Bunce Hall: The Stories We Find

The Stories Found

The orignal story that drew me to Bunce was the lore claiming the possible presence of paranaromal activity. A friend of mine told me there were tunnels that were left open under the building where ghosts were said to roam. After two late night attempts to find the tunnels (there may have been some unauthorized entries into the building, but it was all for the sake of participatory georgraphy), we concluded that if there are tunnels, they have to be sealed off. In hopes of uncovering some proof of ghosts elsewhere, I decided to continue my research by asking as many people as I could if they had been a witness to the paranormal activity. According to Rowan Today, many people believe that the center of Bunce's haunting is the Tohill Theater. Student Robert Kilmowski was quoted saying "I've never felt in danger but it's definitely weird. One time I had to get something from the control booth and the door locked itself. Another time I was walking up to it and felt something grab my leg." Although many agree with Kilmowski that there is a ghost within the theater, others say that there is a more menacing ghost who resides on the third floor. My classmate, Erica Briggs, told me that when walking on the third floor by herself one morning, she heard one door slam abruptly. When she turned around to see what had just happened, a door on the opposite end of the hallway slammed as well. She, of course, got out of there as quick as she could. There is also an odd painting on the first floor of the building, and although there is no link to the haunting and the painting, the random, giant painting of eyeless individuals will certainly cause some chills.

The intrigue that surrounds the possible haunting of Bunce is not unique to this university. In his essay, "The Ghosts of Industrial Ruins: Ordering and Disordering Memory in Excessive Space," Tim Edensor makes the point that haunting antidotes are "fixed, classified and commodified ... across Western cities" (Edensor 4). And he's right, people love ghost stories, and they will often do anything (include break into a school building) in hopes of finding them. In this way our university is like so many others which hold lores and legends of their own. 

In hopes of hearing some more substantial ghost evidence, I made my way to the English department, hoping one of my professors could gift me with some kind of amazing story. I did not get an amazing ghost story, but the story I came across was something even better. 

 After asking a few professors in the English department with no luck, I decided to throw in the towel. However, a few days later, I ran into my old grammar professor, Dr. Cindy Vitto, and her husband, Dr. George Romeo, at Dunkin' Donuts. I asked her if she had any ghost stories for me, and like the others, she could offer me no insight. She was curious why I was asking, and I explained the premise of my project to her. Her husband, who had been listening in on the conversation, told me to meet him back at his office in the business hall, saying he owned the book More Than Cold Stone which he thought might be of some use to me. I did as he said and went and sat down with him, and not only did he lend me the book, but he also gave me a wonderful story to go along with it. 

He told me the story of how he met Dr. Vitto. For years, before the arrival of the business building, the accounting deparment was housed in Bunce. The two shared offices across the hall and became fast friends. Both were already married when they met, and Dr. Romeo stated that everyone was positive they were having an affair with one another (he swears they were not). "I just loved talking with her, and sitting with her, and getting to be with her," he told me. Once they both got divorced, the two fell for one another fast, and were eventually engaged to be married. The best part of the story comes on their wedding day, spefically the fact that they were married on the front steps of Bunce. Bunce was the place that fostered their love and it became the place that sealed it. A building that was once just a place of work became a place that gave them a new chance for love. A place can have multiple meanings and defining traces, especially when considered over a long period of time. 

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