Everyone has heard the one about the young couple parked in a car and the man with the hook, haven’t they? Long story short: the teens drive off scared and later discover a sinister hook hanging from the car door.
Or what about the one with Bloody Mary, where the “victim” stands in front of the mirror and says “Bloody Mary” a certain number of times? Or the one about the unsuspecting driver who forgot to check the backseat and was surprised to find it occupied by an ax-wielding maniac?
These stories can vary depending on the locations where they are told. In addition to these generic urban legends, each place can also have their own tales of terror, or variations thereof. Mississippi State University is no different.
Although the MSU campus may not boast a Mike Myers-esque serial killer or claim a supernatural mass murderer a la Freddy Kruger, there are some odd stories that tend to circulate around the school. Whether a reasonable person would believe these stories is another thing.
But it’s possible that the next time people walk alone at night they might remember these local legends and maybe, just maybe, walk just a bit faster.
The Witches of Montgomery Hall
Betty Self, an employee at the Mitchell Memorial Library, said she has heard the rumors about Montgomery Hall that claim a secret group of students used the deserted hall as a base for its witchcraft.
Self said some people in the 60s said that a group of students would sneak into the building and conduct sances and try to contact the other world with Ouija boards. Since then people have said that the building was haunted.
“People have actually come to the library looking for information about it,” Self said.
As with most urban legends, the truth of these kinds of stories can be questionable. However this particular story is factual.
Roy Ruby, the MSU dean of education, said he saw a satanic symbol with his own eyes. The top floor of Montgomery Hall had been condemned and was no longer in use.
“I had been up there,” Ruby said. “They had a symbol with a six-pointed star with a dead bird in the center of the star.”
Ruby said they never found the students responsible for this, but he believed it was not a prank since somebody had gone through so much trouble to set up the floor.
Robert Wolverton, a professor of foreign languages, verified these statements. He said that he, too, saw some satanic symbols on the fourth floor of the building.
“We saw that some sort of cult had been there,” Wolverton said.
The Infirmary in George Hall
John Summerlot, the resident director for Suttle Hall, had researched the history of the MSU campus some time ago. Part of his findings included a story concerning George Hall, the building across from Lee Hall and next to MacGruder Hall.
Summerlot said that while George Hall now houses University Relations, it used to be the infirmary for the school. Around the early 1900s a flu epidemic had swept across the country. Several MSU students caught the disease and were confined to a ward on the 2nd floor of the building. It was on this floor that several students died.
“It (George Hall) was kind of creepy back then,” Summerlot said. “And it still is now.”
Since that time, rumors of ghosts in the building have been passed down. No official sighting has been reported yet.
People can make up their own minds as to which stories they believe and the ones to dismiss as just talk. However, it’s safe to say that there were some “unusual” activities in the campus’ past.
So when you are walking alone on campus and no one else is in sight and you feel a chill go down your spine, you may not be as alone as you think.