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Old House On Campus

 

Creative writing majors have a home on Arizona State University campus. And I don't mean a dorm, I mean a literal home, like a house. It's been there for almost the whole history of the school. Virginia Piper and her husband built this Victorian-style, 3 bedroom home and worked out of it. They hosted poets, authors, and artists of all kinds. When the college became a university, and when Virginia couldn't live there anymore from her advanced age, they donated the house and it's been used ever since as a meeting place for student writers. Guest speakers give small, intimate lectures in the sitting room and parlor, and the bedrooms are offices. Just imagine this house, complete with a garden and a few cats roaming around in the shade. It looks like a serious house right in the middle of the college campus! And it's really haunted.

I didn't know that when I went to turn in a paper for a writing contest. I'd never been inside and they had the submission box right by the door. When I went in to look around, and get out of the heat, I got the creeps. It was kind of like nothing was in focus when I looked around. I knew there were people inside the house, maybe 1 or 2 people upstairs, so I wasn't bothered by noises... Except when the submission box lid clattered. Nothing was in that box except papers, ok? It wasn't locked or anything, but that lid was heavy. There's no wind, no ventilation that could have moved that indoors. Honestly it sounded like someone had just barely lifted the lid with the pad of their finger then let it drop. That box was a full 6 inches away from my left elbow and I was the only person on the first floor.

It was almost two semesters later I was in a writing class and they got to talking about the house. This was the first I'd been told other people thought it was haunted. The room kind of lit up with people mentioning experiences. The professor came in and we all got kind of sheepish, but she looked at us and confirmed what we were saying. She candidly told us she refused to work in there alone after dark, and that she'd been locked in a bathroom upstairs when she was the only one there. She said there were no footsteps coming to or from the door when it happened and I've been up there. The floors squeak something awful. From her experience, she heard the door lock (which shouldn't happen), she tried to get out for about a minute and a half, then she heard it unlock. She told us she left right after that.

I didn't spend a lot of time there, but I personally think this might be Virginia poking around and tending her old house and the students.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, allisonbeckert23, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Damali (5 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-07-19)
It is awesome that you have a degree in creative writing! It made me want to read your account even more. I wish I had one myself. I went the political science route, which isn't bad but wasn't what I wanted. Anyway, interesting experience!
jwarren (1 stories) (23 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-07-14)
I certainly would not want you to be ashamed of your creative writing, your post was one of the best written that I have read!
allisonbeckert23 (guest)
+3
10 years ago (2014-07-11)
jwarren: I'm not ashamed of my creative writing degree, and honestly if I didn't have a lot of these experiences with the paranormal I may not have pursued it! I'm not offended at all, and "story" doesn't mean it's not true.

😁

For anyone interested, here's a short video on the haunted places on ASU campus. I didn't do much research beyond my personal experience in there, so I tend to take these as differing opinions.
Https://asunews.asu.edu/video_20101028_hauntedbuildings#
ms_st0308 (6 stories) (66 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-07-11)
I loved this! The history of places and people has always interested me. I'll have to add this to my list to look up. 😊
elnoraemily (guest)
+1
10 years ago (2014-07-11)
Good writing!

Your experience was so straightforward that I really enjoyed it and had the pleasant thought of a old student turning in their paper at the same time as you.

Sounds like a really interesting place to be with some really cool history.
jwarren (1 stories) (23 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-07-11)
I just realized I refered to this as a "story" in my previous comment. I apologize, I am normaly very careful not to call other posters' experiences "stories".

Just wanted to clarify,
Thanks again!
jwarren (1 stories) (23 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2014-07-11)
Haha well this is the first story I have read that started with the author admitting they were a creative writer!

That aside this is very interesting, I don't know very much about Virginia Piper or ASU but stories like this always fascinate me. If she and her husband enjoyed the company of writers it does make a certain amount of sense that she would continue seeking it.

If you have any more info about Virginia Piper to share I would love to hear it!

Thanks for sharing!

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