Photo by Jr KorpaGhosts
haunt Ashland and the surrounding area – it’s a place rich in paranormal lore.
Sometimes.
Southern
Oregon University has a few stories. From the Ghosts and Critters website, here’s
a rundown of its most notable stories:
Southern
Oregon University’s Plunkett Center has been put to many uses since the
University acquired the old building in 1966. It has been alumni and
development offices on its second floor and the first floor is used as museum
displays by the local historical society. This building is also known as the
Swedenburg House, taken from its former tenant, Dr. F. Swedenburg. Swedenburg
was a prominent local physician who lived in the house from 1919 until he died
in 1937.
Since
the University purchased the property there have been ghost stories surrounding
it. Some skeptics believe the stories get more elaborate year after year. Believers
who counter this opinion included a University professor and the head of campus
security.
Joey
Ngan began his experiences with the Swedenburg house when he was a junior
campus security guard. Ngan had the graveyard shift when he started out working
for security. He always felt as if he was being watched when he went onto the
second floor. He would announce himself and explain that he was just there to
check out the building. If he did not do this he always felt as if something
did not want him there.
The
house was restored in the early 1980s and a new security system was installed.
Ngan and another officer had just finished checking the building and ensuring
that the alarm system was operational. Later they drove by the house and saw a
woman illumined by the porch light. She was sitting beside a window in a first-floor
office. They saw her for a second and then she was gone. They entered the
building and searched it for her. The door was locked and the building was
empty.
Political
Science Professor Bill Muelemans came to the University in the early 1970s and
collected several of the stories over the years. In 1973 the building was
closed down and the electricity was turned off. Muelemans, a security guard and
three students decided to hold a vigil in the house. They went to one of the
second story rooms with candles, flashlights and a Ouija board. The board
spelled out messages, including a statement that one of the students had tried
to commit suicide in the past. This was true, though no one besides the student
knew this. The board began moving and seemed to jump in the air about 18
inches.
At that
point they ran out of the building. The security guard was the last one out. As
he was locking the door he felt as if his hand was frozen to the doorknob for
about 30 seconds before he could break free. Many visitors have seen another
specter. A young girl dressed in an old-fashioned pinafore dress with her hair
in pigtails has been seen by many unrelated visitors. She is usually seen out
of the corner of the visitor's eyes and only for a few seconds. There are
rumors of burglar alarms going off and glowing apparitions seen by students
late at night. It is hard to pin them down to a definite location.
There are
a few other stories, buildings haunted by long dead janitors, teachers and
students. Universities and colleges have those kinds of stories, ranging from
botched hazings to distraught students dying by suicide. And, some of them are
urban legends: The same basic story transferred from one school to another,
with some details changed to fit local history or what have you.
Think
about it: How many hotels or other places have stories of the jilted bride who
killed herself? Yes, at some point, it happened . . . . And then a slightly
altered version of the story found its way attached to another hotel or well-known
resort. Then, it spreads from there.
Then, you
have some local folklore altered into a ghost story.
Tunnel 13
is a good example.
It was
called the last great train robbery of the American West. On Oct. 11, 1923, the DeAutremont
brothers – twins Roy and Ray along with their younger brother Hugh – robbed the
Oregon–California Express as it was on its way to San Francisco. During the robbery,
four men were killed and the brothers fled empty handed. Thanks to the efforts
of a Berkeley chemistry professor name Edward Oscar Heinrich and his
forensic skills, the DeAutremont brothers were eventually captured and
sentenced to prison.
Since
then, many have claimed Tunnel 13 is haunted. People claim to have felt cold
spots as they walk through the tunnel – well, it’s a tunnel. It’s a tunnel with
a violent past and it’s like the funhouse effect, as some of us paranormal
investigators call it. It’s like when people look at a spooky old building and
think it’s haunted.
Why?
Because it
looks spooky.
It’s the
same with Tunnel 13. It has the right perquisites for a haunted location. Remote,
foreboding, violent history and – most importantly – it has the number 13.
It has to
be haunted.
I love
history, crime stories and forensics; so the Tunnel 13 story has plenty of hooks
for me as it is. And, yes, as a paranormal investigator, I’d love to check it
out but I feel that there isn’t enough documentation to say there’s any paranormal
activity at the location. There’s a lot to assume and the YouTube videos I’ve
seen . . . well, I’m not impressed. Anecdotal evidence might be an interesting
hook but it’s not real evidence.
Now, if
someone has a different view or even evidence – please, let me know. As Mulder’s
poster so famously says, I want to believe.