Haunted KSC sites to be featured on Travel Channel

Wheelchairs moving on their own in the Huntress attic, horses only able to be seen on a rainy night, and ghosts roaming the halls of Elliott.

These are just some of Keene State College's ghost stories that will be featured on the Travel Channel's haunted campuses show airing around Halloween. According to Dave Orsman from college relations, KSC was selected after someone from the Travel Channel read about KSC in "Creepy Colleges and haunted universities; true ghost stories."

One popular KSC legend that will be featured on the Travel Channel is the tale of Harriett Huntress. According to Mike Maher, director of alumni and parent relations, Harriett Huntress was an administrator in the New Hampshire State Department of Education.

In 1920 Huntress Hall was named after her and was a women's residence hall. During World War II, to help with the war effort, KSC housed naval air cadet's that trained at the Keene airport. While the dorm was coed according to Maher Harriett Huntress' spirit was upset because of the men and women interacting.

"From that time on their have been reports of noises in Huntress Hall and it's said that when Harriett is upset with the behavior of students she starts to make her presence known," said Maher.

Students have claimed to hear strange noises in the attic of Huntress but the most popular sound from the attic is a wheelchair going up and down on the floor.

One KSC student said she personally heard Harriett Huntress.

"My boyfriend and I thought we heard it because there was a screeching noise above my room and it really scared me," said freshman Brittany LaPointe.

Other students who have lived in Huntress said some parts of the story might be fabricated but strange events really do occur in the attic.

"They took us up to the attic to show us some of the things from the story but it was really just one of the resident assistants dressed up like a ghost, but there was a chalk outline on the floor that they said they had never seen before," said junior Heather Hendricks.

Another popular KSC tale is the horses that can supposedly be seen on a rainy night at Brickyard pond. According to Maher in the 1800's Brickyard Pond was a brick yard where clay was dug to make bricks.

Maher said the tale begins when one worker took a shovel full of clay and hit an underlying aquifer. The man ran for safety and left the horses behind while water filled up the brickyard. "So now on particularly cool and misty nights people who live over in that direction have heard horses and some have actually seen shimmering images of the horse," said Maher.

Through the years, stories have been passed on from students but according to Maher some of the facts have changed and have been embellished. One story that has been questioned is about an elephant that escaped from a circus train in Keene.

The elephant was shot and killed near the bridge to the recreation fields. Some of the facts of the story have been questioned but Maher said there haven't been any reports of elephant ghosts.

Another building on campus that has a mysterious past is Elliott Hall. The building used to be a hospital and the basement was a morgue.

"People have heard strange noises and others have said that they have heard things late at night that can't be explained," said Maher.

Some students question how true the stories are.

"I just have heard a bunch of rumors but it's hard to tell weather they are true or not," said junior Justine Gasco.

Other students are skeptical of ghosts all together.

"I don't believe it because there is no such thing as ghosts, but if there are I would like to meet them," said senior Spencer Fortwengler.

Although some people may not believe in the tales, Maher said the stories have carried on for so long because of the mystery and questions that are involved.

"Everybody loves stories that they can't really explain and it doesn't matter weather it's ghost stories or aliens, but if you can't explain something that someone has seen or heard it's fascinating," said Maher.

Filming will take place on campus April 26 and 27. Orsman said students Christina Marshall and Alison Thompson will be interviewed.

Other students may be asked to share their tales to the travel channel as the campus is filmed. The Travel Channel will also go through out the city and film.

The show will also feature four other colleges from around the country.

Although the stories can be questioned Orsman said the show will be good for the college and will be a fun way to look at different regions.

Although Orsman said he doubts the show will impact any enrollment on KSC it is still a good way for the college to be covered.