Slippery Rock ghost story

Syfy series ‘School Spirits’ uncovers haunting

Staff report

Slippery Rock, Pa.

Slippery Rock University is haunted.

The culprit is the spirit of a man hanged near the former Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house on Kiester Road more than 100 years ago. The phantom has caused some violent things inside the frat house — that is, if you believe in ghost stories.

A dramatization of the haunting will be broadcast as part of the “School Spirits,” a docudrama series on Syfy that explores ghost legends at universities.

The episode “Frat House Phantom,” about the SRU haunting, will be broadcast Wednesday,” said Bill Brennan, SyFy vice president for publicity.

SyFy crews interviewed former fraternity brothers, but used actors for the dramatization. He said the name of the fraternity has been changed in the broadcast for privacy. The fraternity house, at 133 Kiester Road, is currently a private residence.

“School Spirits” features ghost stories presented through first-person accounts by students, alumni, faculty and historians. The interviews are paired with re-enactments.

Daniel Hooven, a 2006 SRU graduate and Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity brother, said he was interviewed in New York City.

“The story revolves around us moving in an off-campus house that had signs of paranormal activity,” Hooven said.

Hooven said fraternity brothers nicknamed the house “Thunderdome” because every night something odd would happen in the house. “Things would turn up missing, our wiring would short circuit, and footsteps could be heard on the third floor,” he said.

Hooven said he was the only resident of the third floor, which included his bedroom, an old bathroom, and a larger room the fraternity converted into its Chapter Room, where brothers hung fraternity paddles.

“Over the next few months, we became used to our paranormal roommate and even nicknamed him “Ted.” Apparently that was not a name he liked because things started getting more aggressive after that,” said Hooven. “The footsteps turned into heavy pacing, doors slamming, paddles being thrown off walls. You have to understand these paddles were solid oak and hung on a wall with a thick long nail.”

Nine brothers held a Ouija board session in the chapter room. “We addressed ‘Ted,’ and the board spelled out cryptic words: “Stab,” “Kill,” “Stab,” “God” and then “Bye,” Hooven said. “There were nine brothers participating, and when we asked how many people were in the room, it said, “Nine.”

Slippery Rock has other famous ghost legends. Most focus on Miller Auditorium and North Hall and involve an apparition dubbed “Emma the Ghost.” Emma is thought by many to be the spirit of Emma Guffey Miller, a prominent political figure, SRU trustee and university supporter, who died in 1950.

Over the years, SRU students have reported seeing a woman’s figure out of the corner of their eye, or hearing pounding noises from a cove, but finding nothing when they check on the disturbance. Other stories tell of lights flickering during rehearsals.

They speculate that Emma, described as friendly, haunts Miller because the building was named after her, and she loved theater. Students use many of her old clothes as costumes and store them in “Emma’s Closet” inside Miller.

In 2009, SRU allowed Baelfire Paranormal Investigation to spend the night in Miller Auditorium searching for Emma. Owner John Lewis claimed his team captures pictures of primordial mists and electronic voice phenomena. He also said he felt pressure against his knee, and a K2 electromagnetic detector flashed on command, indicating the presence of spirits. Baelfire presented the university with a certificate officially designating Miller as being haunted.