Surprisingly to many, Boston University was founded in Newbury, Vermont in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodists as the Newbury Biblical Institute. It was designed not as a college, but as a high school, with a focus on literary instruction rather than pastor education. While the area was beautiful, there were issues regarding “proper ministerial oversight”, so just eight years later, the Newbury Biblical Institute relocated to Concord, New Hampshire and changed its name to the Methodist General Biblical Institute of Concord. The seminary functioned here out of an old church for twenty years before relocating again, this time to Boston. At this time, it was renamed the Boston Theological School, and two years later, in 1869, Boston University was officially christened. It merged with the Boston Theological School in 1871 and has functioned as one university ever since.
Today, BU has campuses all over the world, but, since Boston is one of my absolute favorite cities on Earth, the hauntings this week will focus there. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and with a long history comes many centuries of hauntings.
There are many haunted locations within BU, but the one that everyone knows is Myles Standish Hall located on Beacon Street just a short walk from the Charles River. The building was originally the Myles Standish Hotel, but it was purchased by BU in 1949 to provide housing for male students. Before the purchase, baseball great Babe Ruth was a regular guest of the hotel. His preferred room, 818, is said to still have him as a visitor. Students report hearing unexplained sounds and feeling cold spots throughout the dorm. The skeptic in me wonders if this could be debunked as Standish just being an old building in need of some upgrades, but the paranormal (and baseball) enthusiast in me wants to believe that the Bambino is still popping in to enjoy the view of the Charles River. For lovers of the classics, it might be interesting to know that Arthur Miller’s uncle, Manny Newman, died by suicide at the Myles Standish Hotel. Death of a Salesman – required reading for many a high school and college English course – was based on the untimely passing of Miller’s uncle.
Next up is Kilachand Hall, formerly Shelton Hall, and before that the first Sheraton Hotel. This building was the catalyst that started the Sheraton Hotel chain we know today. But less about hotel moguls and more about ghosts, right? While Kilachand Hall was still the Sheraton, playwright Eugene O’Neill died on the fourth floor. It is said that his last words were, “I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room.” He was only 65 years old, but he had suffered many ailments – including depression and alcoholism. His cause of death, however, was revealed to be a rare form of brain deterioration that was unrelated to any of his known health problems. Since his death in 1953, students report that O’Neill still spends time where he took his last breath. They have heard knocks on their doors, but when they open it no one is there. Pranksters or paranormal? The elevator doors will open on the fourth floor even though no one has pressed the fourth-floor button. Some students even report that the lights on the fourth floor are just a little dimmer than those on other floors. So, again, I ask: Is this paranormal or just another old Boston building with faulty electricity?
Does the name Albert DeSalvo conjure up any images? What about the moniker The Boston Strangler? Albert DeSalvo – aka The Boston Strangler – murdered 13 women between June 14, 1962, and January 4, 1964. So, why is this relevant to a blog post about hauntings at Boston University? The body of one of DeSalvo’s victims, Patricia Jane Bissette, was discovered on December 31, 1962, at 515 Park Drive. The former apartment building is now an apartment style dorm located in Boston University’s south campus. While just being the site of a grisly murder by a known serial killer doesn’t automatically make a place haunted, it definitely lends itself to feelings of general unease around the building. These feelings of unease have been reported by students as well as by people just passing by on the street, many of whom aren’t even aware of what took place within the walls of 515 Park Drive. Unexplained uneasiness has been linked to paranormal activity – called Ghost Sickness in some cultures. Although, there are also scientific theories that can explain away some of the uneasy feelings. Unusual electromagnetic fields can cause a person to feel an unexplained presence, when there is actually nothing unexplained in the room. It’s just a normal variation in the electromagnetic fields that exist naturally. Could 515 Park Drive have a variation in EMF? Or does Patricia Bissette continue to make her presence known?
About a five-minute walk from 515 Park Drive, BU students can access the Mugar Memorial Library. Mugar is the university’s main humanities and social sciences library, standing seven stories high and housing more than 2 million resources. The library is open until 2am for students to get in that last minute studying. But those who choose to utilize the study cages on the fourth floor sometimes have some unexpected study buddies. The fourth floor used to have balcony access, and rumor has it that a student either fell off or jumped. According to a library coordinator, she thinks the spooky sensations felt on the fourth floor are a result of something that may have happened on that balcony. Allegedly, lights will turn off, even when someone is actively trying to turn a light on. Motion lights will turn on when no one is near the sensor. More frightening, though, people have reported hearing footsteps on the fourth floor when no one is on the floor. Disembodied footsteps and lights turning off, plunging unsuspecting studiers into darkness doesn’t seem to discourage students from continuing to use the fourth floor – even after dark.
Boston University’s history is rich and there’s no denying it’s one of the best schools in the United States. Are you an alum? Do you have any spooky experiences from your time there? Tell them in the comments. Also, if you want me to research your alma mater, let me know down below. Stay spirited!
Sources:
https://www.bu.edu/sth-history/graduates/concord-students
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-scientific-explanations-spooky-sensations-180973436
School Spirits 