Читать книгу More Haunted Hoosier Trails - Wanda Lou Willis - Страница 15

Goshen College, a college of the Mennonite Church, was founded in 1903. It was a continuation of the Elkhart Institute founded in 1895. In 1920 the college obtained accreditation by the state.

Five years later the arrival of John S. Umble as professor of En-glish marked the beginning of a new era. Among his many accomplishments and achievements for the school were the creation of speech courses and the development of a strong debate program. He believed in the power of communicating. The highly respected and innovative professor died in 1954.

His son, Roy, had joined the faculty in 1946, adding his support and dedication to his father’s belief in the power of communications through the establishment of a Drama Department. Although both Umbles taught and stressed the importance of communications, a department dedicated to this discipline was not created until 1972. Within a few years, it became apparent that this department needed a new communications center.

The John S. Umble Center was dedicated in 1978. The inaugural play, Shakespeare’s As You Like It, was directed by Roy Umble. As more and more students became interested in performing, the Communications Department added a theater major to the curriculum.

As the theater activity picked up in the Umble Center, the students began noticing strange occurrences. In the beginning, little was mentioned, but then the students began talking among themselves, comparing notes. Eventually, the stories became known throughout the campus and gained the attention of English professor and folklore researcher Ervin Beck. During interviews, Beck gathered numerous stories—stories that students believed proved the Umble Center was haunted.

The ghosts manifest themselves through mysterious happenings. Often the ghosts appear to manipulate the electrical switches. Students would turn the lights out as they left rooms, only to discover that they were mysteriously turned back on later. In other instances, if a light was left on in a room, when the student returned, it would be turned off.

Some of the students also reported objects being moved, or even knocked or thrown down. The noise from this activity was frightening and lent credence to the belief that there might be a ghost floating around.

But these weren’t the only noises heard by individuals in the building. There were other sounds that, try as they might, those who’ve heard them could not describe them other than to say, “They’re eerie.” Many believe that these occurrences are evidence that the ghost of John Umble haunts the Umble Center.