PSU Hauntings
The Runkle HallPoltergeist:
This is a second hand story. Last fall, the Resident Assistant onthird floor Runkle Hall was complaining that loud banging waskeeping her up at night. This didn't seem unusual, as thebuildings are heated by steam. The only inconsistancy was thatthe only pipes that banged in the building were the pipes in herroom. Eventually, she got housing to go up to her room and lookat her register. They tore the register apart, but found nothing.A short time later, she complained that the banging had becomelouder. Housing again looked into it, but found nothing. Then onenight, she was startled by a loud bang. When she awoke, her desklamp was blinking on and off. She sat up and looked around andnoticed that her mattress and pillow were, as she described it,breathing. I am not sure exactly what this means, but I guessthey were rising and falling, as if being inflated anddisinflated with air. Then she started hearing a voice. The voicewas obviously speaking to her. I do not know what it said (forsome reason I think I remember her saying that she could notunderstand it). She left the room in fear and went to a friend'sroom down the hall. The friend went back to the room and walkedin, but found nothing out of sorts. The friend then convinced herto go back to the room, only when they got there, the door, whichwas previously unlocked, was now locked and there was banging.
I am not sure what happened next, but I do know that the nextday, housing went back to the room to look into the register andthe electric outlet and light (it was standard Penn State issue)and once again found nothing wrong.
My friend (who is also an RA in Runkle) was told of what happenedand gave her some folklore advice about getting rid of a ghost.The RA tried it and it seemed to work, as there were no moreproblems. However, the RA was so overwhelmed by the experiencethat she asked to be and was transferred to another RA position.The current RA in the room has reported no problems.
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Old Coaly's Ghost:
This is the only time I have heard of an animal ghost.
Back when the University was new, a man and his family from theSouth moved into the area. The man had a mule called Coaly. Coalyworked with the University for years and years, outliving most ofthe original mule team that helped build the buildings on campus.Because of this, Coaly became a student icon. When Coaly died, itwas decided to preserve the remains as a sort of memorial. Thebones of Coaly were cleaned and displayed in Old Main Building,the center of Penn State at the time. In the early 1900's, OldMain was gutted by fire. The area Old Coaly was displayed in wasone of the only areas spared. However, the University did nothave the money to repair Old Main, so the remains were moved tothe basement of Watts Hall, a student residence hall, and overtime, were forgotten about. Then in the 60's, the Old CoalySociety, a philantrapy here, was formed. As a symbol to theirnamesake, they relocated Old Coaly's skeleton to one of theAgricultural Buildings, where it is on display today. Ever sincethey removed the bones of Old Coaly, however, the people in WattsHall have reported hearing noises from the storage room where thebones were kept. Several residents have also reported seeing OldCoaly standing in the hallway outside the storage room, only forthe mule to disappear moments later.
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The Watcher:
This is a personal story. One night I was walking alone acrosscampus. The area I was walking through is a wooded spot (one ofthe last on campus). It was a dim night and I was starting toworry about things lurking in the woods. So to calm myself, Istarted singing a chant that I know. The chant is a protectionchant that is supposed to ask an ancient Goddess to watch yousafely to your destination. When I finished the chant, I lookedat the doorway of a nearby building and saw a woman standingthere. There was a light in back of her, so I could not see manyfeatures, but she was about 5.5 to 6 feet tall and was wearing ashirt and a loose dress. I chuckled to myself that she was theGoddess I was singing to. The only unusual thing about her wasthat she was wearing a rather summery outfit on a very cold night(nights at Penn State can get really cold). I was overwhelmedwith a sense of security, but I figured it was just that I knewif there was someone or something around, that there was anotherperson to aid me.
About three weeks later, I was walking through another portion ofcampus late at night. I wasn't feeling scared, but I was a bit onedge. I really don't like walking alone late at night. Just thenI saw the same woman in the same clothing standing next to atree, watching me. I kept my eye on her this time, although I hadthe same sense of security as I did the first time I saw her. Shejust stood there and watched me.
Several weeks later, I was walking through campus in the earlyevening. It was just dark out and there were several path lightsout in front of me, so it seemed darker than the rest of my walk.I slowed down and became more alert. Then I saw the same womanagain, in a place I knew no one was in before. This time Istopped and watched her. For several minutes, we just stared ateachother. I became engrossed in watching her, so when a squirrelmade a noise behind me, I jumped. I quickly looked back and shewasn't there.
I have seen this woman a few more times since then, always when Iam just getting a little scared of walking at night. Each time Isee her, I feel better. I do not kno who or what she is, as Inever try to approach her. I usually just nod my head at her andsmile. I like to think that she is the ancient Goddess from mychant, making sure I arrive at my destination safely.