Haunting of the Hall: A Tale of Breckinridge
Centre College is a place full of history. It was founded by Presbyterian leaders in 1819. However, classes started in Old Centre, the first building on campus, in 1820. For two centuries, students, faculty, and staff have traversed through the space encapsulating the historic campus. With so many people passing through and loving the school, it is no surprise that stories of the paranormal have passed through generations.
One of the most haunting buildings on campus is Breckinridge Hall. The history of Breckinridge, and the family whose name is tied to it, is one of controversy and interest. Breckinridge Hall was built in 1892 by the Danville Theological Seminary. It was used to house students, contained classrooms, and held the seminary library. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Its name is in memory of Reverend Robert J. Breckinridge. Robert was the founder of The Danville Theological Seminary and was a renowned Presbyterian minister. He was pro-union and was the editor of The Danville Quarterly Review, where he argued against secession and accepted Lincoln’s idea for the emancipation of the slaves.[i]
The main controversy within Robert’s family was with his nephew, John C. Breckinridge, who was vice president under Buchanan. In August 1849, Robert was elected to be a delegate at a state convention. At this convention, Robert was attempting to nominate antislavery delegates for legislature. In response, a bipartisan group of proslavery individuals nominated their candidates, which included John C. Breckinridge. John received over a thousand votes and became the first Democrat to be elected to the state House of Representatives by Fayette County. Tensions were high within the Breckinridge family due to the varying beliefs on slavery, and this friction is quite interesting when investigating the unexplained in their dedicated building on Centre’s Campus. It seems that tensions lie there, as well. [ii]
One of the main stories that come out of this Residence Hall is a story told by Ann Young. In this story, Ann and Wayne King, the head of facilities management at the time, we're going through the rooms of Breckinridge Hall, looking for damage done during the school year. It was after lunch when Ann was told to go look at the wall in one of the dorm rooms.
She states, “We come to the room and we open the door and on the wall to the right, which would be the east wall, there is this enormous face… it covered that wall. I mean, whole male face, hair, eyebrows, nose, ears, the whole caboodle… It was very detailed, I mean, down to like eyebrows and eyelashes. The whole bit.”
Wayne King and Ann thought that the face may have been the work of an art student, however, when Wayne tried to get the face off the wall using various cleaning techniques, it wouldn’t budge. The two of them end up deciding that they are just going to have to paint the wall the following day. However, when the next day came, and the paint crew went to paint over the face – it had vanished.
Regarding that morning, Ann states, “And I say, ‘Are you all sure you got the right room?’ So, we've been over the whole floor. And all four of us saw it. I mean, they thought it was tree shadows because we had more trees of Breck beach when they saw it in the morning. When we went back at lunch, it was clear as day, Madison, clear as day. Next day, gone. Totally, completely, gone.”
A few years later, Centre is contacted by Barbara Bailey, a newscaster from Channel 27 WKYT. She wanted to come to Centre with a psychic for a segment of her show. Centre happily agreed. The psychic, Elizabeth Barnett, from Lexington, KY, ended up finding the room in which the face resided without any further knowledge about it, and when asked about the spirit that resides in the hall, according to Ann Young, she said:
“'This is Peter. Peter is a ghost who lives in this building and he's a good one. He was very young and worked on the grounds and passed away. He lives in the attic because he can look out over the campus and see everything. He sees the grounds this way, and at the time Breck had all women', and she said, ‘I think he likes that because his mother died when he was young and this way, he feels like he's being cared for.’”
Ann tells quite an interesting story, however, after reading the interviews conducted by other individuals who have had experiences with “Peter”, they say something different about him. According to Davis Downs, “Peter” is a student who jumped out a window and died.[i] Wayne King, who was present when Elizabeth said that “Peter” was a groundskeeper, also refers to him as a student who committed suicide.[ii] The idea that “Peter” was a worker on campus has slowly morphed into the idea that he was a student. The tales that are told about Breckinridge Hall change from person to person. It is almost as if the story has been passed in a game of telephone. Everyone has their interpretation of who the ghost is, why the ghost is there, and of the hauntings of the past. It puts the question of the fallibility of memory. For those who have experienced the supernatural within the halls of Breckinridge, their stories have changed over time – morphing into something that may not have even occurred.
Depending on which story of “Peter” one hears, the message received differs. If “Peter” were a groundskeeper, as Elizabeth Barnett stated, students wouldn’t resonate with him as much as they would if he were a student. It may seem more violating and unsettling, especially since Breckinridge was a women’s residence hall. When Ann Young said that “Peter” “liked that Breck was all women”, it gave off a pedophilic vibe, mostly because of the idea of the ghost being an older faculty member. With “Peter” being a student, current students can find more meaning behind his tales than if he were faculty. Whenever the stories of student “Peter” are told, there is always an emphasis on his presumed suicide. In a time where mental illness is prevalent in college-aged individuals, his life in this scenario could be a warning for students to take care of themselves, especially in terms of mental health, at an institution that expects the best. Ann tells quite an interesting story, however, after reading the interviews conducted by other individuals who have had experiences with “Peter”, they say something different about him. According to Davis Downs, “Peter” is a student who jumped out a window and died.[iii] Wayne King, who was present when Elizabeth said that “Peter” was a groundskeeper, also refers to him as a student who committed suicide.[iv] The idea that “Peter” was a worker on campus has slowly morphed into the idea that he was a student. The tales that are told about Breckinridge Hall change from person to person. It is almost as if the story has been passed in a game of telephone. Everyone has their interpretation of who the ghost is, why the ghost is there, and of the hauntings of the past. It puts the question of the fallibility of memory. For those who have experienced the supernatural within the halls of Breckinridge, their stories have changed over time – morphing into something that may not have even occurred.
When we look back at Breckinridge Hall, we should think about the history of the people who have passed through it. The reason why it is seen as more haunted than other older buildings on campus, such as Old Centre, may be due to the number of individuals who have lived in and utilized its space. The rooms and halls of Breckinridge see new faces and encounter new souls every year, and with it being one of the oldest residence halls on campus, it is no surprise that a soul, or two, may have decided to stay over the centuries. Though, it isn’t just Breckinridge that holds this history of human past, but, rather, Centre College, itself. Centre will forever be in the heart of the history of Kentucky education and will reside in the minds of those who have passed through its grounds. In a way, it will haunt them – just like “Peter” the ghost.
- Madison Malloy
[i] Johnson, Diane. “The Story Behind the Name: Breckinridge Hall.” Centre College, December 5, 2016. https://www.centre.edu/breckinridge-hall/.
[ii] “John C. Breckinridge.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 29, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Breckinridge.
[iii] Sparks, Buckley, and Davis Downs. Oral History Interview, January 18, 2021
[iv] Conkling, Mackenzie, and Wayne King. Interview of Mr. Wayne King, January 15, 2021