An Unexplainable Experience

An Unexplainable Experience

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

This is an oral history interview with Davis Downs, a recent Centre alum, about his unexplainable paranormal experience in Breckinridge Hall.

Downs, Davis

2021/01/18

Sparks, Buckley

All Rights Reserved

MP4

English

Oral History (literary work)

Sparks, Buckley

Downs, Davis

Breckinridge Hall, Centre College, Danville, KY

Buckley: Hello, I am Buckley Sparks and today I am going to be interviewing Davis Downs. Hello Davis. How are you today?

Davis: Doing well, Buckley. Happy to do this.

Buckley: Alright, let’s just jump right in. So tell me a little bit about your time at Centre.

Davis: So I graduated in just the past, this past November, November 2020. So I think I officially went to Centre the least amount of any student that I know that graduated from it. I missed orientation week and then I missed most of everything for quarantine and then I graduated, or for the coronavirus last semester, and then I also graduated in 3 1/2 years so I maybe didn’t get the full Centre experience but really enjoyed my time there.

Buckley: Yeah, that’s very impressive so congratulations on your graduation.

Davis: Thank you very much.

Buckley: Okay so you obviously--you did spend your fair share of time at Centre and I do believe it--I think I know you were a GSP counselor [1:00] there as well. So you had some additional summers there.

Davis: Yes, I was a GSP counselor for two years. One was the summer between my sophomore and junior year. I was here for five weeks, and then the other one I was here for three weeks, which was the following summer, which was the COVID summer actually.

Buckley: Okay, so, so to jump right in, when was this paranormal experience that you have experienced.

Davis: Okay, so, the first ghost experience that I had in my life and had at Centre, occurred the first summer while I was working at GSP. There is a planning week where all the RA’s arrive to campus early, and, so I knew some of the Centre RA’s, I knew some of the ones that I’ve gone to GSP with in the past, and so we were all just trying to get to know each other really. And we were going through our hall assignment, so I think I was over in Bingham [2:00] maybe and one girl was in, on the third floor of Breck.

Davis: And so we started, all the Centre RA’s started messing with her a little bit about, “Ohh that’s the haunted floor, there’s a ghost up there.” But none of us really knew the story too well. Basically we thought the ghost’s name was Peter. It was a student who had jumped out the window. There were conflicting reports of whether it was a suicide attempt or he jumped out during the fire. But we said the students name was Peter and that the haunted room on the third floor was room 317. And this girl was already pretty freaked out, not a, she was already a believer in ghosts. They don’t bother me too much, but, I thought we were just messing with her. And then we went through to just do like a tour of campus, and we walk up to her floor so that everyone can see it, know where she’s living and everything. And as we pass the window, the large window on the third floor, it just completely shatters. [3:00]

Davis: And she started crying, [Laughter] couple RA’s screamed. And we basically made. . . just told her that that was the ghost welcoming her, not very happy with her. And then, so students were supposed to arrive the next day and so they got there and there was a giant piece of cardboard and plywood over the window. And they had a lot of questions about that we, but were instructed not to tell any of them because it’s already a big experience coming from your home go to a new campus for five weeks with completely new people and everything, and the last thing they needed was some paranormal activity to add to that mix, so it was a big secret from the scholars.

Buckley: Yeah, forsure. I remember being a little kid and going to camp and the counselors told me a scary story that probably wasn’t even true and I was like, oh my goodness I need to go home, so I’m glad you kept that from them.

Davis: Exactly, yeah.

Buckley: But, so you, you, this happened in Breck, and did you believe the stories that you were telling this girl before anything happened?

Davis: I did not. I’m pretty skeptical. [4:00] I believed maybe that somebody had died in that room at one time. That didn’t seem too far-fetched, but not a big believer in ghosts. . . still don’t know if I am. But there were certainly some people convinced after the events of that room, and I was even a little shaken that night.

Buckley: Right, right. It would shake anyone to think that the window would just shatter like that. . . .

Davis: Right.

Buckley: Because, was it a windy day out, or was there some. . . .

Davis: It wasn’t windy. It was just a regular summer evening. There was nothing really going on, nobody tried to open the window, nobody hit it. We were just walking like around the stairs and the window falls in and shatters.

Buckley: That’s, that’s really intense, like I can just picture myself in my head trying to rationalize someway that that could have happened, but the coincidence of what you guys were doing at that time is certainly very interesting. It seems to be kind of a pattern to me. I’ve heard some other ghost stories from my professor, and from some other people. When they question [5:00] the ghosts or the, the, kind of mock. . . .

Davis: Uh huh.

Buckley: The ghosts and the realness of it, that tends to like spike up some activity so I think it’s really interesting the timing of that.

Davis: Yeah for sure. And it couldn’t have--if we were setting up a prank we couldn't have done it any better to have a window shatter as we were telling the other RA about it. So it was, it was definitely pretty strange.

Buckley: Right and I’m sure that that girl, it probably affected her pretty bad because she then had to spend a lot of her time there--her whole summer.

Davis: Uh huh, yeah she. . . .

Buckley: I’m sure she thought about that a lot of nights.

Davis: She was freaked out for the entire 5 weeks. And then, like, we all took pictures of the window shattered, and she still sent like a Snapchat memory last summer about how, “Oh my gosh my room is haunted on it I’m gonna die. How dare you guys make Peter angry right before I’m supposed to sleep here,” and everything like that so. . . .

Buckley: Right, wow. So did anything, nothing happened afterwards to that girl or to anyone on campus [6:00] really throughout that five weeks, it was just that initial experience?

Davis: Not that we think was related to ghosts of any kind, but maybe . . . she passed out one day just in her room alone so maybe Peter was messing with her then, but . . . .

Buckley: Right.

Davis: We all highly doubt that so. . . .

Buckley: Right, especially if she isn’t prone to passing out or anything.

Davis: Right, yeah, and there’d been no history of it so. . . that was a little weird but don’t think a ghost was involved.

Buckley: So do you think that these experiences kind of changed how you felt about those stories or are, do you remain still kind of skeptical and think maybe this was just a coincidence?

Davis: I can certainly see how they’re more believable now, because like, especially if you’re in the mood where everybody’s talking about the ghosts and everything and discussing paranormal activity, and then something like that happens, like everyone’s first thought is gonna be oh my gosh it’s the ghost. And like I said I was a little shaken that night about . . . oh, maybe ghosts are real. But I’m certainly not, haven’t let it really affect my life any after that. [7:00] Don’t think about it too much . . . .

Buckley: Right.

Davis: Don’t really believe any ghosts are here so. . . .

Buckley: Yeah, just kinda try to push it to the back of your mind and. . . .

Davis: Right.

Buckley: Write it off as a crazy thing that happened.

Davis: Right, yeah.

Buckley: So. . . .

Davis: But, no I guess my opinions didn’t change too much.

Buckley: Right.

Davis: It’s just, I can see how other people would believe in ghosts.

Buckley: Mhm. So did those experiences maybe change a little bit about how you thought about Centre as like a historical place or as a, like, did it make you think of Centre any differently?

Davis: Just, like coming up but the stories, it made me think about like, man this school really has been around for 200 years. Like, this could’ve occurred whenever, or like when it happened, and like you think about there probably have been people that died in dorm rooms and we still have students go stay in them every year, which is a little creepy to think about.

Buckley: Yeah.

Davis: But it didn’t affect like my Centre experience at all, any, I guess.

Davis: It was interesting to see how, [8:00] like I think we’re three Centre RA’s that were doing most of the ghost storytelling before the window shattered, and it was really interesting to see how we had all heard three different stories about what the original story was with Peter the ghost, and even though we were all going to school at the same time, and been a long time since that happened, the fact that the story still existed but in that many forms was--sort of spoke to how history can be manipulated especially in the context of something that’s already dealing with the unknown as much as paranormal activity.

Buckley: No, yeah for sure, I’ve also heard about Peter being a ghost in Young, that haunted Young Hall.

Davis: Really?

Buckley: And, someone who had an experience where they sort of mocked, like that they didn't really know if that was true, and then, you know, something happened right at that moment. So maybe Peter just really doesn’t like it when people don’t believe in him. [Laughter]

Davis: Maybe he’s just all over that side of campus.

Buckley: Yes! Yeah, it seems to be a common theme there. [9:00]

Davis: Yeah, and that’s where most of the ghost stories I’ve heard from Centre occurring, like, that side, the older quad.

Buckley: Right.

Davis: Breck specifically because it already looked like it, it’s like straight out of Halloween Town or something like that. It looks a little creepy. I’ve heard . . . .

Buckley: Yeah. And I . . . .

Davis: The fraternity houses are all, like if anything should be haunted on campus it should be those because of everything that happens in them. [Laughter] And I lived in one for a whole year, and we all got sick around the same time, and we thought maybe a demon was there, but. . . .

Buckley: Oh, yeah. Because that’s something . . . .

Davis: ( )

Buckley: That is something that people associate with that kind of thing so that, that is interesting. But I, I’ve also heard that there--although the new side of campus is probably less haunted just because of the lack of school history over there--I have heard that it was built on some . . . .

Davis: Mhm, yeah.

Buckley: Some sort of . . . .

Davis: Indian burial ground or something?

Buckley: Yeah, some, something along those lines that also might make it have some . . . some ( ) experiences.

Davis: Yeah.

Buckley: I’ve had some--I’ve only been there for, you know, [10:00] a semester.

Davis: Mhm.

Buckley: But, there was one instance where my, my curling iron was, or my, my roommates curling iron, was in the back of her closet, like in a box. Never been unraveled or used while she was there.

Davis: Uh huh.

Buckley: And we came back into our room one day and it was out on her desk unraveled. And, and, and, she was like, “Buckley did you use my curling iron? Like, I really don’t mind, I’m just, I don’t know how it got out here. And I was like . . . .

[Laughter]

Buckley: No, like I swear I didn’t. Mine is sitting right on my desk out in the open where I would have been able to use mine.

Davis: Yeah.

Buckley: And we had been together all day at practice, and both of our hair was in ponytails. So we were just like, not sure at all how that happened. We asked all up and down our hall. Now, we do leave our door unlocked, so that’s on us, but it was . . . .

Davis: Maybe. [Laughter]

Buckley: It's something that just makes you, like, think and makes you a little creeped out and ().

Davis: Maybe Peter has long hair and just needed some accessories.

[Laughter]

Buckley: He just wanted to fix it up a little bit.
Davis: Yeah.

Buckley: But, yeah. It is interesting how maybe we, we think a little bit more [11:00] about Centre as a haunted place, because it, some aspects of it do look older. Like if you’re in a very modern college that was, you know, newly built, you’re not going to think of it as much as a haunted place. But Centre has so much history and so much character that you can see how there could be ghosts there.

Davis: Oh, for sure. One of my cousins came up to visit me my first year at Centre, and he just walked into campus and he was just looking around the whole time like, “Man this looks just straight out of Halloween. Like this place is so Halloweeny. Like I could definitely see this place being haunted.” And I was like, I never really thought of it like that, but if you combine that with the ghost stories then you can see how it got there, I guess.

Buckley: Mhm. Especially in the fall, you know, I. . . .

Davis: Yeah, that. . . .

Buckley: It definitely gives off that vibe.

Davis: That’s the time he came, and everything is a little spooky. There’s bats flying around everywhere when it gets around dusk time, so yeah. You can definitely get the vibes from it.

Buckley: Right. So, I know that these experiences maybe [12:00] didn’t shape how you think about ghosts too much, maybe a little bit.

Davis: Mhm.

Buckley: But I think it’s fair to say that it, it did shift your beliefs a little bit, and that maybe if you went back you wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happened again.

Davis: Yeah, I, I could, I could see that. And while it didn’t shift my beliefs as much, it certainly changed a couple of the RA’s minds.

Buckley: Right.

Davis: The girl that was living there was absolutely terrified every time she had to go to her room to sleep. And, like I can definitely see how that would happen. You, I mean, a window shatters right after you’re talking about a ghost possibly haunting that floor certainly seems like it might be paranormal activity, but yeah.

Buckley: Right. Yeah that, that would definitely affect me probably more than it affected you.

[Laughter]

Buckley: So I’m glad that was you and not me, but thank you . . . .

Davis: It might have affected me more if I was on the Breck 3, but [Laughter].

Buckley: Oh yeah. No, if you have to spend a lot more time there like . . . .

Davis: Right.

Buckley: Like I’ve always said, if something haunted happens to me I really don’t want it to be in my house because I have to sleep there every night, [13:00] and like . . . .

Davis: Exactly.

Buckley: Be alone all the time. I’m alone right now so . . . .

[Laughter- Davis]

Buckley: I was like, I hope the story’s not too scary. But anyways, thank you so much for your time and for coming here and sharing that experience. I think it will add a great element to this project, so I just want to thank you.

Davis: Thanks for asking me, happy to do it. Good luck with the rest of the project.

Buckley: Alright, thank you so much. I’ll see you.

Davis: See you, Buck.

Buckley: Bye! Okay.

END OF INTERVIEW [13:28]

MP4

13:28