Bridgewater State University

Bridgewater State University is said to be haunted by a former headmaster in Tillinghast (Tilly) Hall. According to legend, she died when she fell off the roof after climbing up there to discipline some residents who were up there making noise in the night. Also, a ghost named George is said to haunt the Campus Center. He makes himself known by playing instruments, locking doors or similar ghostly pranks.

Courtesy of haunted places.org

There is rich history through New England. Throughout the states that make it up, there are bound to be sites of Revolutionary War battles, former homes of native americans, underground railroad locations, etc. With so much dramatic history it is no wonder that stories of the paranormal are synonymous with New England, and many New Englanders can share a story or two that was either first or second hand.

The series of stories, however, that I wanted to write about were based around my alma mater located in South Eastern Massachusetts, Bridgewater State College. Though it is now called Bridgewater State University, it has been a higher learning institution for a couple centuries, and is located in what many people know to be the most paranormally active part of Massachusetts called "The Bridgewater Triangle."

It is cursed land, as a result of the dying words of King Philip, a Metacomet leader who was killed by colonial settlers. The Bridgewater Triangle on Wikipedia

I actually grew up in the Bridgewater Triangle, but where Bridgewater State sits is in the center of this 200 square mile area.

Many people have stories about Bridgewater State, but here is one that happened to me.

It was my sophomore year, I was majoring in Fine Art and like any art student will verify, I spent many late nights in the art building there.

Here's a picture of the front of the building, it's not my photo. Art Building of BSC

Despite it's unusual appearance, it was used as a gymnasium up until the 1950's or 60's I think. The first floor was actually a basketball court and the second floor was an indoor running track. But directly behind the building was a cemetery, one that had gravestones so old that the names and dates have been weathered down to anonymity.

I had often been told, from students and a couple professors alike, about difference experiences with a woman in Victorian attire. Footsteps could be hard, lights would turn on and off, the elevator would open to random passers by even if they had not called for the elevator. A few more intense stories were related to me, but only after my own encounter.

In the middle of the second floor is a large computer lab for graphic design and digital art projects. While attempting to learn Flash on my own one night in preparation for an New Media assignment, I let time get away from me a bit. Though I settled in shortly after dinner at seven, it was suddenly 12 o'clock. I left the door a bit open as it had a locking mechanism and I was relatively sure I was only one still in the building.

There was a knock at the door which was a bit unsettling as there is often times more insecurity in being interrupted when you think you are alone. I opened to find another student, I had never seen him before in any of my classes but he thanked me for opening the door sat down at a computer and logged on to a computer which assuaged my concerns that he may not have been an art student.

After about 30-45 minutes, a girl showed up who was likely this other student's girlfriend and after talking for a bit they left the room. They left the door wide open though as the student remarked they'd be back in about 15 minutes. Despite ignoring them the whole time, I acknowledged it with a simple head nod and said OK.

I was focused after all, learning Flash was supposedly going to be important, and I had to make this animation work by the day after next. I'm not sure how much time had passed but I suddenly felt like I was not alone.

Humans at some point must have developed some evolutionary trait that put them in fight or flight if they were to become some predator's prey, which is why people may say that they feel they are being watched, and I felt like I was being watched. I quickly grew uneasy, and no sooner did I have the feeling that someone else was in the room that I felt a hand, delicately placed on my right shoulder. Startled, I reeled my chair around to nothing. I was alone in the room.

Being a bit disconcerted, and realizing that it was already past one in the morning, I decided to go down to the men's bathroom to splash water in my face a bit and wake up. I thought that I would call it a night around three or four.

Another thing about the art building is that all the lights are turned off after 10pm, so students in the building after hours are responsible for turning the lights on and off as they go. This also meant that you would have to traverse a pitch black hallway before getting to the light switch on the other side.

The men's bathroom, of course was in the basement and I was a bit on edge from what had happened even though I had no ideas as to why I felt the sensation of being watched and a hand on my shoulder. I entered the hallway where the bathroom was and turned on the light, the bathroom being only one of two rooms in this hallway and the other just about across the hall from the bathroom being a metals workshop, which I noticed was dark as I passed it.

After entering the bathroom, I stood over the sink looking in the mirror and turned on the faucet. I splashed some water on my face before turning the faucet off and getting a paper towel to dry my face, and got ready to enter back into the dark hallway. I placed my hand on the door knob to leave but at the moment I did this from the other side I heard…

Knockknockknock

Three distinct, quick knocks as if you were using the bend of your index finger to knock on the door. I immediately opened to the door to… a dark hallway. It was strange as I knew I left the light on. I cautiously stepped out into the hallway and called out, "Hello?"

I looked in the metals workshop across the hall, it was dark and after trying to open the door saw it was locked. I decided at that moment that the original feeling I had of being watched was quickly returning, and my fight or flight instinct kicked in again, so I flew.

Though this was my only strange experience in the art building, I'm not alone. The art building is also only one small part of a campus that has many more stories to tell.

Courtesy of Reddit.com - posted by u/thisisanindex