Project Topic Research: OU Ghost Stories

  I decided to do more research on OU ghost stories for this assignment! I'm looking forward to discovering more about the supernatural side of the university :) While I was doing my research, I noticed that many of the stories were supernatural incidents that may be happening in the same building or part of campus.  Some occurrences, such as hearing voices from seemingly no one, seem like they would be hard to base stories around.  I think it would be cool addition to a story about ghosts, though I'd like something more exciting :) some of the other stories I have been finding are more exciting to me.  I think they could be used to draw inspiration for writing ghost stories of my own! The first story I really liked was about a music professor that haunts an auditorium.  It was from an article called Haunted Norman: ghost hunting on the OU campus. The article didn't  initially outright say the names of some of the buildings, but the author drop details such as "the auditorium where former Dean Holmberg keeps a close watch from his portrait."  An old lady would sometimes show her face in the auditorium balcony during recitals.  Additionally, there are rumors that organ music can be heard in Holmberg Hall at times during the wee hours of night.  Specifically on the 3rd floor of Holmberg Hall.  The shocking thing is, there are no organs in the entire building, let alone on the third floor.  I think it would be fun to write about a ghost that haunts the music building, or who only turns out for recitals and performances.  There are a lot of cool scenes that I have seen from horror films that take place in an auditorium.  The scene that specifically comes to mind for me is from Insidious 3!

The next story I liked is from a news article on the OU website.  It's called, Haunted Ellison Hall Paranormal Investigators Seek Roller Skating Boy.  Several different sources that I saw noted that Ellison Hall was particularly haunted, and might in fact be the most haunted building on campus.  The building itself is notable because, back in the old days, this building (at that time under a different named) served as the infirmary for campus.  There were patient rooms, student clinics, and even a floor for operations.  Legend has it that a boy that was roller skating was hit by a car on Elm Avenue.  He was taken into Ellison and died.  To this day, members of the Dean's staff can hear roller skates and other noises in the building.  Motion sensor lights turn on when no one is there.  People even brought in paranormal investigators to walk the different floors of the building and check for activity.  They found a lot of activity, including voices and what sounded like hospital beds rolling down the hallways. I think there is a lot of stuff to work off of with that building being an old infirmary!

The last story I'm writing about is from an article called Campus Ghosts of Norman.  Jeff Provine, is a supernatural researcher and author of Campus Ghosts of Norman, Haunted Norman.  Very familiar with OU's ghost history, when asked about the most terrifying story Jeff brought this one up.  Years ago, a young boy playing was playing in the dumbwaiter at Cate and was accidentally beheaded by it.  People report hearing noises in even nowadays.  In fact, while Jeff was down there for a video with Webb Comm a few years back, he and a woman he was with heard a voice say "I meant to catch it." This is a particularly sad and gruesome story.  It has been enlightening to learn more about the history of the school.  With such a big and old school, there is bound to be a deep and fascinating history!     

The Great Reading Room at the University of Oklahoma.

source: commons