By Hannah Iqbal, Assistant Features Editor
Founded in 1870, Canisius College is full of rich history over the past 150 years. Because of the institution's long history, it’s no surprise there are several accounts of strange paranormal occurrences around campus. Students and faculty alike can attest to instances of supernatural phenomena that cannot be explained by logic. In honor of Halloween, The Griffin is delving into some spooky tales around campus. The following are some firsthand accounts of unexplained events witnessed by faculty at Canisius.
First on the list of ghostly occurrences takes place in the Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library. Matthew Kochan, who works in the library, described his experience when he first began working at the library about 10 years ago. During the winter time, while Canisius was still shut down for break, Kochan came in to make up some hours. When he arrived at six in the morning, it was still pitch black outside and no one else was in the building. While walking around the library, Kochan reports a book flying off the shelf all on its own. He thought nothing of it and went back to his work. After about an hour he began to hear knocking noises, which prompted him to call Public Safety to see if it was them. They replied that they had not been there all day. After a little while, he began to hear unsettling high-pitched noises coming from upstairs on the silent floor and decided to check it out. “After heading up there and hearing those noises, I ran out and I left all of my stuff and didn’t come back until it got lighter out,” says Kochan. Students to this day report hearing the same type of spine-chilling noise while sitting on the silent floor.
Another notable paranormal experience took place on the third floor of the Health Science Building, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Dr. Robert Grebenok, a professor in the biology department, described his experience ten years ago in room 318. Prior to this day, Dr. Grebenok had previously brought up a drying oven from the basement to be used for lab purposes. He recalls standing in the lab with five other students with the drying oven sitting on the ground untouched and away from the group when — out of nowhere — the switch flipped on, all on its own. Let it be known that this is no casual accident. At this point in time, the oven hadn’t been turned on in months, and it can't be started without physical assistance. “Obviously none of us had the power of telekinesis in which we could turn something on with our mind, so we looked at each other and quickly left the room,” said Dr. Grebenok. What could have caused this unusual experience still remains a mystery.
While these may be just two examples of ghosts on campus, they certainly aren’t the only ones. Next time you’re on campus alone… beware!