This hallway in Neihardt leads out to the courtyard of which many stories have been told. One story involves a shadowy figure of a partial man being seen on stormy nights. The other is of a beautiful woman-in-white dancing in the courtyard. Photo by Sheila Seier, NewsNetNebraska.
by Sarah Davis, NewsNetNebraska
Sara sat in her room. With fever-induced delirium, she struggled through her last days alive. And as a flu epidemic swept her college campus in the 1940s, she tried to find whatever physical comfort she could. Sara didn?t survive her battle; however, some say, her spirit lives on.
The history of the University of Nebraska?Lincoln?s Neihardt Hall is one rich in fact, myth and legend. Numerous tales, such as Sara?s, have been passed down through generations of Neihardt residents in the form of ghost stories.
Sara?s room was later turned into the lounge on the third floor of the Raymond wing in Neihardt Hall. Although some people doubt that Sara?s spirit still resides in Neihardt, in the summer of 1987, a Cablevision employee reported seeing a supernatural image of a woman while doing installation on the third floor of Raymond. The man vowed never again to enter Neihardt Hall.
While the stories of ghosts in Neihardt Hall are openly shared and discussed, not all students take them as fact.
?Of course I don?t believe it?s true, but it does help to build a sense of community,? Janelle Keller, a sophomore psychology major at UNL, said. ?It?s one of those things that make Neihardt different from the other dorms.?
Janelle Keller, a Neihardt resident, gives her opinion on the hoopla of ghosts stories in the dorm. Keller doesn?t believe the stories, but she enjoys the sense of community the tales create throughout Neihardt. Photo by Sheila Seier, NewsNetNebraska.
Established in 1932, Neihardt Hall, originally called Raymond Hall, is one of the first and oldest residence buildings on UNL campus. Its evolution over the last 75 years has yielded several stories like Sara?s.
In a thesis written about the folklore of the UNL campus, Jessica Kennedy wrote about student sightings of the top half of a male figure floating in the Neihardt courtyard. In addition, she wrote about students on the fourth floor of the Piper wing in Neihardt hearing furniture being moved on the floor above them. The fifth floor of Piper does not exist.
Where are the facts surrounding these stories? According to ?More That Just a Place to Live,? by Jay Curtiss, a flu or pneumonia epidemic occurred on the UNL campus in the mid-1940s. Because a health center didn?t exist at the time, students were often treated in their rooms.
Also, when the Heppner and Love wings were added to the Neihardt building, the courtyard formed by their connection had a floor lower than what was needed. Several feet of dirt were later added to the courtyard.
?I think the validity of the Neihardt ghost stories is for everyone to determine on their own,? Reid McConnell, a sophomore business administration major and a Neihardt residence advisor, said. ?I believe that something like that could happen.?
Reid McConnell, resident assistant in Neihardt, thinks the stories could?ve happened, but he said it?s something each person should figure out for himself. McConnell will be giving Ghost Tours in the dorm next Wednesday. Photo by Sheila Seier, NewsNetNebraska.
To this day Neihardt ghost tours are given by resident assistants and residents who have had the folklore passed to them. On Wednesday, April 11, the current Neihardt RAs will be giving a ghost tour. Sara?s story will be one of many told to those who attend. Whether the stories are true or something of legend, Neihardt residents, such as Keller, do not deny the resonance the tales have in the history and tradition of the hall.
?We?ve got personality here," Keller said. "That personality apparently manifests itself in ghost stories.?
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