By Finnleigh Gould

On Halloween, little ghosts and ghouls roam the streets for candy, do they grow up and go to university? 

According to La Roche University sophomore, Ava Walters, ghosts have no problem conjuring mischief in the dorms. Walters is a firm believer in ghosts and spirits. 

“I have had so many experiences in my life that cannot be logically explained,” Walters said. 

The sophomore, sweeping her purple hair off her shoulder, shared her most recent paranormal experience, which her night owl roommate witnessed. Throughout the entirety of her freshman year, Walters’ sleep constituted walking, talking, and singing. 

Walters said, “It was more than just sleepwalking and sleep talking, I was singing in my sleep, I was holding my legs up in the air. My body would even act like it was actively listening when I wasn’t there mentally.” 

The bubbly writing major described her fear of falling asleep, especially around others. Walters said that her body did not feel like her own. 

“My friends and I joke that I got possessed,” Walters said, “but sometimes I worry that it is more than just a joke.” 

Whether Walters was puppeteered around by a physical entity, harassed by nightmares, or haunted by her homework is uncertain. The idea of ghosts is all about perception. ‘Ghost’ means something different to different people. 

A quick walk down the Bold Dormitory hallway, for a haunted or possessed student, is a one-way ticket to a blessed dorm. Father Peter Horton, Chaplain and Director of Providence Campus Ministry, recalled his years of blessing student dorms. 

“Students often come to me with stories about their bed being undone, cold breezes from nowhere, misplaced objects, and noises,” Father Peter said. “A Mahler dorm, the number I cannot remember, has been blessed more times than I can count.” 

A room blessing traditionally begins with a prayer and ends with a sprinkle of holy water, covering the front door posts. Father Peter said that he is flexible to students’ personal preference, culture, and faith.  

Every year, each university class is blessed at Convocation, and the dorm halls have been blessed upon their construction. Dolores Bold blessed Bold Hall, and Father Peter blessed the hall’s later additions. 

Throughout his childhood, Father Peter’s mother had their house blessed every year during the Christmas season. Even now, after her passing, she makes her presence known.  

“I had checked to see if I had wound the music box, but it was untouched. It played by itself,” Father Peter said. 

Father Peter gave his mother a music box. It played on its own on the night of her birthday. 

Photo by Father Peter Horton

The music box gifted by Father Peter to his mother.

Aside from the gentle tunes of his mother’s music box, Father Peter has never experienced anything paranormal. Instead, he explained that in Catholicism there is the belief that a ‘kything,’ a spiritual connection, allows deceased loved ones to make themselves known. 

Father Peter said he believes that a spiritual connection can appear in physical ways. He discovered that he walks like his father, and in this way, has connected via kything.  

However, the stigma surrounding ghosts and like-beings inspires fear rather than connection. The Greek word ‘daimon,’ Father Peter explained, translates to ‘spirit.’ Likewise, the word ‘eudaimonia’ means ‘good spirit.’ Therefore, these early biblical variations of ‘demon’ refer to the state of one’s own spirit, rather than an evil being.  

Cases of demonic possession are far and few between, but many of these cases can be attributed to a lack of medical advancement. Conditions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia were often mistaken for demonic possession. 

“They’re like pranksters,” Father Peter said, referring to ghosts. “They are not going to hurt you.” 

Both ghosts and Father Peter love a good prank. 

Father Peter recalled his neighbors from his time living in Peter’s Hall on lower La Roche campus. The two young men who lived across from him would leave their room; the TV on, music blaring, and lights glaring. 

A ghost would saunter in, turning off the TV, lights, and music. The students confided in Father Peter that their dorm was haunted. Their prankster poltergeist fessed up at graduation.  

Father Peter told them that he was the TV Ghost all along. 

Ghosts can bring people together in mysterious ways, whether it be frightening stories around a fire, or friends jumping at a sudden gust of wind.  

“A few years ago, a group of young women living in Mahler Hall asked me to bless their dorm. Of course, when I went, only one of them was there,” Father Peter said. “It was a case of hearing noises, a typical occurrence. She showed me to the problem room, and just as I finished my prayer, a gust of wind slammed the door. She was out of there.” 

Just across from Father Peter’s office, room 253, on the other side of Bold Hall’s breezeway, lay room BH261, Counseling and Health Services. A scurry here can help students shake off apparitions. 

Adria Codispot, La Roche’s Graduate Counseling Intern, said she does not believe in ghosts.  

“I focus on how such experiences, or beliefs, may be a reflection of psychological, emotional, or cultural factors influencing perception,” Codispot said. “Ghosts can be understood as a perceived phenomenon that may arise from stress, grief, or sleep deprivation.” 

According to Codispot, ghosts are often misinterpretations of sensory input influenced by emotional states.  

The counseling intern responded to a hypothetical scenario; a student approaching her, afraid that their dorm is haunted. “I would respond with a lot of empathy and open questions. I would validate their feelings while also exploring what ‘haunted’ means to them. I would assess stress, sleep disturbances, or anxiety and provide reassurance without dismissing the experience they have.” 

Students, particularly freshmen, are exposed to a new environment. A haunting can be conjured from a variety of factors. 

Codispot said, “For a student to believe that their dorm is haunted, it can stem from stress, loneliness, heightened sensitivity to unfamiliar sounds, or even exposure from stories, social media, or television.” 

These factors can even affect dreams, allowing them to be mistaken for reality. Codispot elaborated that cognitive arousal has been observed to cause awakenings or semi-awakenings.  

“Paranormal experiences often reflect our mind’s way of processing fear,” Codispot said. “Therapeutically, it is important to remember exploring these experiences can foster insight and coping rather than focusing on if they are real or not.” 

When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, blessings are down the hall.