Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier features editor
Cammie Wilks, Campus Carrier asst. features editor
As the leaves begin to change colors and the weather starts to cool down, the month of October marks the beginning of the fall season. October is a time to watch classic horror films and tell scary stories around the fireplace to set the mood for the Halloween season. While most people dismiss these stories as made-up myths, Berry College has its own share of ghost stories that are said to be true. These stories originate in some of the campus’ oldest buildings, with ghost sightings being reported back 50 years.
One of Berry’s most well-known ghost stories is the tale of the Green Lady. She is said to haunt Lavender Mountain Road, the road leading to Mountain Campus. This road is commonly referred to as “Stretch Road” by students.
As with all ghost stories, different versions of the story exist depending on who is telling it. One account claimed that she is the spirit of Berry student Lindsey Elizabeth Will, who tragically passed away in 1887 in a bicycle accident on Stretch Road. Her boyfriend rode ahead of her on the trail, but when he turned around to look for her it was too dark to see. While driving back down the path, the couple suffered a severe bike crash, with Will sustaining fatal head injuries. This tale is generally the most accepted account of the story, although there are a few different versions of this story. Some believe that Will and her boyfriend were driving down Stretch Road in a car when they got into a heated argument. Will asked to be let out of the vehicle, and on the way back her boyfriend lost control of the car and crashed into her.
Another account from the Campus Carrier archives reports that the Green Lady was a woman who passed away in 1923 in a housefire near Stretch Road. A third, uncommon account claims that she is the spirt of a girl who killed herself near Stretch Road by carbon monoxide poisoning in the winter of 1987.
Although the versions of exactly who this mysterious figure is differ across sources, they seem to come to the same conclusion about the spirit herself: she is always spotted along Stretch Road and is seen wearing a tattered green dress and a bonnet around her neck. Some say that her eyes have rotted away, leaving two gaping holes in the place of her eye sockets. She can take the form of a green cloud of smoke, and she sometimes appears directly in front of cars driving down the road at night.
According to rumors, the Green Lady can be summoned while driving down Stretch Road at night. If her name is repeated three times, her face will appear in the rear-view mirror of the vehicle.
The Hoge building is one of Berry’s oldest, dating all the way back to 1905 when it was constructed by students for classrooms. It once served as Martha Berry’s office and the administration hall. With such an extensive history, this old building has been subject to many ghost sightings over the years.
There are many stories about Hoge, and it is reportedly of the most haunted locations on campus. In one story, an employee came in the Hoge building at night, and she saw a transparent-looking man dressed as a confederate soldier. When he went up the stairs, she followed him to find there was no one there. In another story, which was found in the Campus Carrier archives, past students reported that their things kept moving around in the music studios of Hoge. Additionally, students could hear voices around the building, even if no one else was present.
Perhaps the most chilling tale to come from Hoge is a famous story about a professor and her daughter. A professor had come to Hoge with her child, while she was working, she heard her daughter having a conversation. When the professor went to see who her daughter was talking to, she saw that no one was there. When asked who she was talking to, her daughter replied that she spoke to “a nice lady with cold hands.” Perplexed, the professor took her daughter home. Days later, when she brought her to campus, her daughter saw a picture of Martha Berry in Krannert and claimed that it was the lady she met.
Home to some of the most common ghost stories is Oak Hill. Being built-in the 1880’s, it was home to the Berry Family. Although it now serves as a museum, there are multiple reports of ghost sightings on the grounds. Students who have worked and entered the home have claimed that there are multiple ghosts haunting the house. One of the kinder ghosts lingering around the home is believed to be Martha Freeman, the Berry family’s housekeeper who died in 1951. Students in the past have reported smelling different baking ingredients in the kitchen of the house, such as cinnamon, ginger and peanut butter. One day, students were hunting for a certain book in Oak Hill’s library, and the book they were searching for happened to fall off the shelf right in front of them. Finally, the grounds team of Oak Hill were once trimming shrubs and heard the sound of dishes being washed from the house’s kitchen. Upon investigation, however, no one was found in the kitchen.
Another spirit haunting Oak Hill isn’t a friendly one. Students have reported an angry force residing in the house, feeling as if they’re being watched intensely. On one occasion, a student heard a crash outside and discovered a library cabinet had opened by itself and knocked over a picture frame, which broke after hitting the ground. No one really knows who the spirit is, but some believe it to be either one of Martha Berry’s brothers or the previous owner of Oak Hill before the Berry family arrived.
The most famous spirit of Oak hill is rumored to be Frances Rhea Berry, Martha Berry’s mother. After her husband died in 1887, she slept in a different bedroom upstairs at Oak Hill, until she passed away in 1926 during Christmas. If the home isn’t greeted with a “good morning,” thudding can be heard from her room. Upon stepping into her bedroom, students have reported feeling overheated, heavy weight pressing against them, and migraines as if someone is screaming. Sometimes, items will be moved around, or the lights will flicker on the second floor.
With so many different reports of ghost sightings on the Berry Campus, it’s hard to deny that at least some of these must be true. While they can’t be proven for sure, a campus with such an extensive history is bound to have some spirits wandering around. Next time you take a drive down Stretch Road at night, be extra vigilant; that cloud of smoke might just be the spirit of the Green Lady. That strange noise coming from the Hoge Building might just be the spirit of Martha Berry traversing the property. Outside of the spirits discussed in this article, there may be more lost spirits just waiting to be discovered.
Special thanks to Oak Hill Adult Program Specialist Bailey Casey, for providing research materials on these stories.