In the late 1870s, a woman named Mrs. Wallace burned to death in her home on a 160-acre farm just south of the tiny Catholic community of St. Mary’s. Since that time, a glowing red and orange fireball 15-20 inches in diameter has been seen skirting the perimeter of the farm, which came to be owned by a family named Storz. One local farmer, Orval Berning, spotted the light as he was walking home from a card game in the wee hours of the morning. Floating along the fence line, its bright glow perfectly contrasted with the newly fallen snow. He sometimes saw the light from the window of his farmhouse, nearly a mile away. Stranger still, in 1947 an Indianapolis man named Roy Whitehead claimed to hear a voice emanating from the St. Mary’s light as it hovered above the road.
Jacob’s Lantern - Papineau, Illinois
According to a local Iroquois County legend, in the autumn of 1859 a man named Jacob and his female companion murdered a cattle drover on the road north from Danville. Whether their crime was intentional or an accident is never made clear, but the two decided to hide the evidence by burying the man’s body in a field near an old barn. To light their way, they carried a soft lantern and hung it from a tree as they dug his shallow grave. Since then, autumn nights bring a soft yellow glow in the distance. According to Dale Kaczmarek, author of the book Illuminating the Darkness, a man named Lee Ponton used to see the light from his kitchen window. His parents would sprinkle holy water around their house whenever it appeared.
Diamond Lil and the Ghosts of the University of Arizona
Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona is the oldest university in Arizona, predating the state itself by 27 years. It is a large school with a total enrolment of around 40,000 students and is known for its research in astronomy. The aesthetically appealing campus occupies 380 acres in the heart of Tucson, Arizona. While attending class and strolling its park-like paths and sidewalks, students have occasionally reported startling encounters with the unknown. Although scientific pursuits have led many to dismiss these sightings, rumours of ghosts in several campus buildings persist. Old Main, Maricopa Hall, and Centennial Hall are just the most prominent places believed to be haunted.
Built in the late-1880s when the University of Arizona was known as Territorial University of Arizona College of Mines, Old Main is the oldest building on campus. It is rumoured to be haunted by Carlos Maldenado, who supervised its construction and lived in Tucson from 1841 until his murder in 1888. One dark night, startled construction workers found Maldenado sitting in a chair in the unfinished building with a large buffalo skinners knife sticking out of his throat. It was believed that he had been murdered by locals angry over Tucson losing its position as territorial capitol in favour of becoming home to the college. The historic building fell out of use in the early 1900s and was in serious need of repair when the United States War Department took it over to train officers at the outbreak of World War 2.
During renovation in the winter of 1941/42, construction workers began to report strange experiences. Since then, Maldenado’s ghost, described as a shadowy figure, has been spotted around the building by students and faculty. While working on more repairs to Old Main in 2013, Sundt Construction foreman Tomás Avilez told University of Arizona News that he had twice seen Maldenado’s ghost. “He doesn’t stand still long enough to take a picture,” he said. “He kind of hides. I’m not afraid of him, because I’m not afraid of stuff like that, but if you sit in the attic long enough, he might appear.”
Another tragic spectre supposedly haunts Maricopa Hall, a female dormitory. According to uofamystery.org, the haunting stems from an incident that occurred before the dorm was built or the university even existed. Diamond Lil and Two Tooth Gertie, two Tucson-based dance hall girls, became bitter rivals in the 1860s. Near an abandoned Spanish Cattle Rancho, on what would become the campus of University of Arizona, Two Tooth Gertie wounded Diamond Lil with a knife. Lil returned the compliment with her Pearl Handled Smith & Wesson .32 caliber Derringer pistol and shot Gertie in the face. With her dying breath, the saloon girl cursed Diamond Lil and the desert on which she lay. Later, Diamond Lil collaborated with many townsfolk to purchase a tract of land for the new college. Since that day, Two Tooth Gertie’s curse has hung over the university.
Maricopa Hall was constructed between 1918 and 1921. According to legend, it was originally a mansion for the college president. While attending a party at the mansion, a young woman found her fiance in bed with another woman (or man, in some versions). She was so distraught over the discovery that she ended her life in the bathroom. Maricopa Hall, however, was never a mansion. That has not stopped many students from retelling the tale or describing eerie encounters with the ghost of a sorrowful young woman.
Two ghosts are believed to inhabit Centennial Hall: that of a young man and a female. The male phantom is known for appearing in black clothes and for his loud, obnoxious laughter. It is rumoured that he was killed in a duel when the territory still belonged to Spain. The female dresses in dark coloured Victorian garb and always seems to be in a hurry–pushing her way past theatre patrons on her way to see classical performances. Centennial Hall was built over the university’s original auditorium, and so the ghost stories may have carried over from that bygone era.
History is often deposited in layers, and the ghost stories and legends at the University of Arizona illustrate that characteristic. Most of its tales date from before its founding or to events that occurred during construction of its buildings, opening a window to the university’s eclectic history. These tales have kept the memory of colourful characters like Diamond Lil and Two Tooth Gertie alive. If you are ever in southern Arizona, take the time to visit this beautiful campus. You never know what you may encounter.
Hotel Monteleones Unsettled Guests ,New Orleans - Louisiana
Hotel Monteleone is such a fixture of cultural life in New Orleans, the city’s fabled French Quarter is said to begin in its lobby. Antonio Monteleone, a Sicilian immigrant, opened this beautiful and historic Beaux-Arts style hotel at 214 Royal Street in 1886. Easily recognizable, it is the only high-rise building in New Orleans. It contains 600 guest rooms, two restaurants, a heated rooftop pool, and a rotating bar called the Carousel Piano Bar and Lounge. Over the years, the hotel has developed a reputation for being haunted by as many as a dozen different specters.
The Hotel Monteleone was born in a merger of the Commercial Hotel with an older French Quarter hotel. In 1903, Monteleone added 30 rooms, and in 1908, he added 300 rooms in a major renovation that included renaming the building from the Commercial Hotel to Hotel Monteleone. In 1954, Antonio’s son, Frank, razed the original structure and reimagined it as the luxury hotel that stands today. The sky terrace, swimming pool, and cocktail lounges were added in 1964. Throughout its history, many literary figures, including Ernest Hemmingway, Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, and Anne Rice (among others), have stayed there.
Locals have long believed a plethora of spirits, including former employees, a man named William “Red” Wildemere, and a toddler named Maurice, haunt Hotel Monteleone. According to the hotel, “Generations of hotel guests and staff have regularly experienced haunted events that would cause even the staunchest skeptic to take pause. This haunted hotel in New Orleans had a restaurant door that opens almost every evening and then closes again, even though it is locked. An elevator that stops on the wrong floor, leading a curious couple down a hallway that grows chilly and reveals the ghostly images of children playing.”
Hotel Monteleone exterior.
The ghost of a young boy named Maurice allegedly haunts the 14th Floor (actually the 13th—the hotel skipped the number 13 when they numbered the floors). According to legend, he was the son of Josephine and Jacques Begere, who were in town to visit the French Opera House on Bourbon Street. The Begeres left their son in the care of a nanny while they attended the opera. On their return, their horses became spooked and threw Jacques from their buggy, killing him. Soon after, his wife died of a broken heart. Hotel guests and staff believe young Maurice still wanders the hotel, searching for his parents in the afterlife.
In 2012, a woman named Phyllis Paulsen reportedly encountered the ghost of Maurice. She told hotel staff, “I was just relaxing in bed one morning when I looked up to see a young boy about three years old walk by the foot of my bed. Since he had come from the sitting room, I immediately got up to see if the door was open and to check if a parent may have followed him into the room. My husband had just left for a meeting and I thought he may not have closed the door all the way… It didn’t take me long to realize that I had seen a ghost.”
Larry Montz of the International Society for Paranormal Research investigated Hotel Monteleone in 2003 and allegedly uncovered over a dozen ghosts. Among those mentioned earlier, “Solemn John,” a businessman from Tennessee who committed suicide after one too many failed investments, makes his appearance. Two lovers who made a suicide pact at the rooftop pool are also believed to haunt the hotel.
With such inspiring architecture and a storied past, it is no wonder Hotel Monteleone has appeared in several movies and televisions shows. Expect to pay over $200 a night, but with an onsite parking garage and Bourbon Street in walking distance, and a chance to walk the same halls as Ernest Hemmingway and William Faulkner, it is worth every penny. If you request it, you might even get the chance to stay on the 14th Floor and have an encounter with the unseen. Failing that, you can still visit everything else the French Quarter has to offer while enjoying some of the best accommodations New Orleans has to offer.
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