Is The University of Maryland Haunted?

URL to see photos of each building mentioned is at:http://www.urhome.umd.edu/newsdesk/culture/release.cfm?ArticleID=828

Newswise — Is Maryland haunted? With Halloween right around the corner, that question is being asked by more than just a few on campus - just ask some of our Experts. Or take the tour below yourself - and see what you think! The Rossborough InnThe Rossborough Inn, the oldest building on the Maryland campus, is haunted, according to campus legend. Larry Donnelly, a manager for dining services, saw a young girl's smiling face in a window and later saw the same child in a yellow dress and bonnet. A specialist in the paranormal claimed to see two spirits sitting on stools in the adjacent Carriage House restaurant in an October 2002 article in The Diamondback.

The Rossborough Inn was built between 1804 and 1812 by speculator John Ross. But by 1835, the inn had become a farmhouse and barn. In 1856 Benedict Calvert donated the building to the brand-new Maryland Agricultural College. It has served various functions for the university over the years. Refurbished in 1940, the inn is now used mainly for alumni and faculty events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morrill Hall Morrill Hall's lore dates to the Thanksgiving fire of 1912, in which it was the only building to survive the blaze. Legend has it that workers in the building smelled smoke in the vents but further inspection revealed no source of the strange odor. Used at various points for the zoology and veterinary science departments, it housed cadavers for medical training according to a 2002 article in The Diamondback. In the same article, a specialist in the paranormal inspected Morrill, concluding it houses abundant spirits.

Recently, workers in Morrill Hall found human remains under a sink while the building was undergoing renovation. Additionally, the staff in Morrill has heard noises late at night and found mysterious guano in the building's attic. Students often wander into the building during the fall to see the "haunted building."

The building, constructed in 1898, is the oldest campus building with its original façade intact. It was named after Justin Morrill, sponsor of the Morrill Land Grant act establishing federal land grant colleges, including the Maryland Agricultural College (later to become the University of Maryland.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Marie Mount HallNamed after the first dean of home economics, Marie Mount Hall is supposedly haunted by its namesake, who reportedly did not want to leave the university after she died. Campus employees claim to have seen Marie Mount's ghost and heard her playing the piano on dark, stormy nights. An expert in the paranormal reported feeling the spirits of Mount and others in a 2002 Diamondback article.

Constructed in 1940 as an addition to Silvester Hall, the building's corridors and ceilings—a mixture of ashen, concrete walls and yellow floors—slant strangely to merge with the old construction. The building was first called, simply, the home economics building. It was renamed Margaret Brent Hall in 1959 after a colonial businesswoman considered the first American woman to request the right to vote.

"The Home Economics College at the University stands as [Marie Mount's] monument," wrote University President Emeritus Harry Clifton Byrd of the hall, in a 1957 memorial to the home economics dean. In 1969 the Board of Regents renamed it Marie Mount Hall in appreciation of Marie Mount's innovations in home economics at the University. Under her guidance, the "department of home and institution management" became its own division and later the College of Home Economics.

Then-University President Wilson H. Elkins may have known more than he let on when he wrote in a 1957 memorial, "The character of Marie Mount will live forever." Marie Mount used to house student dormitories, according to facilities management. There are still signatures of students who wrote their names on the walls of their old rooms. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HJ Patterson HallLess well known than "haunted" Marie Mount and Morrill halls, HJ Patterson is allegedly spooked. Once, a maintenance and structural trades manager in facilities management saw a stray shadow across the wall working alone in the building. He does not believe the shadow belonged to another worker.

Nicknamed "Steinberg Castle," the building is named after Maryland Agricultural College President Henry Jacob Patterson. It was built in 1931 and houses the department of plant biology, the department of natural resources, a soil testing lab and the Center for Agricultural Biology.

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University Witnesses to The Unexplained

Charles Cadwell- Director, principal investigator and co-founder of the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), department of economics, University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - A witness to the spooky phenomena in the purportedly haunted Morrill Hall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------June Tuman - marketing director, Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS) in the department of economics, University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - Tuman, an employee for IRIS in Morrill Hall, has witnessed some of the most unexplainable phenomena in the building, including "mysterious guano" in the attic, strange noises at night and human remains found beneath a sink.

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Halloween Experts

Sandra Cypess - Chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - An expert in Dia de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead"), a Mexican celebration of life and death rooted in ancient beliefs, changed by the Spanish to coincide with their own holiday of Halloween.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Marilyn Deighton - Lecturer in costume construction, Department of Theatre, University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - Deighton, an expert in costumes, could give anyone pointers on making fantastic ensembles for Halloween. She has directed the costume shop at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey and has held positions in costume construction at other universities, including the University of Mississippi and the North Carolina School for the Arts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chip Denman - Assistant Director for research support in the Office of Information Technology and Academic Support; interim director for the Office of Information Technology user support services at the University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - Denman's class, HONR 228A: "Science and Pseudoscience," teaches students to think critically and skeptically. He is particularly interested in the phenomenon of séances.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jennie Levine - Curator of historical manuscripts, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland.

Halloween Credentials - An expert in Harry Potter, Levine oversees "The Sugar Quill" fan site. She can tell you anything you need to know about the precocious, precarious young wizard's Halloween celebrations. She'll help you battle a troll, but be careful: You might end up with a pig's tail. Levine Says - Halloween is a spooky holiday, even if you happen to be a wizard. Just ask Harry Potter. In his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an enormous mountain troll tried to attack his friend Hermione in the girls' bathroom. During his second year at Hogwarts, Harry attended a Death Day party (a ghost equivalent of a birthday party). Nearly Headless Nick was 500 years old, and the guests feasted on rotting birthday cake. And in his third year at Hogwarts, a murderer who had escaped from the wizarding prison, Azkaban, tried to break into his dormitory. One thing that is good about Halloween, however, is the food. On October 31, floating jack-o-lanterns light the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and the students feast on treats like pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes and treacle tarts. If you ask most non-wizarding children, sweet things are probably their favorite part of Halloween. Even Harry's Muggle (non-wizard) cousin Dudley, who dislikes all things magical, might be tempted to venture outside for trick-or-treating, despite the risks. Will you?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Susan Walker - Assistant Professor, family studies and state family life specialist, Maryland Cooperative Extension.

Halloween Credentials - An expert in families, Susan Walker knows the ins and outs of trick-or-treating and some pointers for keeping little ones safe on a scary Halloween night. She can help families avoid most frightening encounters-except maybe a werewolf.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jo Paoletti - Associate Professor of American Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities. Specialization in textiles.

Halloween Credentials - Paoletti specializes in American culture and presents a titillating lecture on the culture of Halloween. She has written dozens of articles, papers and books about American culture and clothing design and has served the university through several endeavors, including the College Park Scholars program and the University Senate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anne Turkos - University Archivist

Halloween Credential - The preeminent expert of the University's historical archives, Anne Turkos presides over the most important historical University documents. (Perhaps even some that could reveal a ghost or two lurking about the campus"¦)