This definitely is not how this went down, because candles are illegal. (Via supernatural-beings.wikia.com)

I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts. I’ve been on a haunted Kenyon ghost tour before, and it covers the Caples ghost, the ghost in the dance studio, and the Old K fire that resulted in several ghosts, along with a few others. But I’ve heard tell of a ghost in Norton, the building I’m a CA in this year, and I couldn’t resist.

The Norton ghost is, allegedly, a student who committed suicide and is now doomed to roam the halls. Several people, including one of my current residents (who participated in the seance with me), have heard someone running up the halls, only to discover that no one is in the hallways. I decided that, since he’s probably felt ignored over the years, it was time to make contact.

The first step was getting an ouija board. Over parents weekend, I made my parents take me to Walmart to get food items, and to find an ouija board, because Walmart apparently has them (according to their website). Unfortunately, the Walmart Supercenter in scenic Mount Vernon does not carry them. However, thanks to my mom’s Amazon Prime account, I was able to procure one before my deadline. (Side note: this is an official thank-you to my mom for purchasing my ouija board.)

Please note the “Hasbro” logo, the age requirement, and the battery symbol.

This is the ouija board I purchased. Upon opening it, I discovered that the planchette required three AAA batteries. I decided the planchette should be powered by the energy of the spirits present, not the spirit of the Energizer bunny.

This planchette is made entirely out of plastic.

Because I am a CA and because I try to make things fun for them in grand old Norton, I sent them an email announcing my normal open hours, as well as a special announcement:

“As some of you may know, I write for the Thrill! Tonight, for my article, I have to perform a seance. At 10:30 tonight, Sam and I will be performing one with a ouija board purchased off Amazon (what a website). If you have any interest, feel free to come by!”

I expected a few residents. The following was our seance party:

Your humble journalist, fellow Thrill writer Sam Roschewsk ’18, her roommate Annie Devine ’18, and several Norton residents, all ’19.

We sat in my darkened Norton single, lit by electric candles and Christmas lights only, each of us with a few fingers on the planchette.

Us, communing with spirits.

We sat in the semi-darkness for approximately fifteen minutes. The planchette moved about a quarter of an inch to the right, but not in any sort of direction that could be an answer to our questions.

“Ghost of Norton, are you here?”

“Do you have a name?”

“Does it start with the letter T?”

“Do you haunt this floor? Should we be upstairs?”

“Do you-eth have-eth a favorite-eth color-eth?”

“What do you think of Isabel’s red carpet?”

In the end, my residents, friends, and I decided the Ghost of Norton was not in the mood to chat with the living, so we said GOODBYE to him, and I bade my first years goodbye with lollipops and other candy.

Do I believe in ghosts? Maybe. But perhaps the next seance I perform should take place in a more conventionally haunted building. If anyone in Caples or Old K is willing to let me perform a seance in your dorm room, please hit me up or email thekenyonthrill@gmail.com