HGB Ep. 432 - Haunted Harvard

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Moment in Oddity - Refrigerator-sized Asteroid Only Fifth Detected in History

Asteroids hit the Earth all the time. It is estimated that this occurs every ten months. Would you believe that only five asteroids have been detected before hitting Earth. Number five happened last month, March of 2022. The asteroid was named 2022 EB5 and was first seen by astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky, who was at the Piszkéstető Mountain Station at the time. This location is part of Konkoly Observatory in Hungary. The asteroid was estimated to be about the size of a refrigerator. The asteroid impacted the Earth at 39,600 mph around two hours after it was first detected. The system that is set-up for tracking asteroids, rolled into action after detection. NASA's impact hazard assessment system that is known as Scout began tracking the space rock. NASA then contacted the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, CNEOS. This team then predicts a fairly exact location of impact. And they were right on this one, predicting it would hit the Earth's atmosphere above an unpopulated volcanic island 310 miles east of Greenland. It's hard to believe this is only the fifth asteroid detected before impact, but even weirder is that the first one only happened as far back as 2008 and that, certainly is odd!

This Month in History - Apollo 13 Oxygen Tank Explodes

In the month of April, on the 13th, in 1970, an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes. Apollo 13 was the third manned lunar landing mission and was carrying three astronauts: John L. Swigert, James A, Lovell and Fred W. Haise. The spaceship was 200,000 miles from Earth and on its second day of the mission when oxygen tank No. 2 blew. Houston, there indeed was a problem and engineers on the ground scrambled to come up with a solution as the spacecraft was left crippled. Apollo 13 made it to the moon, circled it and started for home. The astronauts must have been pretty sad as they watched the moon go by, knowing they couldn't land and that they would be lucky to make it home alive. Several untested maneuvers and cobbled together repairs managed to give the astronauts enough air to make it home and enough energy was provided to the fuel cells to allow reentry. On April 17th, Apollo 13 touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Haunted Harvard

Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is America's oldest university and was established in 1636. This was meant for the education of clerics, but moved on to becoming an Ivy League College of higher learning. Presidents, esteemed authors and pioneers in medicine and engineering have all been educated here. This is a place of science. And yet, many students and staff have come away with tales of ghostly experiences. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of Harvard University!

In the early 1600s, thousands of Puritans were migrating to the New England area and there was a real need to have enough clergy to serve them all. This new institution to train up clergy would be a "church in the wilderness." The Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted in 1636 to establish New College for this purpose. A house and an acre of land were bought from Goodman Peyntree. This area was first known as "Cow-yard Row," then became "College Yard" and finally "Harvard Yard" and this original patch sits at the southern end of the Old Yard. Buildings were erected and the first printing press in America would find its home here in 1638. In 1639, New College would become Harvard University, taking its name from Reverend John Harvard who had bequeathed half of his estate and his entire library to the school upon his death. All but one of those books would burn in a fire at the school in 1764. In 1642, Harvard conducted its first commencement with nine graduates. 

In those early years, there was a very small teaching staff and these professors were considered the most learned men of their time. The curriculum focused on rote learning drills. The 18th century would bring a broader range of subjects and several of the buildings still standing today were built at this time. Anything built before this century was demolished. Harvard would have some strong connections to the Revolutionary War and the founding of America. In 1775, Continental soldiers would be quartered in buildings on the campus. In 1776, eight Harvard alumni signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1787, Future President John Adams graduated from Harvard. 

Medical studies were added in 1782. Law would come in 1816 and divinity followed in 1817. Harvard's new shield and motto of "Veritas" were introduced in 1843. Also at this time, rote learning was replaced with lectures. Many people identify the color crimson with Harvard, but it actually wasn't the official school color until 1910. Apparently, school colors weren't really a thing until then. Crimson was an unofficial color though starting in the mid-1800s when a couple of rowing team members wore crimson scarves so they could be seen from afar. In 1870, Harvard would graduate its first black man. This was Richard Theodore Greener. Women would come to Harvard in 1879 when the Harvard Annex was added. There were 27 women in that first enrollment. Harvard Annex would later be known as Radcliffe College. The first woman on the faculty wouldn't come until 1918 with the appointment of Alice Hamilton.

The 20th century would bring more diversity to the university as financial aid programs were implemented. Interestingly when it comes to diversity, Harvard had an Indian school early on. Matthews Hall sits where the Indian College had been from 1655 to 1698. John Sassamon was from a Massachusetts tribe and in 1653, he became the first Native American to study at Harvard. He worked with Indian Bible translator John Eliot and later became a scribe and interpreter to Wampanoag Chief Metacom, better known as King Philip. It would be Sassamon's murder in 1675, because he was an English informant, that started the King Philip’s War.

Harvard University has continued to grow through the years and currently enrolls 17,000 student in regular courses and an additional 30,000 in non-degree courses. An interesting true crime case is connected to Harvard, dating back to 1849. John White Webster was a lecturer at the new Harvard Medical College in 1849. Webster was described as a nervous man who delivered tedious lectures for non-scientific minds. His students enjoyed many of the lectures because he would include pyrotechnics and they nicknamed him "Skyrocket Jack." The President of Harvard wasn't very pleased with those lectures. Webster didn't present himself as a man who would commit a heinous murder. He was horrible with money though and had recently had to give up the Cambridge mansion he had built. He was also in debt to several friends. George Parkman, on the other hand, was great with money and he came one of Boston's richest families. He was well-known and was a hard worker. Oliver Wendell Holmes said of him, "He abstained while others indulged, he walked while others rode, he worked while others slept."

Webster went to Parkman for a loan in 1842 that would be equivalent to nearly $11,000 today. He paid a bit of it back, but then asked Parkman for more. There was a promissory note equivalent to $67,000 today, which represented the unpaid balance and another loan. Webster offered as collateral, a cabinet of minerals and some other personal property. In 1848, Webster needed more money, so he borrowed from another friend and used the already promised mineral cabinet as collateral on this loan. When Parkman heard about it, he became enraged. He went to a lecture Webster was giving and demanded the money from ticket sales. Later, Webster visited Parkman at his house and suggested the men have a meeting at the Harvard Medical College on November 23, 1849. Parkman entered the college at 1:45pm and was never seen alive again.

The following day, he was reported missing. Ephrain Littlefield was the janitor at the Medical College and he was experienced in helping the professors set up their rooms and he even sold them cadavers for dissection. He noticed that Webster had filled his furnace with fuel several times and that it was burning really hot. When Webster left, he let himself into the room through a window. He returned later with his wife and equipment to break into a vault that the police had not searched and he found a human pelvis, a right thigh and a lower left leg. The police found other evidence and body parts throughout the lab. Webster was convicted and executed. Interestingly, Parkman's widow led a fund drive to support Webster’s wife and children. We don't know if Parkman is hanging out at Harvard in the afterlife, but plenty of other spirits are and here are some of the reputed haunted locations.

Thayer Hall

Harvard Yard holds all the dormitories and these are only for housing freshmen. Thayer Hall was built in 1870. Housing prices were really rising at that time and this dormitory was meant to offer a cheaper place for students. Some well known people who have stayed here include Walter Isaacson, E. E. Cummings, Conrad Aiken, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Hamzah bin al Hussein - the former Crown Prince of Jordan. The ghosts that haunt this dorm are from former mill workers. This had once been a textile mill. These spirits are seen as misty apparitions that are clothed in Victorian garb. What really makes witnesses know that these are ghosts is that they'll enter the building through walls, rather than doors. Inside the dorm, they also walk through walls. Writer Fiona Broome was told by a professor that he had seen spirits pop in and out of walls. It seems that the spirit workers are more active in the winter. 

Weld Hall

Weld Hall was built in 1870 as well. The dormitory was designed by Ware & Van Brunt in the Queen Anne architectural style. It was a gift of William Fletcher Weld who paid for the building as a memorial gift for his brother Stephen Minot Weld and that is where the name comes from. John F. Kennedy stayed at this dorm during his time at Harvard. A woman named Audris Wong stayed in Weld Hall in the mid-1980s. Hurricane Gloria was coming through at the time and Wong had gotten some candles in case the power went out. She decided to have a seance later with one of the candles. She describes what happened in Matthew Swayne's "America's Haunted Universities, "My eyes were transfixed at the space between my two roommates, when I saw an old woman with a dark cloak and grayish hair. It wasn't like the mist that you see in the movies, but it was very vague - like an impression. I couldn't see any of her features. She was just leaning against the wall, listening to our conversation." Other students claim to hear strange knocks in the building. It is thought that a fire that burned down the dorm in the 1960s and that was later rebuilt and restored, may have trapped some spirits.

Wadsworth House

Wadsworth House is more commonly known as "The President's House." This building was constructed in 1726 for Benjamin Wadsworth and his family. From 1727 to 1846, nine Harvard presidents lived in the house. For a brief time in 1775, this was a temporary headquarters for Generals George Washington and Charles Lee. Later, students would live here, including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Then Harvard offices were here. This is the second oldest surviving building on the campus. Clark Schuler was an IT specialist at Harvard and he was in Wadsworth House one night during the winter. He was the only one there in the building and he was in a downstairs office with his back to the door. He felt like someone was standing behind him and then he heard someone clear his throat. He spun around to see who was behind him and there was no one there. Schuler logged off the computer and left the building. Apparitions in colonial garb have been seen in the building. A cleaning lady was alone in the house vacuuming when she witnessed a spirit that looked quite grim and was wearing a tricorn hat and cloak, walk down the stairs and exit through the door.

Lowell House

Harvard's housing for upperclassmen are called Houses and they are a series of buildings with each cluster having its own senior faculty member called a Master. This system is unique in American academics. One of those houses is Lowell House, which was built in 1929. This is named for the Lowell family, which included Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell - who instituted the House system at Harvard - his Pulitzer Prize-winning sister poet Amy Lowell, brother Percival Lowell, who was an astronomer who spearheaded the search for Pluto and grandfather John Lowell. This would become the first Harvard House to be lead by a same-sex couple, which occurred in 1998. The House would introduce the idea of weekly teas, High Tables and opera galas. The Lowell House Opera is the longest continually-running opera company in New England. One of the spirits here is believed to belong to Amy Lowell. She wasn't a student at Harvard, but she spent much of her life on the campus and her portrait hangs in Lowell House. Her full-bodied apparition has been seen and the phantom scent of her thin, hand-rolled cigars is smelled. Another ghost here is thought to belong to former House Master Elliott Perkins. He and his wife Mary, served as Masters from 1942 to 1963. His spirit is believed to attend Thursday teas. His wife Mary reputedly said, "For instance, I believe in ghosts and all kinds of things of that sort, as you know," so we're betting she would believe her husband was still here in the afterlife.

Adams House

This is said to be the most haunted of the House system. Three former dormitories were joined together in 1931 to make Adams House. These were Westmorly, Apthorp and Randolph and had been luxurious dorms for upperclassmen. Famous former residents include President Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Lithgow, Fred Gwynne and Peter Sellers. The Master's residence is in Apthorp and that seems fitting since the Battle of Bunker Hill was planned here. British General John - Gentleman Johnny - Burgoyne was held here as a prisoner after surrendering at the Battle of Saratoga. It is believed that he haunts the house. A student named Hannah Bouldin heard unexplained noises in the attic in the 1980s. Other students claim to have seen the spirits of Revolutionary War soldiers.

Massachusetts Hall

Massachusetts Hall is the oldest surviving building on Harvard’s campus and the second oldest academic building in the United States. This was built between 1718 and 1720 in Harvard Yard and was designed by Harvard President John Leverett and his successor Benjamin Wadsworth. The building served originally as a dorm and today still houses freshman on the fourth floor. The rest of the building is office space. Some time ago, a man claiming to be Holbrook Smith and a member of the Class of 1914, started appearing to students. He would chat them up in their first few weeks at the college and many of the incoming freshmen found the elderly man a comfort. They did start noticing though that they never heard doors open or close when he was around. It was as if he just walked through the wall. And no one ever found any records for a Holbrook Smith. Students soon started going to the assistant dean, William C. Burriss Young, to tell him about this man who seemed to be impersonating a former student. Dean Young decided to confront the man and he found him in the B-entry section of the building. He told Smith that he needed to leave. Smith got very sad and said, "You've ruined a perfectly good thing." Every one was convinced this was a ghost and students will invoke the name of Smith when weird events occur in Massachusetts Hall. Many believe this residual energy remains as a protector. And students claim that there are other phantoms in the building.

Widener Library

The Widener Library's stacks are described as "vast and cavernous." There are around 3.5 million books here. This is considered Harvard Library's flagship location. We heard about this location in Haunted Cemeteries 22. Harry Elkins Widener has his memorial at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, which is next to his parents whom he joined on the Titanic on its maiden voyage. Harry went down with the ship and his body was never recovered. If you recall, we shared that his mother survived and had the library at Harvard built and dedicated for her son. She bequeathed his collection of rare books to the library in 1915, along with a portrait of her son, which was created by the French painter Gabriel Ferrier. There is a memorial room dedicated to Widener in the library and fresh flowers are placed there daily. 

The portrait of Harry hangs above the fireplace in the Memorial Room. In the early 2000s, the library was renovated and the portrait was removed to protect it and to have it cleaned. In its place, a piece of plywood was hung and research material was moved into the room temporarily. This apparently angered the spirit of his mother. Barbara Burg was a librarian at Widener and she said, "Not long after we moved into the memorial room, a few pieces of plaster dropped from the ceiling onto several of our desks. While nobody was hit on the head by the plaster, it did get our attention. We therefore surmised that Harry Widener’s mother was unhappy that Harry’s portrait wasn’t hanging in the room, so we photocopied a photograph of the portrait and taped it onto the plywood over the fireplace. After that, there were no other unexplained occurrences that I can remember."

Cabot Library Suite

And speaking of libraries, the Cabot Library Suite has a spirit as well. The spirit hanging out here is said to belong to Radcliffe alumna Margaret Coleman Waites. A collection of her books and antiques are housed here. Harvard's paper "The Crimson" writes in October 2003 of this space, "Besides the standard party-room essentials like the Beirut table and beer funnel, the Cabot suite librarians have equipped their room with a 'library lounge,' which is a second large common room wall-papered with tin foil and blue and red construction paper accents. With dimmed lighting and accessories like incense, a Lite-Brite and old-school Super Mario Brothers played to the sounds of classical symphonies, the room is decidedly trippy...The boys say that the classic dark wood bookshelves, which came complete with several volumes of Shakespeare, not to mention about 30 rotting CUE Guides, add a touch of sophistication to their party scene." A former student named O'Malley claimed to have been visited by then ghost of Waites in his sleep.

And a little library fun fact, the death masks of pioneering Harvard ghost hunter William James and former Harvard professor Archibald Cary Coolidge are house at the Houghton and Pusey Libraries.

Sanders Theater

After the Civil War, The Harvard Corporation decided that they needed to create a memorial for students who fought for the Union. They decided to make this a building. They raised $370,000 and the former college steward, Charles Sanders, bequeathed $40,000 to the college. A spot on The Delta was chosen and Harvard alumni who were prominent architects designed the building. The construction started in 1870 and the cornerstone was laid on October 6, 1870. The Memorial Hall was completed in 1874. The Sanders Theater was completed in 1875. The tower was completed in 1877. Spirits are seen looking out of the windows and full-bodied apparitions are seen walking around outside. The basement is said to be the most haunted area in the theater. Sam Baltrusis writes in his book Ghost of Cambridge: Haunts of Harvard Square and Beyond about a picture sent to Cambridge Haunts, "One photo, shot in early October 2012 and submitted to Cambridge Haunts captured a spirit photo of what looks like a man from the Civil War era. He's wearing period garb and sporting facial hair indicative of the mid-1800s. The image is dark yellow in color and [it is believed] it's one of the Southern students who left during Harvard's winter break in 1860-61 during President Cornelius Conway Felton's stint." 

The Ghost of William James

There is a white skyscraper in the center of campus that is named for William James as is the Psychology department. James is known as the "Father of American Psychology." He was the brother of writer Henry James and came from a wealthy family headed by Swedenborgian theologian Henry James, Sr. He devoted a good portion of his life to the study of parapsychology. He started looking into the paranormal and evidence of life after death after his baby son Herman died in 1884. Much of his life was dedicated to proving the existence of the paranormal. He befriended a medium named Leonora Piper who seemed to know things about him and Herman that he didn't believe she could know without some kind of supernatural gift. He studied her abilities up until his death in 1910. He co-founded the American Society for Psychical Research in New York. Harvard actually supported him in his studies and one professor even helped him test Piper. He gave her a false name and asked her to reveal to him what was engraved inside a ring that he got from his mother. Piper gave him the right information and he was completely baffled. Students claim that the spirit of James is still on the campus.

And as an aside to this, Harvard has a strong history with psychical research. The man who took over James' Psychology chair after his death was British psychologist William McDougall and he had an interest in parapsychological phenomena. He sat on a panel of judges that included Harry Houdini to judge mediums on their abilities in a contest hosted by Scientific American in the early 1920s. Psychic Mina "Margery" Crandon was part of this contest and she also was evaluated over the years by a group of Harvard students and faculty. The Crimson even reported on these sessions. They eventually declared her a fraud after a magician gave them the same results. But clearly, the Ivy League Harvard was open to paranormal activity.

And a final fun haunting goes back to the Rebellion of 1818 that took place at University Hall. A residual sound of the melee was heard in the hall until the 1960s. Harvard University has a long and enduring history and clearly many hauntings to go with that history. Are these locations on the campus haunted? That is for you to decide!