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 encountered Dr. Green,” she said. “After the first time, I started to bring my big dog with me [to the library].”
Alderman Library also houses the ghost of Muscoe Garnett, an 1842 alumnus of the University and member of the Board of Visitors. His descendants donated his library to Alderman in 1938.
Soon after the donation, there were reported sightings of Garnett, who, like Green, was checking up on his library. The two ghosts have reportedly been seen together, roaming the halls, Gilliam said.
Montebello
Montebello, the historic home located on Stadium Road, is currently home to Engineering School Dean James Aylor and his wife, Sherry — and quite possibly some supernatural guests as well.
Sherry Aylor has reported hearing strange noises in her house since they moved in eight years ago. The first time, it was just a thump up the steps. Since then, they have heard door slams, jangling keys and other eerie noises.
Montebello was once home to Isaac Moram, a soldier in the Civil War who lost his leg in a battle in Richmond. Moram is now buried with his family in the University cemetery.
“I think he comes back because it was a nice place for him,” she said. “I never believed in ghosts until I moved into this house. Periodically, we’ll hear something that we can’t quite account for.”
On two different accounts, when she put her grandchildren to sleep upstairs, Aylor claims to have heard faint music playing through the monitor. Even when the monitor was on all day, the music could only be heard when her grandchildren were upstairs asleep. Moram had seven children, but only the records of six could be found. It is thought that Moram plays the music for his lost child.
The Lawn
The Lawn has been the site of several eerie happenings. During the Civil War, the Lawn was actually used as a Confederate hospital. In Room 19, a Civil-War-era gun was discovered hidden in a secret compartment. And though an estimated 100-250 soldiers lost their lives on the Lawn during the war, it is the ghost of General Carnot Posey, who lived and died on Grounds after the Civil War, who supposedly haunts Room 33 on the Lawn.
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