Delta State Univ. is a typical college. Students, faculty and staff take part in various aspects of campus life, such as working in classroom settings, attending sporting events, going to the gymnasium or walking around campus and returning home at the end of the day.

Some might think nothing “extraordinary” happens in this otherwise normal college setting.

Rumors and stories speak otherwise. This campus holds secrets behind the harmless cover of everyday life. Haunted dormitories, Ouija boards, curious and terrified students and unbelievable circumstances are the center of these stories.

There is no confirmation that these stories are true or accurate. What is true is the existence of the stories themselves. 

Exorcism in the Dorms

Dr. Eugene Tibbs, Assistant Professor of Philosophy,  teaches a course on the paranormal. In that course, he tells a story that he was told by a colleague sometime after he began teaching at Delta State Univ. This colleague claimed to have witnessed and participated in an exorcism.

One Saturday night, the colleague received a phone call from distressed students. The second call was more concerning. Apparently, several students had been in the lobby of one of the dormitories playing with a Ouija board.

“They were not taking it seriously,” the colleague stated. “It was simply a parlor game with which to amuse themselves on a blustery Saturday night.”

Something, however, decided to make itself known to the students. One student became bold and decided to play around with it, telling whatever it was that it could enter her. Afterwards, the other students claimed to see the girl’s skin blush like a sunburn and watch her hair stand up. Then, her voice changed. The students believed it was the voice of whoever or whatever took possession of their friend.

After hearing the story, the colleague arrived and attempted to preform an exorcism, despite not being an exorcist. The colleague prayed, then prayed harder when the entity resisted. Finally, it seemed like he had beaten the entity and driven it out. Afterwards, the colleague took the girl for a walk to calm her down, then she returned to her friends in the dormitory. The students broke the Ouija board and threw it away. The colleague went home.

Unfortunately, when the colleague next saw the girl, he says, “She had no idea who I was.” She dropped out of school. Her friends said she continued to have on and off experiences with whatever it was that she invited into herself that night. The colleague never knew if this was truly paranormal or if the student suffered from a mental illness that manifests itself in young adulthood, like schizophrenia.

Harmless Stories or Something More?

Dr. Melanie Anderson, Assistant Professor of English and scholar of horror literature, is aware of these stories but has had no personal encounters for herself. Dr. Anderson says she’s heard that Cleveland Hall, a women’s dormitory that is now closed, is believed to be haunted. 

Telling ghost stories is not an uncommon practice, however, there’s no knowing for sure if any of them are true. Rumors of hauntings are an aspect of campus life that is not too well known.

If stories of the mysterious and terrifying side of DSU interest you, speak with Dr. Melanie Anderson or Dr. Eugene Tibbs. 

Listen around campus or search in those dark and seemingly empty spaces of everyday life, where these events lie dormant and the truth resides in secret.