The first building erected on the now expansive campus, Bunce Hall - named for Edgar F. Bunce, the second president of the school - contains a cozy theater named for Elizabeth Tohill, a former theater professor.
While experiences continue to be reported by students and faculty alike, a guest recently brought his paranormal investigation equipment to the university and sat on Tohill Theater's stage for a while, hoping to contact Mrs. Tohill.
Dustin Pari of SyFy Channel's "Ghost Hunters" and "Ghost Hunters International," recently visited the college to speak to students and lead 30 of them on a paranormal investigation at Bunce Hall.
"When I was 8 or 9, I saw a shadow figure standing in my doorway," Pari said, explaining how he first became interested in the paranormal. "I was little and it scared me. I pulled the covers over my head and, being a good Christian soldier, said my prayers and never saw it again. I lived in that house for 12 years and only saw it once."
That incident spurred an interest in him that carried on through his teen-age years - he and his friends investigated the "local hot spots" such as abandoned houses, which he does not encourage anyone to do now-a-days - and eventually led him to a television show.
"One night I was watching TV and saw the show," Pari said about season one of "Ghost Hunters." "I wrote to all the dudes on the show and never heard anything back. I wrote to all the ladies, sent a charming picture of myself, got a meet and greet with Jay (Jason Hawes) and Grant (Wilson) (founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society) and now I'm here."
Pari said he wanted to be a part of the television show so he could show people "evidence of an afterlife."
"Regardless of religion, if you hear an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) or see a picture of some type of proof...," he said. "I'm not the person with the answers in relation to the paranormal field. How can you be an expert in something that no one understands? There's still so much to be discovered."
Another reason Pari said he enjoys investigating is the excitement.
"When you're asking questions in the dark for hours, not knowing if something is there or not, then you see things start happening, it's amazing. It's an adrenaline rush," he said.
Before taking a group of 30 students to Bunce Hall, Pari talked about the different types of hauntings and gave examples of some of his most memorable experiences.
"In 22 years of investigating, maybe two or three experiences have been dark entities," Pari said, after discussing inhuman and demonic haunts. "A lot of times, spirits will come back and check up on people if they are going through a trying time in life."
But the most common type of haunting Pari said he experiences is residual - when energy is imprinted on the environment.
He showed a photo taken while participating in an investigation in Ireland. In the photo, two stone walls and what appears to be smoke can be seen.
"It looks like smoke, but you can see two horses heads, a carriage and two brighter shadows where the passengers would be sitting," Pari said.
At the same time the photograph was taken, an EVP was captured that sounded like horses hooves clopping down a cobblestone street.
Once in Bunce Hall, Pari took out the hand-held, AM/FM radio that he says is his favorite piece of paranormal investigating equipment.
"I put it on scan on the AM band because it's quieter," he explained.
The theory is that spirits can use the frequency of the white noise to speak.
"I ask very specific questions," Pari said.
He said he asks questions that would most likely not have an answer that could be heard in random DJ chatter that may come through during the channel scan.
"You don't need expensive equipment," Pari responded to a student's question about how to get started in paranormal investigation. "Just a voice recorder, a cheap radio and maybe a K2 meter."
However, he reminded the students to not become obsessed with recording every tiny sight and sound during an investigation or in their everyday life.
"Live in the moment," Pari said. "We're spiritual beings and we're interacting with spirits and that's amazing."
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