![President Todd Pfannestiel poses with Jeremy Thurston chairperson Board of Trustees [left] and former chairperson Robert Brvenik [right] after accepting the university's institutional charter.](https://uticatangerine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/unnamed.jpeg)
Nicholas Souza
Features Editor
Utica College is an institution that prizes itself on the expert faculty, small class sizes, and providing a world-class education. But, underneath the surface of this small college, is a paranormal presence that haunts dorms across campus. From dead mafia members to the ghost of a student who committed suicide, here are the stories of the spirits that haunt Utica College
Burrstone Ghost Contacts Students through Ouija Board
When many people are growing up, their superstitious family members often tell them that Ouija boards are evil. This did
not stop several students in the Burrstone Residence Hall from contacting the notorious spirit residing in the building.
Jennifer Melvin, a sophomore studying accounting at UC, was in attendance during this ghoulish encounter.
“At rst I wasn’t going to play because the last time I played, I had a really bad experience,” Melvin Said. “I went in the room just to watch everyone play.”
She soon found herself joining the game when she saw that the others did not know how to properly work the board. In her experience, she has found that those who do not know how to properly operate the board, end up angering the spirits.
After a lot of work, they ended up contacting a spirit who was killed in the building when it was still the Ramada Inn. They found out that he was shot in room 312 and that his name is Hector.
It is widely known through rumors and from student blogs that the faucets in Burrstone turn on by themselves. When the group asked if Hector was the one who was turning the faucet on in the next room, the spirit responded with yes.
“After that everyone was freaking out, and they started to get loud, so we lost connection,” Melvin said. “Everyone left except for about ve people. We then tried to play again. Three of us put our ngers on and began saying ‘Is there anyone here with us, Are there any spirits in the room’ we waited a second and all of a sudden we heard the sink in the other room turn on full blast.
This left the group feeling very unsettled, and they have not played with the board since.
For you non-believers, a New York State Police report from January 15, 1983 details the death of a man. This man’s name was Hector Ambrosi, and he was shot to death in one of the rooms.
Lose Your Marbles in North
Not as widely known as the paranormal occurrences in Burrstone, but North Hall has its fair share of ghost stories. For example, in the 1970s a student reportedly committed suicide in one of the dorm rooms. The student that hung himself or herself kicked over a jar of marbles that shattered on the oor. Students report that they can still hear the sound of marbles hitting the oor from the room above
The Case of the Haunted Basketball
Sophomores Christopher VanHouten and Derrick Sekuterski have also had their fair share of paranormal occurrences during their time as roommates. The two both report instances of their basketball rolling across the oor with nothing making it move from its spot. The basketball will then stop suddenly. They have also experienced lights and wires moving without anyone moving them.
Perhaps most signi cant is the night that Sekuterski was alone in his room and began hearing strange noises
“My foot was out from under my blanket, and the top of my foot felt like somebody rubbed it,” Sekuterski said.
Nothing has happened since that night.
Sinatra Soothes the Spirit
The students with the Ouija board aren’t the only ones to have had paranormal encounters in Burrstone. Sophomore Jack Anten has experienced many things while living in Burrstone that cannot quite be explained. For example, one night when
he came back to his dorm, he turned on his TV and placed the remote in the center of his bed. When Anten came back to his room after brushing his teeth, the remote had vanished. He later found it wedged between his bed and the wall as if someone had purposefully placed it there.
He also has experienced doors that lock and unlock by themselves and the one night he woke up at 3 a.m. after hearing what sounded like chains being dragged across the oor above him.
Anten, who is terri ed of ghosts, has started playing Frank Sinatra in his room after hearing that the spirit is a ma a member who was killed in the old hotel.