The Sub, the home of Centenary’s newspaper now online, does have some creepy aspects to it- the third floor at night definitely gives one the spooks, as does the basement, with its dim, fluorescent lighting that might flicker at the most unnerving times. But the Sub does not have ghosts in it, despite all this… but it does have two people within it who are intimately familiar with the ghosts at Centenary, ones that you’re more likely to encounter if you live on campus: the Dorm hauntings.

I sat down with Head of Residence Life, Katherine Shamburger, and asked her about her experience with ghosts in the residence halls. Katherine hosts an annual ghost-telling event at Rotary’s courtyard every year, complete with a fire and smores supplies, and it’s usually here that she recounts her stories- and today, we’ll be hearing about the well-known Cline ghost.

If you look at the side of Cline, you may have noticed two doors below the building, leading to the basement. These were once actually dorms, complete with two identical suites that used to be occupied by students. According to Katherine, it was THE place to live, as it provided a quiet and more private living space, and was less monitored by RAs due to its location. However, the fire marshal decreed that it was unlivable for students because of the lack of appropriate windows in case of a fire, so the last students to live there were in the mid 2000’s. But it is in the basement that our story begins, with the tragedy of the death of Chad Maclies in 2005. Maclies was a senior basketball player, who was well-loved in the Centenary community. He died of an unknown heart condition, and was found dead by his friends in his dorm, which happened to be in the basement of Cline.

(All spooks aside, the death of Maclies was very hard on the community of Centenary, and he is remembered as an excellent student and leader. More information can be found about him here: https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Coroner-Centenary-player-died-of- natural-causes-8688966.php).

Katherine moved into Cline upon her arrival at Centenary working on Res Life, and heard about the haunting- but never experienced any strange occurrences herself. But she heard many, MANY stories from others about their experiences. Many residents would report flickering lights and noises coming from the downstairs rooms, even though no one had access to them apart from DPS. In fact, a former DPS officer named Heather Butcher hated going to Cline in particular, especially the 310 suites. Because the suites in Cline are stacked above one another, you can often hear the suite above or below you, especially if there’s louder noises such as someone singing or something being dropped - an important piece of information to keep in mind as we dive into some stories about these suites.

Amy Moreno, an RA who graduated a few years ago, used to live in the 310 suites- and had a problem with baby spiders crawling out of a vent in her room, a problem that would never stop, no matter what Amy did. Another RA named Sam Padia, who lived in the 110 suites at the same time this was happening to Amy, reported hearing footsteps in her suite’s hallway, even when there was no one home, and also often felt like someone was watching her in her room. Another incident occurred when Katherine first arrived with RAs Paul and Emmaline, partners who were on the 3rd floor of Cline. During their RA training (when no one else besides RAs are on campus), they would often walk by each other’s rooms and bang on the windows as a joke to scare one another. But one night, Emmaline woke up at 3am to the sound of banging on her window, and she angrily texted Paul to quit it. The next day, he approached her and asked her what on earth the text was about, as he was asleep all night. No one else took responsibility for the knocking on her window, leaving the two stunned and a little freaked out.

Training seems to be an optimal time for spooky things to occur, as multiple RAs have told Katherine that if you go to Cline’s courtyard at night, you can hear lots and lots of odd and creepy noises. Many RAs don’t like being alone in Cline at night, and from all these stories, it sounds like for good reason! Apart from RAs, students living in the dorms often report drafts in their room when the air conditioning is not on, specifically in the 100’s and 110’s- the dorms above the basement room. Katherine herself has never seen or felt anything in Cline, but she also told me that she never specifically looked for anything, so it was likely she just didn’t notice anything if it was around. For those of you who spend a lot of time in Mickle, she confirmed it’s likely not haunted, despite its creepy atmosphere, and that the only spooky thing of note is its tunnel in the basement (which yes, it does exist). 

Though these hauntings are from more recent years, it’s still a very prominent part of Centenary’s history and legacy, and continues to be something multiple people attest to and believe in. Most of these stories have been passed down by word of mouth, which is why I find it important to take note of them, especially in the Congo. Who knows? Perhaps one day, these records will help put a student living in Cline at ease, affirming their experiences and providing an explanation for why they’re feeling like someone’s watching them, or the odd noises they hear in the middle of the night. But for now, I’ll leave you with the story of the Cline ghost, and hope you’ll come back to read the story of the James hauntings, and the Magale ghosts. Sleep tight, and stay spooky!

Special thanks to Katherine Shamburger for her input on this story! Be sure to attend her campfire event this October to hear more spooky stories, and to share your own!

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