching them,” Honeycomb elaborated, “In addition, my roommate felt a man breathing on her neck while asleep in bed and woke up from that.”
Honeycomb and her roommates are not the first residents of this beach house to notice the man. The group contacted the previous house residents.
“When we brought it up to them they almost started crying telling us not to speak about the ghost in the house,” wrote Honeycomb.
The girls are unsure if the blessing by Fr. Doody actually helped with the spirit. ”He said a prayer and sprayed Holy Water around the house. He took us seriously which we really appreciate,” added Honeycomb.
Another pair that also considered getting their supposedly haunted residence blessed are roommates Julia Delhome ‘21 and Meghan Stevens ‘21. These first floor Loyola Hall residents noticed a spirit when they first moved into their room.
“It’s [The ghost] not scary, at first it was scary when we started to realize there was a presence in our room,” explained Delhome.
The ghost began by moving items that they had left out on their desks. For example, one girl would leave her room key out on her desk, and the next morning the key would be gone. However, each time the key was returned to where it was originally placed.
Stevens recounted being woken up in the middle of night by a banging sound at the end of her bed. At first, the roommates thought something must have fallen in the middle of the night, but on examination nothing had moved.
“It sounded like something, really big, crashed to the ground at the end of our bunk beds,” said Stevens.
“It’s nice when we’re both there,” Delhome said. The girls are afraid to sleep in the room alone, but are not afraid when the other is there.
They do not feel that the spirit is menacing, but rather describe it as non-threatening.
“I could call it playful almost,” said Delhome.
The girls told Loyola Resident Assistant, Patrick Setiadi ‘20, about their paranormal experiences. Setiadi remains unconvinced.
“Honestly I don’t know if Loyola is haunted but there might be some information online of some past occurrences, but I really can’t confirm,” Setiadi wrote in an email to The Mirror. “So far living here I’ve never had an encounter with anything out of the ordinary.”
The pair also told area coordinator Laura Bolivar about the ghost. Bolivar wrote in an email to The Mirror that she does not have any information about ghosts in Loyola.
Delhome also mentioned that she was familiar with the rumors of ghosts in John C. Dolan Hall. “My cousin lived there… and she said it was so bad. Her mirrors would crash in the middle of the night,” said Delhome. “She would call her mom on the phone in her room alone and her mom would hear screams.”
The stories of the haunting of Dolan Hall have persisted among the student body for years. The legend goes that a nun became pregnant and committed suicide in the building and now haunts the fourth floor.
Upon researching the subject, The Mirror could not identify any historical backing to this story.
Some students claim that the ghost who lives in Dolan is named Julie. This might be inspired by the “Julie” in Julie Hall. However, Julie Hall was named after the founder of the The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, St. Julie Billiart. The Sisters previously owned the complex before selling it to the University.
Other students believe there are multiple ghosts that live in Dolan Hall. One junior, who spoke to The Mirror on the condition of anonymity, recounted their experience using a ouija board in Dolan.
“To be completely honest, I went into the night planning on messing with everyone, controlling the planchette. When we connected with a ‘spirit,’ I had planned on naming him Charles, and had a whole backstory for him ready to go,” the individual explained, “However, when we asked the spirit what their name was, the first three letters the planchette spelled were “C-H-E.” That was when I realized I was not in control, since I don’t know any names that start like that off the top of my head.”
“The planchette ended up spelling out ‘Chester.’ He then told us that he was not an evil spirit, and that he died in Dolan decades ago. When asked how old he was, he said he had died at only 1 hour old. I was visibly frazzled because I had not planned any of this, and my friends could tell,” described the student.
However, the individual is still skeptical that Dolan is truly haunted, “With all that said, I do not fully believe that a spirit was talking to us, I’m pretty sure it was one of my friends the whole time — she made an abrupt exit that was really out of character and acts very suspicious whenever we bring it up. We haven’t used the board again.”
A Dolan resident Jennie Toutoulis ‘20 has also had encounters with Chester. “I’ve felt presences,” said Toutoulis.
She explained that Chester is “a good ghost,” and not frightening. She and her roommates frequently talk to Chester and have captured “orbs” on video which, according to ghost hunters, is a common sign of spirits.
While it’s still the Halloween season, year round we may be surrounded by roommates we’re not aware of. Regarding their “third roommate,” Stevens said, “That’s what we always joke about.” “Yeah we always say that,” added Delhome.
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