Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Opinions

Well, it's Halloween at Eastern again, and we all know what that means.

It's time to talk about Mary.

Those of you who haven't been living under a rock know that Pemberton Hall is haunted. And everyone knows the story, but for those aforementioned subterranean dwellers, here's the brief version from someone who's lived there for the past two years.

Young woman lives in Pemberton, young woman dies in Pemberton, young woman becomes ghost in Pemberton. The End.

If you want the long version, look somewhere else; telling it here would defeat my point.
The story changes with whoever tells it, but almost everyone on this campus seems to know the tale. Passed down from senior to freshman, "Pemite" (one who lives in Pemberton) to other students, the story has survived the years, perpetuated by the mysteriously closed 4th floor, to become a campus legend.

As with most myths, the ghost of Pemberton hall starts with a grain of truth.

The "Mary" in the story is supposedly based on Mary Hawkins, the building director from 1910 to 1917. Mary Hawkins was an English immigrant who was notorious for her iron-fist reign over Pemberton. Hawkins left the hall prematurely when she contracted syphilis and later died in an insane asylum.
However, in an Oct. 15, 1976 article from The Daily Eastern News, a resident from the early 1920s said the story is based off a resident who would jump out of closets to scare people. This led to the women traveling in groups when they walked the halls.

And just to clear this up, the 4th floor is not closed off because it is haunted. The floor is unfurnished and is used to store the stuff the building has accumulated for more than 101 years.

When I tell people where I live, it inevitably leads to the questions, "But isn't there a ghost?" or "Why do you live in a haunted building?"

I always try to laugh it off by diverting and saying Mary's a friendly ghost or focus on the positive parts of living in Pemberton.

But I can't imagine how frustrating it is for directors, resident assistants, desk assistants, tour guides and various members of housing who repeatedly have to dispel a myth people take too seriously.

I have given several building tours myself and have heard people sincerely don't want to live in Pemberton because of the ghost.
Well, I'm tired of it. Tired of people complaining about it being haunted, wanting to come in for tours of the 4th floor or calling that beautiful building creepy and haunted.

Incoming freshmen and other students who know the story are so fixated on the myth of a nonexistent ghost that they can't see all the benefits.

Pemberton was remodeled last year and is gorgeous inside and out; it feels like a home not just a residence hall. It's the closest residence hall to Old Main, Blair Hall, the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, Booth House and the physical science building.

Nothing is wrong with having a little fun; passing on scary stories has become a Pem Hall tradition. But there's a problem when it becomes detrimental to the number of residents, because people are honestly scared to be there.

Emily Steele is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-7942 or
DENopinions@gmail.com.