Boo! Did we scare you? If we didn’t, maybe knowing that the Cathedral of Learning is haunted might spook you.
Dear old Cathy has a few hauntings to speak of, and maybe you’ve experienced some of these spirits yourself. The most notable places of activity are the Early American Nationality Room and the Croghan-Schenley Ballroom.
E. Maxine Bruhns, the late director of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms Program, has experienced a few hauntings firsthand in the Early American room. Bruhns’s grandmother, Martha Jane Poe McDaniel, donated a handmade wedding quilt to the room. The quilt adorns the four-poster bed in the room's loft, accessible via a secret door.
Bruhns says she had just finished fixing the quilt on the bed when she turned around and heard a swooshing noise. When she looked back, the quilt had been turned down, and there was an indent in the pillow like a head was lying on it.
On another occasion, she was taking a nap on the floor near the bed when she suddenly heard something careening towards her. It hit the floor next to her head with a heavy thwack. It was her handbag which had been sitting on a chair. Bruhns said she knew it was her grandmother and decided she better leave the room for her.
Other people have reported objects moving on their own in the room, including the cradle rocking by itself. Visitors also say they’ve felt unexplained cold spots and random gusts of wind.
The Croghan-Schenley Ballroom, while dripping in grandeur, is hiding a spirited secret of its own. The Ballroom was originally part of William Croghan Jr.’s mansion and was built for his daughter Mary for her societal debut. Mary, however, never ended up dancing in the room. Instead, she eloped at 15 with 43-year-old Captain Edward Schenley. William, distraught by his daughter’s betrayal, disowned her. But Mary has apparently not given up her fortunes in her death.
The ballroom was moved from the mansion to the Cathedral in the 1940s. It has a false fireplace that can be opened to reveal a hidden chamber, and it is said that Mary’s ghost haunts it. People have reported seeing her ghostly apparition on occasion both in the secret room and out in the Ballroom. Some have even reported hearing the piano playing on its own and the chandelier beginning to sway to and fro.
Have you had any ghostly encounters? A chill down your spine as your professor announces a pop quiz. Or maybe your hair standing on end as you realize you sent the wrong email to your boss.
Happy October Cathy Inhabitants!