The Haunting of Breckinridge

The Haunting of Breckinridge

Centre College (Danville, Ky. : 1918- )—Anecdotes
Centre College (Danville, Ky. : 1918- )—Buildings
Centre College (Danville, Ky. : 1918- )—History
Centre College (Danville, Ky. : 1918- )—Students
Ghosts—Kentucky—Danville
Haunted places—Kentucky—Danville
Haunted universities and colleges—Kentucky—Danville

An oral history about paranormal activity in Breckinridge Hall and around Centre's campus.

Wheeler, Margueritte

2021/01/17

Edwards, Andrew

All Rights Reserved

MP4

English

Oral History

Edwards, Andrew

Wheeler, Margueritte

Breckinridge Hall, Centre College

Andrew [00:00:01] There we go. OK, so my name is Andrew Edwards, and today I am interviewing Marguerite Wheeler, who is a recent graduate center college. Today is January 17th, 2020. I am recording this on Zoom. I am in Danville for the moment and Marguerite is in Louisville. And today we will be discussing Margaret's experiences during her years at Centre and correct me if I'm wrong, but particularly her years living in Breck.

Margueritte [00:00:32] Yes, awesome.

Andrew [00:00:34] So just to begin, can you talk a little bit about your Centre experience, maybe what you majored in, minored in, and activities?

Margueritte [00:00:47] So I majored in behavioral neuroscience and minored in psychology.

Margueritte [00:00:56] I also went abroad.

Margueritte [00:01:01] For this Centreterm in Barbados and did research on green monkeys and I also competed... I also ran track and field across country for all of my four years also.

Andrew [00:01:17] And so could you give us just kind of a rundown of what your daily life was like at Centre? I guess, particularly since we're going to talk about Breck, when you lived in Breck,..

Margueritte [00:01:28] So living in Breck. I mean, literally, life in Centre is pretty much like other college students. But and Breck, it was kind of a really old building. I don't remember the exact history behind it, but I think it's one of the oldest buildings at Centre. But living there, I lived in a really tiny room and at first it was just, you know, a normal dorm room. But later on throughout the year and actually said, our time is when I started, my closet door started opening by itself.

Andrew [00:02:11] Yeah.

Margueritte [00:02:12] And like, at first I just thought I wasn't shutting the door all the way. But it would have been like eight times in one night and the door was shut, like I did put my weight against the doorknob and it wouldn't open and it would just happen eight times of one night and then a week would go by and nothing would happen. And it just kind of did that until the end.

Andrew [00:02:29] Yeah. So in terms of living in Breck, did you know that Breck was haunted before you moved in?

Margueritte [00:02:36] I had heard rumors about it, but I was kind of like, whatever.

Andrew [00:02:40] Did you believe the rumors? No.

Margueritte [00:02:42] I mean, I think that I mean, there can be things that are hard to explain, but I mean, until I experience it, like, I was just like, okay.

Andrew [00:02:54] Yeah. And then could you tell me a bit, like, what it's like walking around in Breck? I've only been in there a few times, but I know it's small rooms and like very big open hallways.

Margueritte [00:03:05] Yeah, the whole way they made too big the hallway.

Andrew [00:03:09] Yeah.

Margueritte [00:03:11] So walking around there's kind of there's always a lot of people out. So it's really not like that creepy and like there's like 40 people on each floor. So it's kind of hard for it to be creepy when there's so many people around. But it's just kind of it's just kind of a weird vibe with how big the hallway is. And like the room, it is like if you're the only person in the hallway and it's like midnight or like it's just dark out, it's kind of it's a little bit creepy, but there's always a time. But there's always like noise because there's always somebody around. There is a lot of people and.

Andrew [00:03:48] Yeah, and I just I think I to walk through there late at night and I was the only person. It's like all you can hear your own footsteps and there's just yeah.

Margueritte [00:03:59] You can hear the echoes especially the staircases are pretty creepy.

Andrew [00:04:02] Yeah I know. So like um can you go into one of those nights where your closet door kept opening and like maybe talk about just the way you felt as it kept opening and opening and opening.

Margueritte [00:04:16] So one night in particular, I, um, I had heard the door opened once I had been in my room watching Netflix on my laptop, and it was very... just it just happened. And I was like, OK, I just didn't shut the door all the way, like, whatever, because sometimes, like, I just wouldn't shut the door and I would think of it later and then. So this is after it had happened a few times. But I didn't think anything like the first time. I'm like, whatever. Like I didn't shut the door. Yes. And then another 30 minutes went by and I made sure the door was shut this time, like, I pulled my weight against it and I opened it and I was like, OK. And then 30 minutes went by and it happened again, like, OK, I'm just going to sleep, because my friend had a lamp, on. So I was like, I'm just going to sleep lamp on because light doesn't really a small little light doesn't really bother me. And my roommate was gone at the time.

Andrew [00:05:25] OK.

Margueritte [00:05:26] So and I was going to sleep and I think I had it was late, it was like 1:00 a.m. and my roommate still wasn't back and I had fallen asleep. And I heard the door open and I heard her come in and then I looked and then like probably like two minutes later I flipped over because I just couldn't fall asleep and my roommate was not there.

Andrew [00:05:54] Oh, wow. So you heard the footsteps.

Margueritte [00:05:56] I thought I. I think I did, but it was also a haze, so I don't know. I didn't see anything. So I don't know if that was true or not. But once I looked over and I like I like sat up and I was like, oh no. Closet door opened again.

Andrew [00:06:13] So, did it like kind of slowly crack open or was it like a very discreet open?

Margueritte [00:06:17] Just slowly cracked open every time and sometimes it kind of depended. So another time I was not in the room, it was near the end of the school year and May it was like probably 8:00 PM. My roommate and her friend was in there and they said the door it open like once. Yeah. And then then they shut it and made sure it was closed and then they said, all right, let's leave the room. And then the door opened and. Yeah, I mean, I wasn't there, but that's what he told them. They heard...

Andrew [00:06:52] What room was it? Just curious.

Margueritte [00:06:55] I think 210.

Andrew [00:06:57] Yeah. So that's I mean, that's crazy. So do you think you heard footsteps coming into your room that night? I know you said you're kind of half asleep, but I know you...

Margueritte [00:07:07] I mean, I thought I don't know if it was footsteps, but like, I heard the door open and I heard wait on the bed.

Andrew [00:07:13] OK

Margueritte [00:07:15] Like, I swore she had come in.

Andrew [00:07:16] Yeah. So was there weight on the person's bed?

Margueritte [00:07:19] On my roommate's bed, like I thought for sure I had her to come in and I didn't hear anyone leave like the door only open once, but maybe it was a person across the hall. I just pretend I just like to pretend that. Yeah. So when I was half asleep but like the I mean. Yeah, it seems like it was right in room.

Andrew [00:07:45] Yeah, yeah, so what was that first thought that went through your head when you sat up and realized that your roommate wasn't there and your closet door was open again?

Margueritte [00:07:54] So I just kind of sat there like, well, I just thought in my head, but all you're doing is opening a closet. And. And kind of scaring me, so I was like. I didn't get up and close the closet. I just went I just moved back to the side that wasn't facing the closet. Well, pull the blanket over my head and sleep.

Andrew [00:08:22] ... and said, if you want to keep open the closet, you can have your closet.

Margueritte [00:08:28] Yeah, I think.

Andrew [00:08:30] So. Do you believe in ghosts?

Margueritte [00:08:33] I believe that there are things that we can't explain. There's just things that happen that are weird that's already explained. I don't know if I believe in them per se, but.

Andrew [00:08:47] Right.

Margueritte [00:08:48] But I.

Andrew [00:08:54] It can't control it, right? Yeah, so, I mean, does living in Room 210 influence that? I'll give you one second.

Margueritte [00:09:11] OK, sorry.

Andrew [00:09:13] You're all good. So does living and living in Brock, not Brock, Breck 210, to influence your belief of ghosts or things that cannot be explained.

Margueritte [00:09:22] Yes, I think I've always believed believe that there's something you can't explain, but that definitely solidified. And a little bit like I've had things happen to me before outside of the Centre, but yeah.

Andrew [00:09:39] So how many nights did your closet door open? You could just kind of guesstimate that.

Margueritte [00:09:45] So from I guess I didn't think about it until after Centreterm, like there was a time during happened a lot during our term. But then it kind of stopped until March. Like, it kind of I guess it would stop for like weeks. At a time. I think back to like if there was a ghost per se, I think the activity kind of moved from room to room. So it only ever happened to my closet, not my roommate.

Andrew [00:10:18] That's interesting. Was there anyone on your hall you had those experiences?

Margueritte [00:10:27] I mean, I didn't really talk to a ton of people. Other people have said that they had weird things happen. I think it probably happened 20 to 30 times, so there is a span of like five months, like the first first half of the year. Nothing ever happened. Which is kind of weird that it happened later, but...

Andrew [00:10:57] The ghost just got comfortable with you. It was just waiting. Yeah, so when you look back on your time at Centre, is this memory of Breck one of the things that pops into your head? I mean, I know you lived in a lot of places. So is that kind of one of those things that you'll come back to every once in a while and think about?

Margueritte [00:11:16] I mean, I remember like I'll talk about it every once in a while because it's just. It was just weird, like it wasn't, but it wasn't scary for, say, except that one night that was kind of terrifying. But other than that, like the door open, I mean, I look back on it and, like, I'll talk about it. And something I remember is the most vivid place I remember. And also the fact that the room was tiny.

Andrew [00:11:42] And in the smaller room. But, yeah, that's...

Margueritte [00:11:45] I mean, some of the rooms in Breck are big and some of them are not in.

Andrew [00:11:50] But yeah, I mean, knowing what you've learned, I'm sure a little bit about some of the ghost stories around Centre, because we all kind of learn those as we go, are you surprised that it happened, like looking back on it, like, of course, you had.

Margueritte [00:12:05] I'm surprised it happened later. Like, I had heard the rumors, but nothing happened for, like, until January, so just kind of weird, like I always got I always felt weird vibes, like in the bathroom, but like a bathroom full of people.

Andrew [00:12:26] So yeah, no, I get what you mean, but yeah. Thank you for doing this. So it's been very nice and it's great to hear some of your ghost stories and kind of hear what happened to you in Breck, sense Breck seems to be one of the most common places on campus,.

Margueritte [00:12:45] Yeah, I have not experienced it anywhere else. I know Sutcliffe, I have heard things about that.

Andrew [00:12:52] Yeah, I've heard about those downstairs racquetball courts.

Margueritte [00:12:56] Yeah. That place can be the basements. Kind of creepy.

Andrew [00:12:59] Yeah, it is. I mean, I went down there once and it was horrible.

Margueritte [00:13:03] I've been down here like twice.

Andrew [00:13:05] Yeah. Once you come in once most people don't like going back.

Margueritte [00:13:09] It's weird. And not when it's like night anyway.

Andrew [00:13:14] Oh I would never imagine I don't have the balls to go down there at night. I really don't. It's.. it's… it's kind of a terrifying place.

Margueritte [00:13:25] It's just it's just weird. And you can hear the raquetballs in the place next door and you're like, are there actually still people in there?

Andrew [00:13:35] And I don't want to look.

Margueritte [00:13:36] And I will not look.

Andrew [00:13:38] And I will let them play racquetball. Yeah. So I guess my final question is, do you believe that Centre is haunted?

Margueritte [00:13:46] I believe that part of the Centre is haunted. I don't believe all the stories because someone told me that one time Pearl was haunted. I don't really believe that because it was built in 2011 and I was there last year. And like I don't believe some of them. Some of them. I just think that just now, like, Ruby Cheek and Stuart, I can believe that. Yeah. Yeah. One of them is.

Andrew [00:14:17] Awesome. So I'm going to go ahead and stop.

MP4

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