Topic research: OU's haunted campus
For this week's research, I wanted to dive deeper into specific ghost stories about OU that I could use for my idea to retell some of the events that lead to the haunting of certain places and buildings from the first-person or as a news story.
I read through the introduction of Jeff Provine's books Haunted Norman Oklahoma and Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma, and I watched several YouTube videos where he is interviewed about specific campus ghost stories. Those led me to come up with at least these three stories that I could focus on, though I'm sure there will be more that I'll be interested in once I purchase his book.
Ellison Hall: This is the classic OU ghost story. Provine says in one of the video interviews that Ellison is the "most haunted" building at OU. (Coincidentally, my Camp Crimson small group freshman year was Ellison!) It's haunted by a little boy named Bobby who was hit by a car (or suffered an asthma attack) while he was rollerskating on Elm Avenue. He was rushed into Ellison Hall, the infirmary, where he later died. It's said that you can hear his skates or his laughter throughout the halls of the building. In my retelling, the journalist (maybe for The Oklahoma Daily) could have been an accidental witness to the boy's being hit by a car and rushed to the infirmary, so the reporting could start there.
Bizzell Memorial Library: This story has to do with a student falling through the glass panes in the stacks of the library. I'd never heard this story, but the glass planes make me nervous to stand on in there. Apparently, students have had books thrown off the shelves at them and have seen footprints through the glass panes above them, only to find out that no one was there. In this retelling, perhaps the journalist was studying late at night in the library, or looking for a book, when a student came crashing through one of the glass panes and got seriously hurt, so the reporting could start there.
Holmberg Hall: This story would make a lot of sense for a reporter to be covering anyway — it's about building renovations. When Holmberg Hall was being renovated, its pipe organs were removed. The organist, Professor Mildred Andrews Boggess, didn't like those renovations, so she haunts the building. It's said that you can hear her playing the organ, even though there is no organ in the building anymore, and that she slams doors during performances and practices. Maybe a journalist who had been covering the renovations covered the first performance in its new space, and noted doors slamming and faint organ music as a strange part of the show.
I'm excited about this project! I think I can have a lot of fun with it.
I read through the introduction of Jeff Provine's books Haunted Norman Oklahoma and Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma, and I watched several YouTube videos where he is interviewed about specific campus ghost stories. Those led me to come up with at least these three stories that I could focus on, though I'm sure there will be more that I'll be interested in once I purchase his book.
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| Ellison Hall, the most haunted building at OU. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Ellison Hall: This is the classic OU ghost story. Provine says in one of the video interviews that Ellison is the "most haunted" building at OU. (Coincidentally, my Camp Crimson small group freshman year was Ellison!) It's haunted by a little boy named Bobby who was hit by a car (or suffered an asthma attack) while he was rollerskating on Elm Avenue. He was rushed into Ellison Hall, the infirmary, where he later died. It's said that you can hear his skates or his laughter throughout the halls of the building. In my retelling, the journalist (maybe for The Oklahoma Daily) could have been an accidental witness to the boy's being hit by a car and rushed to the infirmary, so the reporting could start there.
Bizzell Memorial Library: This story has to do with a student falling through the glass panes in the stacks of the library. I'd never heard this story, but the glass planes make me nervous to stand on in there. Apparently, students have had books thrown off the shelves at them and have seen footprints through the glass panes above them, only to find out that no one was there. In this retelling, perhaps the journalist was studying late at night in the library, or looking for a book, when a student came crashing through one of the glass panes and got seriously hurt, so the reporting could start there.
Holmberg Hall: This story would make a lot of sense for a reporter to be covering anyway — it's about building renovations. When Holmberg Hall was being renovated, its pipe organs were removed. The organist, Professor Mildred Andrews Boggess, didn't like those renovations, so she haunts the building. It's said that you can hear her playing the organ, even though there is no organ in the building anymore, and that she slams doors during performances and practices. Maybe a journalist who had been covering the renovations covered the first performance in its new space, and noted doors slamming and faint organ music as a strange part of the show.
I'm excited about this project! I think I can have a lot of fun with it.
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