I have always believed in ghosts. When I was a little girl, my sister would attempt to scare me with stories about an old man who built our house and continued to haunt our hallway. I spent summers in St. Augustine– a city known for ghost tales and haunted history– reading books, exploring old buildings and having a strong sense the city was filled with people who were not physically there. Naturally, when the idea of going ghost hunting in Plant Hall came up, I was sold– and simultaneously terrified.
Ghosts are interesting. They also scare the crap out of me.
I am not sure exactly what happened during our ghost hunt. I am not sure if it was real, or if it was some evil April Fools’ joke my fellow staffers played on me. I know it might sound crazy, and I know many won’t believe this story, but the hour I spent in Plant Hall was the most terrifying, surreal experience of my life. It was real. I watched it happen. At least, I think I did.
I met Associate Editor Jessica Keesee and Editor-in-Chief Joshua Napier outside Vaughn around 2:45 a.m. We talked about how we were feeling and what we were expecting. We got to Plant Hall and waited for Minaret advisor Dan Reimold to join us. Once he arrived, we videotaped ourselves talking about our beliefs and experiences with the “other side.” It wasn’t until that point that I realized I was the only person in the group who believed in ghosts. We set up a camera on a tripod, and a Ouija board on the floor. Another aspect that made me nervous: I’m Catholic, and Ouija boards are pretty much a no-no. However, I figured if I could watch “Harry Potter” and eat shrimp I would be okay.
Josh, Jess and I sat on the fourth floor of Plant Hall with our knees touching. We all placed our hands on the planchette and I served as the medium, asking a series of yes-or-no questions. I almost didn’t want anything to happen. I wanted the whole thing to be a bust. I wanted to pack up and run back to my bed. But even though we did not receive any concrete responses, we decided to check out Fletcher Lounge. Supposedly, a woman who was an employee of the Tampa Bay Hotel committed suicide in the top room of the lounge. We walked in and explored a bit. Something felt eerie the moment I walked in the door. It was cold. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Once again we set up the Ouija board, and sat on the floor around it while Dan filmed. This time Josh was the medium. He asked the same series of questions as before, and the results were the same. After a few minutes, the memory card on the camera filled up and Josh invited Dan to join the circle.
“Now that the camera is off,” Josh said, “does anyone want to talk to us?”
Slowly but with purpose, the planchette moved from the middle of the board to the “5” on the number line.
I looked each person in the eye and asked, “Did you do that?” Everyone assured me that they didn’t move it.
We talked briefly about what “5” could mean. We all agreed the most reasonable meaning was that there were five people in the room– the four of us, and someone else.
Josh asked to confirm if that’s what was intended. Once again the planchette moved, this time up to the letters on the board. First to the “H”, then to the “I.”
Hi. Holy sh*t, it is saying hi.
I wanted to stop. I didn’t want anything else to happen. I moved my face closer to the board and willed myself to think about anything else. This wasn’t actually happening. It couldn’t be. Could it?
Josh kept asking questions, but the planchette didn’t move. Then Josh asked specifically, “Is there anything you want to tell us?”
The planchette moved down the row of letters from “HI” to “CD.”
“Are those your initials?” Josh asked.
I looked at Jess, and tried to remind myself to breathe.
“No,” I said. “But they are mine.”
“Are you trying to talk to Chelsea?”
The planchette immediately started to move, slowly at first, but then faster, to the top of the board. It stopped over the “U” in the word “ouija” printed on the board.
“Your initials?” Josh asked.
It didn’t move.
“Chelsea’s initials?”
It moved back to “CD.”
I thought I was going to throw up.
“OK,” Josh said. “What do you want to say to Chelsea?”
Without hesitation the planchette began to move, so agonizingly slow that it seemed like hours had passed.
S . . . T . . . O . . . P
Stop? Okay. Sounds great, see ya, bye.
But I didn’t move. I couldn’t.
Josh looked at me, not at the board, as he spoke. “You want Chelsea to stop?”
It slid to “yes.”
I looked at Josh and nodded. I slid back from the circle and tried to get my heartrate back to normal.
Josh asked if whoever was speaking to us wanted to continue. The planchette slid to the space in between the “N” and the “O.” Josh asked if they were spelling something or if they meant to say “No.” Immediately, the planchette slid so that both the “N” and the “O” were showing.
“Do you want us to leave?” Josh asked.
The planchette moved for the last time to the bottom of the board to the word “Goodbye.”
“I think I’m going to throw up,” I said.
We packed up the board and our equipment and left Fletcher Lounge. Once we were outside Plant Hall, I asked everyone again if they had moved the planchette at all. Everyone shook their heads. I sat on the front steps and put my head between my knees. I could tell I was far more freaked out than anyone else. After a few more pictures, we called it a night. I got back to my dorm and turned on every light. I jumped at even the slightest noise. I didn’t sleep. Actually, I couldn’t. I waited for the sun to rise and killed time with the first season of Spongebob Squarepants on Netflix.
The next morning I immersed myself in research. My Google history was filled with phrases and questions I hoped would lead me to some sort of answer about what I saw the night before.
Ouija board working
Ouija board spirit asking one person to leave
Ouija board user dying
OK, so I went a little overboard with that last one.
Every person I talked to that day about what happened looked at me like I was crazy.
I still haven’t come to a final conclusion if what happened was actually a spirit talking to us. My theory is that if someone was talking to us, they didn’t like that we were there and wanted us to leave. I think they knew I was the only person who would believe they were actually there, and that’s why they talked to me. If that is what you could even call it.
I don’t plan on ever using a Ouija board again. I’m not even sure when I’ll be able to walk into Fletcher Lounge alone again. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, I can tell you this with certainty: Plant Hall is not just a building with offices and classrooms. It is a building that has an energy unlike any others on campus. An energy that makes me believe that we are not alone.