If you have ever been in the halls of the L building and felt like someone was watching you, don’t be so quick to shrug that feeling off.
MCCC was built behind an old cemetery, and supernatural experiences have been reported.
The hill in front of the college between Raisinville road and the La-Z-Boy center parking lot is a cemetery known as the Potter’s Field, according to Chris Kull of the Monroe County Historical Society.
In the 1800s, the Fairview Society, then known as the county poor farm, owned most of the land around where the college is now built.
During this time period, if someone died and could not afford a funeral, they would be buried in the Potter’s Field.
Today, a Historical Society marker marks the grave of an unknown number of people. The only name on the marker is Ezra Younglove, a War of 1812 veteran.
Other campuses may have their ghost stories, but not many of them can say they have their own mass grave in front of their school.
Is it possible that since MCCC is so close to so many graves, that some of the dead are walking among the students and faculty, just out of eyeshot?
According to MCCC maintenance worker Dale Parker, it is not only possible, it’s happening.
When Parker worked midnights during Winter semester 2010, he encountered several things in the L building that he said could be attributed to paranormal activity.
“We eat dinner at 2 o’clock in the morning. I heard someone whistle at me. We [my partner and I] didn’t think anything of it, we sat there.
“About two minutes later, it happened; it got longer and louder. He and I walked out in the hallway, walked the whole first floor, didn’t find anyone.
“Two people can’t be wrong. We know what we heard,” he said.
Parker also witnessed the elevator going up and down when no one was inside of it.
He saw heavy handicapped doors being opened after they had been locked, and heard footsteps following behind him when he was completely alone.
This all occurred while he was cleaning the L building, and all in the early morning hours.
He’s heard other employees talk about the spirit in the L building possibly belonging to a Native American.
The activity, however, doesn’t seem to be contained in just the L building.
Terry Peterson, another maintenance worker, said that while she was working midnights cleaning the East Tech building, she felt someone grab her shoulder.
These ghosts seem to be able to manifest themselves, too.
Parker was mopping the kitchen and cafeteria in the A building when he got a strange sensation that someone was watching him.
“The closer I got to the main hallway, I got a cold sensation. I got little goose bumps and I looked around. There was a young woman walking down the main hallway. She was dressed like an office employee would dress, real professional,” he said.
“I actually dropped the mop and tried to follow her. I walked down toward the cafeteria; she cut right across the cafeteria. I ran after her and she was gone.”
For the eleven years Peterson has worked here, she said she has been playfully teased about her supernatural experiences.
Maybe she is the one who should be doing the teasing?