May 5, 2011 The ‘Grim’ Ghost Story at Truman
The clock strikes midnight and a door slams close. No one is around,
except for Student Advisor Lindsey Blakely, who is taking her duty midnight rounds, in Grim Hall, one of the oldest resident halls at Truman State University.
When Blakely takes her midnight rounds in the empty white hallways her
thoughts drifts over to the ghost that lives in Grim Hall. Residents walk on their tip toes when walking through Grim at night.
That ghost is Charlotte, who was a nursing student at Truman State University in the 1930s, and her ghost is said to live in Grim Hall still to this day. She is known as a friendly matchmaker ghost, but it can be spooky to think of
her at nighttime.
“She[Charlotte] is definitely part of the culture here,” Blakely said. “And [she is] incorporated in Grim’s history,” said Blakely.
The ghost has become part of Grim hall over time and students living there tend to like her, Blakely said.
“I think that it’s definitely a kind of thing that everyone knows about and can joke about, said Blakely. “If a door shuts and nobody is around, everyone kind of like ‘charlotte stop doing that’ or if something falls off a shelf and you don’t know why, it’s just become like blame it on Charlotte.”
Whispering quietly, Delmonico mentioned the variety of stories of how
Charlotte died over a cold winter break in 1931. One less complex stories that Charlotte was diabetic and ran out of insulin over break. Another is that the heat in Grim was turned off, and she froze to death. Yet another suspicion is that she had an epileptic seizure. And the creepiest of the stories is that she hung herself in a tree.
Delmonico, an expert in folklore, has investigated ghost stories since she started at Truman in 1984. Delmonico further explained why there are many different versions to how Charlotte died.
“Ghost stories tend to develop around people that who dies suddenly or
unexpectedly or violently or suddenly,” said Delmonico.” So if you have someone that dies violently, the vibes from other ghost stories wander over and get attached.”
Zach Burton, Missouri Hall Director created a program to show people the history of Truman when he was a Student Advisor in Dobson when he was a undergraduate student at Truman State University.
In order tell people about unknown parts of Truman’s history, Burton created a program to guide people around campus at night while telling people on the tour interesting stories. Burton said one of the goals of the tour is to connect people to the heritage Truman has through stories.
Burton said Truman students and various community civic groups, and potential employees, such as Truman faculty or staff, are given the tour. The purpose of the program was to get more connected to the history of Truman’s constant innovation, he said.
My Encounters in Grim
When I walked into Grim Hall the first thing I saw was a photo of the whole Grim Hall staff. My face suddenly turned white when I realized that there was one spot in the photo with no image, but a name. Charlotte’s name is imprinted under her well-integrated spot in the photo. I then realized Charlotte is not just a ghost but she really is a part of the culture of Grim Hall.
Blakely said students around Truman’s campus often ask about the ghost stories of Grim. Smiling, she told the story of upper classmen who play up the stories to make them scarier when sharing the tales with freshmen, trying to scare them.
I must say I shiver just thinking about ghosts, and I certainly did when listening to Blakely’s tales. Personally, I would be too scared to live in Grim as I do not want to be close to a ghost.
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