Halloween is an exciting time for students here at Eastern Michigan University. Many campus organizations hold annual events in its honor, and many students are still young enough at heart to enjoy dressing for the occasion. What isn’t widely known, however, is Eastern Michigan’s campus is home to its own ghost stories.
Starkweather Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus and might be inhabited by one of our very own genuine ghosts. Its architecture alone makes Starkweather Hall stand out as a compelling setting for a haunting. Further investigation into its construction and subsequent use has given rise to the tale of the ghost of Mary Starkweather.
According to Ted Ligibel, the director of the Graduate Historic Preservation Program, the most interesting aspect of the building is its architecture.
“It really speaks to how the university has evolved over the years. To me, Starkweather is a little time capsule and a real tie to Eastern’s past and 19th century architecture,” Ligibel said.
According to EMU’s history archives, the building was assembled in 1897 as a gift to the university from Mary Ann Starkweather, who provided $10,000 for its construction. She had intended the building to be used for religious purposes. Specifically, the Starkweather building was to be home for the Students’ Christian Association. The archives further illustrate the existence of a 99-year lease for the Starkweather building to be used as a religious facility.
Mary Starkweather’s wishes were not carried out. In the 1920s, the Student Christian Association ended, and five decades later in 1976 the Office of Religious Affairs was also discontinued. Starkweather Hall became an Interact office.
People were concerned the building was no longer being used for its intended purpose. Stories also arose around this time about the angry ghost of Mary Starkweather roaming the building’s diminutive hallways.
According to a member of EMU’s Paranormal Society who wished to remain anonymous, she very well could be haunting the building, now a Graduate Studies office.
“I feel if someone felt that strongly about something, like a building being used strictly for religion, I think it could keep anyone’s ghost here,” they said. “However, I don’t know if that one reason is reason enough.”
After having heard this story, I went searching for some recent occurrences of paranormal activity.
According to Brian Anderson, who has been director of Research Development at Starkweather for the past 10 years, there have been two eerie instances in the basement of the building.
“About a year and a half ago there was a janitor that did have a weird experience down in the basement.” Anderson said. “He told us that he felt somebody touching him and it really freaked him out.”
According to Anderson, the janitor was very flustered and wouldn’t even stay put for questioning.
According to Anderson, however, there is no haunting at Starkweather, just mice, squirrels and bats that make noise in the attic that are sometimes misinterpreted as ghosts.
He did leave off by showing a popular picture in the Starkweather building his coworkers like to share a laugh over when it comes to their infamous haunter.
“We try to perpetrate this legend with this picture of Mary Starkweather in the hall that seemed to have grown horns.” Anderson laughed pointing at a somber picture of Mary Starkweather with two faded horns growing from her head.
“We all kind of embellish on this to make the place look haunted,” he said.
