Austin Price, Editor in Chief
It’s my favorite time of year. The leaves are falling, the air is blowing, and the skies are gray. Yes, that’s right everyone, it’s Spooky Season! Some of you might remember that last year, I brought you a special section of ghosts, ghouls, and all ghastly things. This was the Spooky Series. Because I had so much fun reading, research, and reporting on some of the most unhinged, unsettling, and overall insane Halloween content last year, I figured I’d continue the trend of scaring my parents and worrying my friends about my Halloween obsession. And so, it is with great excitement and misplaced enthusiasm that I introduce part two of my Spooky Series! We are kicking it off with a look into the legends and lore of our very own school, Regis University. I present to you Regis University’s Haunted History.
Since my freshman year at Regis, I have heard the superstitions and secrets surrounding the so-called “hauntings” of this university. As we all know, gossip and the passing on of supposed true stories can be easily misconstrued. But we also know that journalism is mainly organized gossip, so I’ve dissected and evaluated the most popular spooky stories. Our story begins in the potentially the most recognizable and iconic piece of architecture on campus, the Main Hall.
Main Hall’s Haunted Walls
Main Hall is one of Regis’ biggest, and most famous buildings. With its orange bricks, iconic bell tower, and overall aura of “fancy university” Main Hall serves as a host for classes, office of several Regis leaders, and overall tourist trap for prospective students. However, despite its outward appearance, legend has it that Main Hall has a deeply disturbing secret hiding literally within its walls.
According to old Regis records and archives from The Highlander, the spirits sleep in an abandoned storage room. While it seems to be an unthreatening, non-imposing space, a hidden storage room, buried deep in the crevices of this massive building, serves as storage for a wall of spirits. The storage room has cracks in the plaster sides that reveal a layer of brick walls and a line of tombstones of deceased Jesuits.
While I personally have yet to experience this, past visitors to this unusual room have reported hearing loud humming sounds, with vibrations rattling the old pipes of the ancient building. Other reported physical sensations include excessive sweating, flushed faces, and tightened chests. As far as we know, this room is still accessible to the public, for those who dare to enter.
Creepiness in Carroll
Now largely used as a host for faculty offices and conference spaces, Carroll Hall is said to house one spirit with an ax to grind. In the former student newspaper of Regis University, The Brown and Gold, the specific attack on a room in Carroll Hall is examined.
According to The Brown and Gold, “the third-floor Language House in Carroll Hall was ransacked by someone or something that replaced furnishings with items one would associate with a scholar or scientist”. This room initially served as a study for Rev. Armand Forstall, S.J., who has since passed. Apparently, the good old reverend wasn’t so revered and rather, came back with a raging vendetta. The Brown and Gold reports that “In a letter that’s supposedly from the culprit, the ghost of the late Rev. Armand Forstall, S.J., claimed responsibility for the vandalism, saying ‘no one has the right to make a language lounge out of my study’.”
Rev. Armand Forstall, S.J. was clearly very defensive of his research and his scientific findings. His haunting is believed to be related to his death in 1948, when his scientific work was lost. Rumor has it that the reverend won’t find peace until his work is found. Personally, I think this ghost needs to get over it. Times change, people change, uses for different rooms change, etc. But that’s just me. Good luck to all the faculty members in Carroll. Please be sure to save all research on Word, that way we don’t have another issue like this.
Jack and the Jesuits
As a student who has witnessed a medical emergency take place and had to call for help on campus, this next story bothered me a bit more than the others. It’s no surprise that unexpected medical phenomena take place, and while we always hope for the best, sometimes an emergency response is not enough to save a person in distress. Unfortunately for a student named John J. “Jack” McDonnell, this situation became a grim reality.
On a bright, seemingly normal May afternoon in 1900, former student Jack McDonnell walked out of his class in Main Hall and headed north across the campus towards what is now known as the gym. Throughout his afternoon stroll, Jack met a tragic fate when, just north of Main Hall, Jack collapsed. According to archives in the Dayton Memorial Library, attempts to save Jack’s life were valiantly carried out. “Distraught classmates rushed to his side and Rev. Modestus Izaguirre, S.J., who was nearby, knelt beside Jack, trying to revive him, but soon realized all he could do was offer absolution,”.
According to the College Diary, Jack “died between the Main Hall and Gym at 3:20 p.m. The cause was a violent hemorrhage from the lungs. In five minutes, it was all over.” Quickly thereafter, the school’s physician, Dr. James Devlin, arrived and promptly pronounced Jack dead at the scene. Dr. Devlin claimed that even if he had gotten there earlier, there was “simply nothing” he could have done to save the boy. After Jack’s death and following extensive investigation, the College Diary noted that he had “weak lungs,” and had been sick a month before his death.
Two days later, on May 12, 1900, John J. “Jack” McDonnell became the first, and only, student to be buried in Regis’ cemetery. This cemetery was officially dubbed “Regis' Little Cemetery of the Jesuits” and is stationed east of where St. Peter Claver, S.J., Hall stands now. While he may be the only student buried there, Jack is certainly not alone in the ground on Regis campus. Regis’ Little Cemetery of the Jesuits is also the final resting place for 43 Jesuit priests.
While none of the above stories have been officially proven real, meaning no professional paranormal investigation has ever been done on campus, I firmly believe that there are spirits with us at Regis. My belief stems from a deep connection to my Catholic faith, religious values, and overactive imagination. Now that you know the stories, I encourage you all to go to these places on campus and see what you experience. While none of these spirits are ever described as “evil” or “harmful” I still recommend bringing along some Holy Water, and a positive and respectful attitude. Curiosity is good, but when investigating such powerful stories, please, proceed with caution.