HALLOWEEN ISSUE Thursday, October 31, 2013
Vol. 124, Issue 20
GHOSTS ON GROUNDS
Image courtesy Angelica Verdon
Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily
Tales of spooks, spirits, supernatural guests dating back to Civil War pervade University Grounds Tiffany Truong Staff Writer
From Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn to spooky Hauntings on the Hill in Brown College to the Haunted Trail behind Gooch/ Dillard, the University has plenty to offer supernatural thrill-seekers for the year’s spookiest holiday. But “Halloweek” holds more than just tricks and treats — and
some of the truly haunting parts of Grounds may not come from traditions, but from the University's rich and eerie ghost tales. Pavilion IX – “Romance Pavilion” Pavilion IX, now known as the “Romance Pavilion,” was once home to a professor who died in the mid-1800s, said Vimal Nair, a University Guide and fourth-year in the Batten School.
To keep the Pavilion home, his wife would dress him up every day and put him out in the window. She kept this up for several weeks until the University found out of her husband's death. Alderman Library Legend has it that two ghosts roam the stacks in Alderman. The first, Dr. Bennett Green, graduated from the Medical School in 1858. After traveling
abroad and acquiring wealth in Argentina, he returned to Virginia. In 1913, upon his death, he left his library, located in the Rotunda, to the University and donated money for books and scholarships to the Medical School. According to University historian Alexander “Sandy” Gilliam, Green’s ghost has been seen coming to check on his books and make sure students
are using them properly. When the library was moved to Alderman, the ghost went along with it. Karin Wittenborg, the University librarian, claims to have first-hand experience with the ghostly visitor. “On two occasions in the last 20 years, I believe I have encoun-
see SPOOKS, page 3