I had quite a few ghostly encounters during my years at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY.  Given the college was founded in the late 1800s, this was not extremely surprising and even somewhat expected when staying in the older buildings.  However, this time I was spooked in Alumnae Hall.  Alumnae Hall was built in 1965.  For most of my years at the Mount, it was the newest dormitory on campus.  So, I honestly didn’t expect to see a ghost there, especially since I had lived in that building in my freshman year and hadn’t experienced any paranormal phenomena.  There had been a few strange moments late at night, but never anything definitive that I could identify.

Now, it was the summer of 2005.  I had finished my sophomore year and I was an Orientation Leader.  Aside from decorating the bulletin boards, preparing Orientation packets for new students, and devising Ice Breaker activities, we had to help with getting the dorms ready for the incoming future students.  Just before everyone arrived, we were supposed to do a check of the rooms to make sure that they were ready.

The students were scheduled to come the next day.  I decided to make the rounds early to get it out of the way.  I started down my side of the floor, peeking into each of the rooms.  Everything seemed in order.  Then I turned the corner.

A young woman stood with her back facing toward me.  Her wavy, auburn hair fell to about her waistline.  I noted her bell bottom jeans, which had made a comeback at the time.  “Excuse me,” I called out.  “Who are you?”  She didn’t answer me, but instead started walking briskly away.  I followed behind, calling for her to stop.  No matter how fast I went, she always seemed to be a few feet ahead of me.

We reached the end of the hallway and she ducked into the last room across from the stairs.  “Hey, come back!  You can’t be in there!” I said knowing that I was going to have to confront this person now.

I entered the room.  “…And you’re not here,” I said aloud.

The room was completely empty.  I closed the door and checked every place that someone could hide.  No one was under the bed or in the closet.  I also looked out the window, even though they were closed and it was a far jump to the ground floor.  No one was there.  I had run in right behind her, so she hadn’t had any chance of getting out without me seeing her.

Standing there in that empty room, I thought back to the details of the young woman.  Long hair, bell bottom jeans, and I had never seen her face even when she turned into the room.  No one on staff fit that description.  I checked with security, but nobody like that had been admitted into the building either.  It was like she had appeared out of thin air and just as quickly vanished again.  She is still one of the most detailed apparitions that I have ever witnessed.

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send an email with your contact information to Tara Theresa Hill at theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview. 

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story!