Could spirits be lurking in Mount Mary?

Employees, students share stories of paranormal activity

Words & Photo & Design | Allyson Gebauer

Three years ago, on a cold and rainy night, Tony Lemke, Mount Mary University public safety officer, was touring campus completing his nightly duties. As he entered the first floor of Gerhardinger Center, he noticed something out of the ordinary.

“I saw three women who appeared to be very frightened,” Lemke said. “Being inquisitive, I asked them what happened.”

Lemke recalls that after the three women came from class on the second floor, two of them had to use the restroom.

One woman took a drink of water from the nearby water fountain. Suddenly, she felt a grab on her shoulder. She thought it was her friend.

According to Lemke, when her friend came out of the bathroom, the woman who was getting a drink asked her, Why did you sneak up on me like that?

This left the other woman confused.

I didn’t. I just came out now, her friend replied.

This left the women in shock.

“I was coming down the hallway and I saw absolutely nothing as far as an apparition or anything in the air,” Lemke said. “So whatever they felt was all them.”

The experience in Gerhardinger was not the first time someone had a chilling experience on campus. Three years prior, there was another late night scare on the fourth floor of Notre Dame Hall.

As Lemke was on another night shift, he noticed something abnormal.

“I was on the elevator and I went up to the fourth floor of Notre Dame,” Lemke said. “I got off of the elevator and started walking down the hallway, and one of the girls came running out of room 464. Kind of struck to me as being a little unusual, and I asked her if something was on fire or if there was an accident. She said no.”

The woman was in the room, working on a metal sculpture, when something quickly came up to her and grabbed her shoulder. The woman whipped around and saw absolutely nothing. According to Lemke, she was completely shaken.

Lemke asked the student, “Are you sure it was a touch, or was it something in the air, like from the air vents in the ceiling?”

According to Lemke, the student said, No, it was a definite touch.

After the student thought for a while, she clarified that it was more of a firm grip on her shoulder, not just a touch. This left Lemke in shock.

The Fidelis Hall tunnel is sometimes colder than the adjacent walkways.

Around Gerhardinger Center, the ghost meter that detects a ghost’s energy registered high on the scale. This signified that something may be present.

Public Safety officer, Tony Lemke, says that in room 464, a woman felt something grab her shoulder.

A statue of a School Sister of Notre Dame on the fourth floor suggests the possibility of a sister watching over students.

Resident Assistant, Destiny Rodriguez recalls the Programming Resource Center door creaking open on its own.

An eerie silence fills the Program Resource Center at night. Resident Assistant, Destiny Rodriguez, says this made her feel uneasy.

“I went in the room. I did not see or feel anything. I told her, ‘Maybe you should take a break for the rest of the night,’” Lemke said.

The paranormal activity continues to impact on students on the fourth floor. Years ago, an event occurred that left students working late at night on an edition of Arches in shock.

Ann Angel, English professor at Mount Mary and a previous adviser for Arches, said she heard stories from students on staff who had unusual experiences.

“I’ve heard students say they’ve seen a nun in an older habit in the mirror on the fourth floor,” Angel said. “I told the students who swore they saw her one midnight when they were working on layout (for Arches) that she was probably letting them know it was past bedtime.”

The School Sisters of Notre Dame used to live at Mount Mary many years ago. While some have passed away, there is a possibility that the former sisters of Notre Dame are watching over students on campus.

“I think she’s a good spirit, probably just trying to get students to call it a night and get some sleep,” Angel said.

There is a possibility that another type of energy remains on campus, unlike anything in Gerhardinger Center or Notre Dame Hall. Destiny Rodriguez, a sophomore and residents assistant at Mount Mary University, had a mysterious incident occur. She was in the Program Resource Center, also known as the PRC, in Caroline Hall when she experienced something that left her frightened.

“I was in the PRC at 9 p.m. on a Saturday. I was in there doing door decorations,” Rodriguez said. “It’s night time and I didn’t expect there to be any noises because it’s a weekend and it is 9 p.m.”

Then all of a sudden, she saw and heard something unusual, unlike anything she has experienced in the PRC before. It left her confused and astounded.

“I had the door open a little and it just kept creaking. It kept creaking open every 20 minutes. I was like, this is weird because it kept happening periodically. Every single time that it happened, rationally, I knew it was the door leading out of the PRC,” Rodriguez said. “But, the very back door by the cabinets, it just felt like it was opening. It felt like something was in there and I was being watched the whole time. It was just this really bad energy.”

With the door opening frequently in the same exact intervals leaving an uneasy energy inside her, Rodriguez was lead to believe there was something bad making the door move. Everything in her gut and her instinct told her that there was something waiting behind that door.

“I tried to ignore it because, instinctually, you think it is a ghost or demon that is going to excite it more. And I was trying to do that,” Rodriguez said.

The possible spirit that lingered with her continued to make her feel uncomfortable.

“I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t feel comfortable here. It is 9 on a weekend where nobody should be here or should be at this end of the building,’” Rodriguez said. “I decided to leave then before I saw a ghost or demon. I never want to be there late at night ever again. It just freaked me out.”

Could other spirits be lurking on campus? If you would like to share your story, email Allyson Gebauer at gebauera@mtmary.edu.