From the ghost of the murdered cow in Old Main, to the ghost of an underground collapsed tunnel between Brotz Hall and Kruger Hall, Lakeland has more than a couple of ghosts who have roamed these parts over the years.  

Over the past week, Lakeland University professors, employees, and students were asked if they had any supernatural experiences here on campus. Out of all the ghost stories that were told, only these three buildings were the reoccurring hotspots of ghostly activity: Kruger Hall, the Bradley Center, and Old Main.  

Ms. Ann Penke, the Lakeland librarian who has worked here for over thirty-two years, and Ms. Lucretia Crawford, a Lakeland Professor, got together earlier this week to talk about a few of the ghost stories that they’ve heard over the years. They were able to come up with three ghost stories, two of which inhabit Old Main, and one that resides within the Bradley Center. 

Ann Penke went into further details about the ghost of the Bradley, “Before Bradley was built, there was a building called ‘Founders,’ which is where the gym and the theater were. Over the course of the years, things happened in Founders. Things would be moved, [people would] come in and the basketballs were all out on the floor, or garbage cans were tipped over, and they all attributed it to a ghost. There was even a fire in Founders that they attributed to the ghost. When Bradley was built, Founders was taken down, but there was some thought that the ghost had moved over to Bradley.”  

A member of Lakeland’s kitchen staff was questioned on if they had any supernatural experiences here on campus. They said that they’ve seen the ghost of the Bradley “so many times.” “He [the ghost of the Bradley] likes to sit upon the catwalk and stare down at people on the stage… I’ve seen a pair of glowing lights up on top of the catwalk that were eye distance apart on multiple occasions.”  

Another infamous ghost story that has been told to incoming freshmen during their blue and gold days is the ‘Cow of Old Main.’ Charlie Krebs, the Lakeland theater professor, recited the tale of the ‘Cow of Old Main.’ “From what I understand, many many years ago, some people took a cow, and took it up to the third floor of Main. Cows can go upstairs, but they can’t go down, and so when they tried to get the cow… to come downstairs, [since] they can’t come downstairs… they had to kill it to get it out.” There have been multiple reports of students and professors hearing mooing and footsteps throughout the building ever since. But the cow isn’t alone in Old Main. There is another. 

 Ann Penke said that “periodically at night, people would see lights in the building, and they would hear music.” It was suspected that it was Reverent F. W. Knatz who was responsible for the music and lights. 

These are only a couple of the many ghost stories that Lakeland residents had to say. Whether they are true or made up to scare people, they will continue to be told for years to come. With Halloween coming up, there could even be a few more tales that arise. 

Happy Halloween from the Mirror.