Continuing from my previous post entitled, “Haunting’s of Southern Oregon University Part 1”, in which it featured ghost sightings in Suzanne “Suzy” Homes (a dormitory on campus); Churchill Hall (the oldest Building on Campus), as well as the Stevenson Union/Bookstore (the old Ashland Community Hospital).

This entry will talk about the ghost sightings in the Plunkett Center (the old Swendenburg House), in Taylor and Britt halls as well as possible sightings in the Cascade/Greensprings dorms.

So, let’s get started.

Plunkett Center/Swendenburg House.  This location happens to be the most haunted spot on campus.  It is known by two names, it is currently known as the Plunkett Center.  The building is located on the corner of Mountain Ave. and Siskiyou Blvd, built in 1904 for Charles Chappell before Dr. Francis Gustavus Swedenburg bought the house after Chappell died in 1905 after the house was completed.

Dr. Swedenburg became a well known physician in the early 20th century in Ashland.  The house is where he and his family lived, where people were born and died, even big parties were thrown at the house!

After trading hands from the Swendenburg family in 1965 to a art museum until the then Southern Oregon College got it back in 1969 where it became a part of the University’s campus.  It is now housing the Office of Development, Alumni Relations, and the SOU Foundation.

Now on to the haunting stories of the place.

Numerous paranormal groups went through the building finding stuff.  One incident was during the mid-20th century when a student paranormal group went in with a wedgie board and had it thrown clear across the room by a random force of nature that is believed to be a ghost.  This was duplicated years later with no replication of the act.

Another group that went in to investigate several times at night, hearing disembodied laughing, footsteps and coughing.  Several times it sounded like a party was occurring in a few of the rooms.  Talking, laughing, music playing of the time is playing, etc. was going on.

Strangely enough, at about five in the morning (5 a.m), the house comes to life.  It is said this is when Dr. Swendenburg woke to start his day and check on patient.  It is as if the ghost the occupy this house go on as if life never ended; people taking showers, talking, moving, doors opening and closing on their own, etc.

It is also said that the workers have seen unusual people walking around the inside, things randomly opening/closing, hearing voices and footsteps, etc.  People from outside the building have even seen people from the windows of the building dressed in clothing from the 1920s/1930s.

Taylor Hall.  Probably not the most interesting ghost story on the list but it is said in the basement of this building, there is an old janitor that walks through the hallway at the end of the work day.  Doors would be unlocked or locked at the improper times according to Campus Security.  Off-tone whistling can be heard on occasion coming from the other end of the hallway, but when someone would turn around, nobody would be there.  It is like the guy never left his job when he went home at night.

RUMOR MILL.

Britt Hall. It is said that in the basement of this hall that similar activities of that of the Bookstore.  Activities such as books flying off the shelves and messes appearing when no one were down there.

Cascade Dorms.  This story changes dorms of this 1970s-style, seven-dorm complex ever so often it is hard to pinpoint where it started.  Apparently, a person had committed suicide by jumping out of a dorm window.  Another story that was told, had stated that a room full of girls who had a door locked and shut had a few bangs on the door.  The girls figured it was a drunk boy considering they were living on a party floor.  However, a few minutes later, as if someone dropkick everything they had into the door and it flung open; scaring the girls.  Since they lived next to the stairs door, they immediately looked there, no one walked out and no one was out on the floor.

Greensprings Dorms.  Now this is a personal experience.  I had lived in Greensprings in three years and never really witnessed anything.  I had a occasional weird feeling as if I was been watching but that was about it.  Then, about a week ago, I was in the complex by myself doing some fire checks in the electricity out complex. I heard about three to four times of the bathrooms closing with no sound of footsteps nor seeing anyone.  Going up the staircases I felt very tightly squeezed as if someone was pushing on me.  On Greensprings C4, I was walking by the kitchen and I swear on everything I saw a silhouette of someone quickly walking passed the kitchen on the other side of the floor.  After looking around, no one was there.  On my second go around on fire checks, I got more of that tight squeeze like “Ok, game’s up dude, I’m done playing; get out.”  So I left.

As mention in my first post, I will be looking into these stories once the school year starts to illustrate these stories and to tell them in a journalistic format.