Friday, October 28, 2005 Students share real life Ghost Stories By Raechul Bowser and KJ Margraff Jr. staff writer I student life editor rmbsol3CaTstEedu I SLeditor@psu.edu Disclaimer: The following seven stories are true in the opinions of the individuals in the stories. They may or may not portray the personal thoughts, opinions or views of the Behrend Beacon staff, including the writers of this article. We do not encourage, nor dis courage, the use of Ouiji boards or any such devices. [Story #l] Junior Jenna Gregory is a graduate of Rocky Grove High School in Franklin, PA. In the late winter of her sophomore year, Gregory and the other wrestling cheerleaders were setting up the gym for a match to take place early the next day. Due to the long process of preparing the gym, the cheerleaders decided to spend the night at the school. That night, the group of 10 cheerleaders and their coach were alone in the school. The cheerleaders were exploring the school and ended up in the auditorium. Though Rocky Grove is very small, the audito rium is larger than Science 101 or the Reed lecture hall. The girls made their way to the one side of the stage to turn some lights on. When the cheerlead- ers were done flipping switch es, a light on the opposite side of the stage above an exit door turned on. As the girls approached the exit, the light mysteriously turned off and continued to turn on and off throughout the night. No one Oui was near a light switch when this occurred. This light turned on and off many other times as well, including during Gregory's theater practice. In her junior year during musical practice, parts of Gregory's costume disap peared and no one knew what happened to them. Students at Rocky Grove have reported sightings of the ghost of a young boy. Gregory said that she has never seen the ghost, but she knows that people who have seen him say that he is friendly and wears a base ball cap. [Story #2] Freshman Breanne Coschigano was sixteen years old when her grandmother passed away. Her grandmother had passed away in England, where many members of her family reside and where her ashes now lie. When she returned from England after the funeral, Coschigano's mother brought a shirt back with her. Since her grandmother had a small frame, Coschigano kept the shirt in her closet. For a period of five days, Coschigano experienced some unsettling occurrences. She would have the same dream each night in which she would he very upset and sobbing about her grand mother's passing. Then, her grandmother would appear to her in her dreams and try to comfort her. Following the dreams, Coschigano would awaken to the opening and closing of her clos et door. The closet door has a knob that would actually twist open and then close repeatedly. On the fifth night, Coschigano experi enced the same dream once again, but when she awoke, she could not move. Coschigano explained that she felt restrained physical ly and mentally. She described the feeling of paralysis of her body and the feeling that she could not speak or even cry. After this feel ing subsided, Coschigano had no other experiences of this kind. [Story #3l Senior Pat Carver believes that his sister Stacy has a guardian angel. When he was about six years old, Carver was play ing in his parents' bedroom with his four-year-old sister. Carver's house is about 120 years old and contains much of the original design. Because the house is so old, the staircase to the second floor leads to a door in the actual floor of the master bedroom. On the day of the incident, the door was open in the bedroom, which left a large opening in the floor. As Carver and his sister played, Stacy fell headfirst down the opening in the floor, the side opposite of the stairs. As his sister fell, the beaded necklace that Stacy was wearing caught on a piece of wood and flipped her body around so that she would land in a sitting position. The necklace that Stacy was wearing belonged to her deceased grandmother who passed away about 40-50 years ago. [Story #4] Junior Deepti Soni spent the summer of 2005 at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. She spent 10 days on campus to take two classes and complete research. Soni stayed in one of the residence halls on the Charles River. Harvard University is a very old campus and the hall that Soni stayed in was Frightening costume Faux-Pas For the typical college student, the end of October means a few different things. It signals the mid dle point of the fall semester and the swift kick some may need to push themselves into gear academ ically. For students in Erie, it signals the skipping of autumn and the beginning of Erie's frigid win ter. Most importantly, the end of October signals Halloween. In traditional American culture, Halloween is a time for people to dress up in elaborate costumes and parade through neighborhoods demanding sweet things to eat. This is basically a free ticket to step outside the realms of what is real for one night and run amuck. The key to getting away with this suspension of belief in reality is the perfect costume. Choosing the perfect costume can easily be as big of a deal as choosing the right school, the most fitting career, or even the ideal life partner. Because such a heavy weight lies upon choosing the ulti mate costume, a few rules for the selection process must be put into place and followed in order to ensure a successful night. First and foremost, Halloween does not provide an acceptable excuse for collar popping. Period. Or wearing Ugg boots. That is unacceptable year around. Second, ladies - please beware of what is being dubbed the "Mean Girls" approach to Halloween. Anyone who is familiar with this teen comedy can recall the scene when the girls pre pared for their Halloween party. In this scene, it was stated that Halloween is the only time when young women can dress in an overly provocative manner. Thus, extremely slinky skirts and barely there tops are allegedly acceptable. Let's attempt to stay classy this year, ladies. If not for self respect, then for the simple fact that we do live in Erie and that can mean anything from sunshine to a tsunami. Halloween weekend should be a time of friends, music, candy and fun. Happy costuming, Penn State Erie eir went into the CONTRIBUTED PHOTO kitchen to check i Boards are believed to be capable of contacting and talking to Spirits. on him. When By De'Adra Walker fashion columnist duwlo3@psu.edu UDENT r built in the early 1900 s. According to Soni, Harvard is notoriously haunted as many students have committed suicide on campus from extreme stress levels. Soni spent her first night in the dorms alone, as she did not have a roommate at the time. On her first night, she awoke to a feeling of pressure on her body as though someone was holding her down. As she turned her light on, the closet doorknob twisted open. Soni then saw the whitish outline of a person exit her room. Though this experience occurred only on the first night of her stay, the closet door would randomly open and some objects on Soni's shelves were mysteriously moved. [Story #s] Freshman Jamie Morgan is from Kane, PA, which is about two hours southeast of Eric. When she was a junior in high school, Morgan and her boyfriend Steve Chittester (Penn State Altoona) skipped school one day and spent the day at his house. As Morgan entered the kitchen, a drawer that was sitting open was pushed shut by an unseen force. As she shouted for Chittester, Morgan discovered that he had been upstairs the entire time. Only one person that has been inside Chittester's house has not had an unexplained experience. Morgan also mentioned that at one time, Chittester's mother considered an exorcism of the house. [Story #6] Freshman Emily Zimmerman had been recently informed of the stories that Niagra Hall, the dorm she lives in, is haunted. Unsure of the validity of these tales, she and a friend made jokes and went on a "ghost hunt" in the third floor of the building. The next day, sitting at her computer with that same friend, she felt a pain, much like a paper cut, on her wrist. Zimmerman looked at her wrist to see that she was bleeding; it was a small cut that she disregarded as "no big deal". The wound, however, did not heal as it should have, leaving an abnormally large scar on her wrist. Needless to say, the girls no longer make jokes about the haunted dorm. [Story #7l Ever since mov ing into a house on Buffalo Road, the Delta Chi Fraternity, Behrend Chapter, has had many paranormal experiences leading the chapter to believe its house is haunted. Over the 13 plus years that they have lived in the house, there have been countless incidents that have occurred with no logical explanation available. These include things like voices in empty rooms, doors and win dows slamming shut, light switches and outlets mysteri ously not working at odd inter vals and electronic devices turning themselves on, just to name a few. Most of the inci dents do not cause the brothers to fear the spirit, but they all believe that it's best not to make a big deal of it. They feel that Rob, the ghost's name, is mostly a practical joker enjoy ing the atmosphere of the fra ternity house. Let me begin by saying that there arc many different kinds of "public." There is the "public" dorm, suite or apartment in which there are five or more people, hut usually no more than 20, and the majority of whom you arc either friends with or are acquainted with. The "public" hallway is a little different because, depending on the time of day, there can be any given number of people, hut it is a kind of "public" nevertheless. Then, there is the "public" cafeteria in which there arc 50 or more people, and the majority of these people you do not know at all. There are also different types of "displays of affection." First. we have the peck on the cheek and lips. Second are the makeout ses sions. Third arc the quick grabs of whatever obscene member of the genetalia is closest. And last, but not least, arc the full on dry hump around in the I fests. Morgan took a scat in the living room, she heard sounds of some- kitchen. Assuming that her boyfriend was there, Morgan started a conversation Because she received answer from Chinester. she TRANSFERRING NEXT YEAR? DOWNTOWN Apartments Available! it Iti HURRY! Don't let your buddies beat you to the best deal in town! FULLY FURNISHED APARTMENTS *Fall 06-07 *Located Downtown *Spacious Apartments *Across from campus *Free Cable TV *Fitness Center on site *Friendly Management * Study Lounge Rate Starting at $299.00 CALL TODAY AND WE WILL BE HAPPY 10 MAKE YOUR IRANSMONAS LAS "A.S POSSIBLE! LOCATION! BEST HAIRS! Sex Column: P.D.A. is B.A.D. moving Now, when combined into public displays of affection (PDAs), different light is shed on these topics. We look at them differently depending on the location and degree of display. There arc PDAs that are acceptable and those which are most definitely not. It is always important to keep others in mind when you're going to share your feeling for your partner. The first degree of a PDA is pecks on the checks and lips. These are the most common and the least bothersome. They arc okay any where; in a small room of five or more or in a cafeteria with 50 or more. Just keep it in line and make sure that it does not escalate into anything that could he considered gross by others. The second degree of a PDA is makeout sessions. These are hard on the eyes and make me want to turn the other way. hut they typi cally do not make me gag, depending it depends on whom it is I sup pose. These should be kept in settings where there arc fewer than 21) people, all of whom are acquaintances. Groping is the third degree of PDAs and is just gross. There is nothing else that can be said about groping. just don't. It's nasty and no one wants to see a desperate grab for a breast, penis or butt. This is not acceptable anywhere other than a small setting with you and your partner and never, even remotely, acceptable in a group setting. Dry humping, the tburth degree of PDAs, is not acceptablein pub lic under any circumstances unless. You should he by yourself with your partner. No particular kind of setting will do. You should he alone and sure that no one else will sec. The bottom line here: keep your personal displays of affection just that - personal displays of affection. Chances are no one other than you and your partner wants to see it. It is nice when you want to share your love or lust with your partner, hut you don't need to physically share your love with the rest of the world. • ign now and be entered to win a Years Free Rent! ~.. .,,,,,..illigiiiiiiiimi . „4 merioian 814-231-9000 www.meridianoncollegeavenue. corn The Behrend Beacon I 7 ri - r1 I_l, By Jennifer Haight news cditor ncw , ,editorka cdu on college avenue 646 East College Avenue State College, PA 16801 STOP BY OUR 01431 HOUSE OCTOBER STN, 22ND C 28TH , ' ,
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