Breckinridge Hall

At Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, student success stories are a penny a dozen. However even such a renowned college as this has had its share of tragedies. One of these horror stories occurred in one dormitory on campus, Breckinridge Hall.

Erected in 1923, Breckinridge has housed hundreds of students over the years. Though most proved happy and content, one student had not found his time at Centre to be profitable. Unhappy with his situation and finding no other alternative, the student hung himself in his dorm room. His roommate and friends were heartbroken. Out of reverence for him, his room was closed until everyone who had known him had graduated. Then, the room was reopened to residents.

* * * * *

Jimmy turned off the lights and locked the door, and climbed underneath the sheets of his warm bed. Across the room, Jimmy’s roommate, Nathan laughed. “I can never understand why you lock the door. Who’s gonna bother us?”

Jimmy smiled in the darkness. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Nathan laughed again and rolled over to go to sleep.

Nathan sat bolt upright in his bed, glancing over at the digital clock on the floor beside his bed. It read 3:06 AM. “What’s going on?” Nathan thought groggily. The door to his room was wide open, the lights had been turned on, and the stereo was blaring. He eased out of bed to shake Jimmy awake.

“Jimmy, Jimmy, wake up,” he whispered. Jimmy opened his eyes to look around at the chaos around them.

“Someone must have a key to our room,” Jimmy reasoned, getting up to turn off the lights and music and shut the door. “We’ll just have to get the lock replaced tomorrow.”

The next day, Jimmy and Nathan reported that someone had a key to their room. The maintenance department had the lock changed within the hour. They were given keys and assured that no more than the two they possessed had been created.

Sweat poured down Jimmy’s face as he opened his eyes. Looking at the clock, he realized that it was too early for his roommate to have the lights on and the music blaring. Seeing Nathan peacefully asleep, fear clutched his heart as he realized that once again, the door was wide open. He stumbled out of bed and grabbed Nathan’s arm.

“What is it?” Nathan groaned. Opening his eyes, a look of terror crossed his face as he realized the same phenomenon that had occurred the night before had happened once again. Grabbing his coat, Nathan rushed out of the room and the building with Jimmy following closely behind.

Jimmy and Nathan never returned to Breckinridge Hall but finished their time at Centre in another dormitory. The room was once again closed down until everyone who knew anything of the story had graduated. Today, the room has been reopened to residents, but no one on campus, (save one dean), knows which room belonged to Nathan, Jimmy, and the deceased student. This dean refuses to reveal her knowledge, and the ghost of the dead student has not yet made another reappearance, but we all know it is just a matter of time.

Joy Beth Woods

Oneida Baptist