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Columnist’s note: When relaying tales of the supernatural, I rarely divulge the real names or locations of paranormal experiences. Doing so would subject the tellers of these stories and these facilities to ridicule and vandalism. Make no mistake; these ghost stories are real.

With more than a dozen universities, four-year colleges and community colleges calling the Triad home, we are steeped in academic tradition.

Local campuses, large and small, share tales of alumni who have difficulty leaving these hallowed halls. Legends loom about the ghost at UNCG’s Aycock Auditorium and stories have circulated for decades about supernatural encounters in one of Salem College’s dormitories.

For the alumni hall at one of the Triad’s stately universities, paranormal events have gradually crept into the routines of the dozen or so employees who work in this beautiful Georgian building. Until recently, however, staff members were reluctant to share their experiences or to realize that a pattern has taken shape.

In late August, the school’s alumni relations director, Leigh, took it upon herself to shut down the hall for the evening. A late-afternoon meeting had kept her there past traditional office hours, leaving her alone in the elegant and spacious three-story facility.

For security reasons, the alumni hall has a strict protocol for locking up not only the outer doors of the building, but specific rooms within the hall. Armed with leftover food from the meeting, Leigh first made her way through the right wing of the building to the kitchen to store the snacks. As she left that sector, she followed protocol and locked doors first to the kitchen and then to the Wren Room, which contains artifacts from one of the school’s beloved former directors of alumni relations.

After locking the Wren Room’s brass levered door handle, she looked up to see that the doors on the opposite wing of the building were still open, so she headed to the left wing to secure that area. Again, she key-locked a series of doors and headed back to the building’s entry. There, directly in her line of vision, was the now-unlocked and wide-open wooden door to the Wren Room — the room she had locked and checked only moments before.
“I always doublecheck the locks,” Leigh said.

Feeling more perplexed than frightened, though, she again key-locked the door, this time triple checking the lever to assure the lock was indeed secured. “I never felt anything weird here — just very peaceful,” she said, recalling that Thursday evening.
The next morning, she told her colleagues about the incident and was met with chilling news.

Jennifer and Lisa, alumni relations staff members who also had been at the Thursday meeting, had (unknown to Leigh) locked the doors of the alumni hall’s main floor shortly before Leigh made her final rounds in the house. Not only had Leigh been forced to re-lock that door to the Wren Room, Leigh now realized she had been re-locking doors throughout the hall’s main floor that Jennifer had already locked and that had been checked by Lisa.

“We’ve been meaning to tell you about this,” Jennifer admitted. The August occurrence was not the first such incident.

Word of the phantom unlocking of doors spread quickly through the staff of 15 or so and other tales emerged.

Just two weeks ago, Margaret, the school’s associate director of alumni affairs, came back to work after hours to take care of a few loose ends. From her office, which is located on the Alumni Hall’s lower level just below the Hall’s grand ballroom, Margaret heard the sound of someone playing arpeggios on the ballroom’s concert grand piano.

Thinking that a music student must have stopped by the hall to play a few chords, Margaret hurried upstairs because it was, as usual, time to lock up the building. But no one was seated at the Steinway piano. And in the still of the building at the end of a work day, Margaret had heard no one walk across the wooden floors or exit the heavy oak front door.

The only other staff member remaining in the building was Lisa, and she had also heard the music.

In fact, Lisa, who has worked at the alumni hall since 1998, has heard her share of odd footsteps and doors opening in the 70-year-old building. “On those still nights, those sounds are a little disconcerting but I don’t think this spirit means any harm,” she said.

“I just try to give credibility to everyone who has ever had an encounter. Some people are afraid, but I’m not. She means no harm,” Lisa said.

Another of the hall’s past directors, Miss Proff, still visits the beautiful building and its staff on a regular basis. Her passion for the school and for this building is still thriving, though her health is fading.

On her past few visits, Miss Proff has especially enjoyed tours of the recently renovated hall. Upon entering the office that once was hers — as well her predecessor Miss Wren — Miss Proff spoke directly to each of the current staff members who were escorting her, one of whom was Leigh, the current director. Then, Miss Proff turned to her right and spoke to an extra member of their party — one that the staff could not see.

“Miss Wren, the girls are taking good care of the house these days,” Miss Proff said comfortably to the unseen woman. Was Miss Proff just confused or does her advancing age now allow her to see past the present moment to a different dimension?

Leigh and her co-workers at alumni hall firmly believe that Miss Wren, the hall’s former director, continues her work in these hallowed and very much beloved halls.

Contact Cathy Weaver at CWewverNR@gmail.com