Ghosts of Frostburg

Ghouls, or ghosts, haunt today's imaginations.  Television programs like SyFy's Ghost Hunters and the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures provoke the imaginations of Americans.  Chinese legends have ghost appearances as far back as 800 B.C.  King Hamlet appears in ghost form in Shakespeare's Hamlet to tell of his murder at the hands of his brother, the new King of Denmark, Claudius.

Frostburg State's Channel 3, on Comcast Cable, ran a show titled Ghosts of Frostburg.  Filmed on campus in 2003, the documentary covers FSU's ghostly urban legends.  During different segments, Phil Stamper, then Resident Assistant at FSU, recalled sightings that happened across the campus.  The most famous ghost is the one that supposedly haunts the fourth floor of Cumberland Hall.  The floor, now blocked off, continues to have footsteps and loud noises emanating from the floor.  Stamper, now a member of Allegany College of Maryland's Resident Life staff, recalls FSU students telling him of continued stories.  "People swore someone lived up there," Stamper said.

Because of its long history, Old Main, the oldest building on campus, is believed to be haunted.  The large classrooms and basement are believed to be haunted by past students.  Thousands of classes have been held and hundreds of thousands of students have roamed these halls over the years, adding to the mystique of the building.

Ross Allison, an eyewitness on an episode of Ghost Hunters and founding member of the Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle Tacoma (AGHOST), was on campus explaining this phenomenon.  He believes that something exists, whether it is ghosts or whether it is some kind of metaphysical existence brought on by large numbers of people being in the same place, like Old Main.  Allison showcased the tools used by ghost hunters and seekers which consisted of Geiger counters, night vision activated digital cameras, and dowsing rods, the latter usually used to find water.

"Ghost hunting can be fun," Allison stated.  "All that is needed is a camera and a dark room that you think is haunted."  The do-it-yourself attitude of ghost hunting allows for anyone to join in the fun.  That is part of the appeal of this new hobby popping up across the country.  Anyone can do it.  It takes some studying and practice, obviously, but the tools required make ghost hunting easy to do with some friends on a Friday night.

Whether a ghost is seen or not cannot be guaranteed, but having fun can be.  Western Maryland, full of old buildings used during the Civil War, may be haunted.  Spirits exist everywhere, so get out your digital camera and try and communicate with your grandmother or with a Civil War nurse.