What Is the Spookiest Spot at Duke?
True story. One night a faculty-in-residence was all alone in a large East Campus residence hall. Normally the building was bristling with student activity, but it was the early summer, after the students had left and before the summer campers had moved in. After a year of being accustomed to the background noise of student life, the faculty member suddenly had to deal with the deep silence of a large building with nobody else at home. Sort of like the family in The Shining.
That night he was awoken by a sound. It took a moment for him to identify it, but he realized it was a piano from a commons room. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Taking a baseball bat with him, he slowly walked toward the commons room, his heart racing. Raising the bat over his head, he jumped into the commons room and found ... the residence hall housekeeper. Sheepishly, the housekeeper apologized for frightening the faculty member, saying he didn't realize anyone was still around.
So Duke does have its scary places and its mundane places that can become scary. These are the places that we celebrate during Halloween
This month Working@Duke asked employees what places on Duke gives you a creepy feeling. Below are three responses. We'd like to hear from more ideas. Send your suggestions to duketoday@duke.edu. Below are several comments we've received. We'll add new comments as we get them.
The gross anatomy lab in the basement of the Bell Building is THE spookiest place at Duke.
Blaine Paxton Hall,
Surgical PA Hospitalist
Duke University Medical Center
The basement in the West Duke Building can be a scary place. It's dark, quiet and not much student traffic down there, unless ROTC has activities going on. On a positive note, though, it's a great place to get a lot of work done!
Doris B Jordan,
Program Coordinator,
Kenan Institute for Ethics
This building, the Community Service Center, is part of the old Trinity College campus. If we work late, sometimes we joke around that we hear things. It isn't always a joke. There are some strange noises."
Lindsay Mamula, Student Outreach Specialist, Community Service Center
4 months at Duke
A lot of people probably think that the Chapel is the spookiest place at Duke. I'd have to agree with that. It's a beautiful place, but there is something about it."
William Hall, Recruiter, Human Resources
3 years at Duke
The forest paths behind Nicholas are sort of spooky and so are the underground tunnels that connect all the buildings at Levine Science Research Center (LSRC). Plus, the parking garage near the Searle Center can make you feel claustrophobic."
Carolyn Leith, Staff Assistant, Film/Video/Digital Program
15 years at Duke