The Centre Alum that Just Can't Leave
Why do ghosts haunt? Legend says many ghosts haunt places because of a wrongful death, an improper burial, or because of mistreatment during their lives. What if ghosts haunted somewhere because they simply wanted to stay?
Of the many haunted buildings on Centre’s campus, the Chenault House is one of the oldest and most mysterious. Mackenzie Nichols, a recent Centre grad and current employee with the Alumni Office, has a ghost story that begs even more questions. Mackenzie was working late in the Chenault House on the first floor. At the time, she was a Fellow and was up late sending out thank you videos to several donors. The lights were off upstairs, she was the only person left in the office and the doors were locked. Suddenly she heard someone running upstairs. The sound was faint, Mackenzie explained “they were not heavy footsteps, but it was enough.[i]” Mackenzie immediately called her mom out of fear but continued working for another hour. She said, because her desk sits between the front and the back door, there was “no way that anyone could have gotten in” without her noticing[ii]. After the mysterious footsteps, Mackenzie said, “moving forward, I did change my schedule a little bit,” often bringing her dog to protect her[iii]. She said she had “heard [dogs] have this sense for a paranormal activity” and would let her know if she needed to leave[iv]. Mackenzie said eventually she realized “work-life balance was important” and started coming home to finish her work, or simply finishing it in the morning[v].
One of Mackenzie’s coworkers, Jacky Seaver, had a similar experience. One Sunday, when Jacky thought no one else was in the office, she “heard the back door open, nobody said anything, and [she] heard footsteps go up the back staircase which you can’t see from the room that [she] was in[vi].” Then she “heard footsteps up and down the hallway upstairs-- like walking over [her][vii].” When she went upstairs to see who it was, she could not find anyone. She came back downstairs to her desk confused, and then “heard footsteps come down the steps again and the back door closed[viii].” The next day Jacky asked if any of her coworkers had come in and no one had.
What about Chenault makes it a “haunt-worthy” location? Both Mackenzie and Jacky mention the old attic in the house which Jacky describes as a room with “concrete cement walls, kind of cold and drafty, cobwebby...Places that I don’t really like to go.” The Chenault House was built in 1904 as a private residence and eventually became the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house from 1932 to 1962. The college did not own it, however, until 1979, and then it became the Chenault Alumni House in 1982. The house is named after Carroll C. Chenault Jr. who graduated from Centre as a Delta Kappa Epsilon in 1920, and eventually became the president of Centre’s Alumni Association. He also donated his 1,557-acre farm in Mt. Sterling, KY which is valued at $2.5 million making it the largest individual gift given to Centre at one time.
While there is no evidence of a wrongful death, suicide or otherwise that would correlate with the spirit in the Chenault House, we can speculate about why that ghost would be there. Firstly, the house has been and continues to be a hub for Centre students, past and present. While before it housed a fraternity, it now hosts many alumni gatherings. Perhaps the Chenault ghost is a fraternity brother who is running around or reenacting coming home on a night out. Perhaps, the ghost misses the hustle and bustle of everyday life and wants to create their own chaos in an almost empty office building. Maybe the ghost who walked above Mackenzie two years ago is just someone who feels cheated out of a proper college experience. Perhaps, ghosts who haunt Centre ache for the emotional rollercoaster that comes with an open mind and a young heart. In some ways, the Chenault ghost taught Mackenzie about a proper work-life balance because after that experience, her late-night hours decreased dramatically. Perhaps these ghost stories capitalize on students and young adults who are asking big questions and looking for bigger answers. Maybe ghost stories can offer warning signs or comfort as students navigate through all the “firsts” of life, learning new lessons each day.
Something I have always known to be true about Centre is that people rave about it, especially alumni. College is a short 4-year experience, often a fleeting moment in a full lifetime, and yet, people linger around Centre. As a senior, I am beginning to experience the bittersweet feeling that comes with leaving your favorite place – excitement for the future and sadness for moving on from the past. The “Centre bubble” as so many people call it, is a place of becoming for many people – it is a group of 22-year olds figuring out how to navigate life all within just 150-acres. Like a small town, secrets are hard to keep and friends are easy to meet. The paranormal is just one more tool that brings students closer together. A first year, for example, upon learning of their dorm ghost might finally feel like they belong on campus. They now know something that only students at Centre will ever know. They know something that can connects students, not only to each other, but to this new and foreign place. Whatever the Chenault ghost’s intentions may have been, Mackenzie’s story reminds us of all the people who have at one time or another called Centre their home. Fortunately, I can now say the same.
-Mary Katherine Hardy
Bibliography
Centre College. “Chenault Alumni House.” CentreCyclopedia - Cowan Dining Hall. Accessed February 2, 2021. https://sc.centre.edu/ency/c/chenault.html.
Figure 1, “Administrative Facilities.” Centre College, August 19, 2019. https://www.centre.edu/life-at-centre/administrative-facilities/.
Figure 2, Threlkeld, Gayle Watkins. “The First Hundred Years of Kentucky Alpha-Delta of Phi Delta Theta.” Centre College Archives. https://sc.centre.edu/sc/digital_students.html.
Jacky Seaver, interview by Savanna Roper, January 19, 2021, recording, Centre College Archives, https://youtu.be/9YOstZD4IDk.
Mackenzie Nichols, interview by Mary Katherine Hardy, January 19, 2021, transcript and recording, Centre College Archives, https://youtu.be/A26ufs05H-8.
Trollinger, Elizabeth. “THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME: Chenault Alumni House.” Centre College, July 12, 2018. https://www.centre.edu/the-story-behind-the-name-chenault-alumni-house/.
Endnotes
[i] Mackenzie Nichols, interview by Mary Katherine Hardy, January 19, 2021.
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Ibid
[iv] Ibid
[v] Ibid
[vi] Jacky Seaver, interview by Savanna Roper, January 19, 2021.
[vii] Ibid
[viii] Ibid