The Randall Rumor

With the start of school, young first-year students recently packed for the year ahead. They were extra careful to pack their toothbrush, their comfiest pillows, the ten pound rock from down the road, and the number for Ghostbusters. Well, when there is something strange in your neighborhood who else are you gonna call? While Mines does not have friendly ghosts to roam the houses of students like everyone’s favorite School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, reports from on-campus residents point to a possible ghost in some of the dorms.

Several Randall Hall students claim their traditional hall is haunted. Perhaps it’s the basement, of which the very name evokes images of dark, unfinished rooms with unexplained noises lurking around every corner. Or perhaps it’s the doors that seemingly open and close on their own, as if aided by an unseen hand. Either way, some of the Randall residents are spooked. A student that wishes to remain anonymous claims, “There’s a strange rattling noise when I walk down to the basement.” The frightened resident hopes the unsettling noise is the worst of his fears. Will these poor CSM students ever be able to get a peaceful night’s rest again? With the sleep of these new students on the line, it is time to get to the truth of this matter.

One brave Randall 3rd resident isn’t fooled. Lisa Gay said, “The doors don’t always lock so sometimes the wind pushes them open.” Another 3rd floor resident, Zoe Nacor, says she doesn’t feel frightened living in Randall and had yet to even hear of a ghost haunting her hall. Furthermore, residents were not warned by Residence Hall staff or prior residents of any haunting activity. The Colorado School of Mines website has little to say about Randall Hall other than the guarantee of a bed, desk, closet, and trashcan – no scary spirit promised to be supplied for every room. Upon further investigation, Randall Hall, even including the basement, appears to be much brighter than the typical settings for your average horror film. In fact, the residents in Randall Basement seem to be a great group that love to hang out together, not a crowd that can be scared by supposed ghost sightings.

The Randall Hall ghost can easily be debunked. The basement, despite the unfortunate name, is actually not a mysterious place with that one flickering light. The rattling noises are most likely coming from the use of washing machines in the laundry room. The doors appear to open by themselves because of the wind currents. Randall Hall is not haunted as some residents portray it to be. A group of Randall first-year students state, “At a school like Mines, it will be hard to find people that actually believe in this ghost story.” It seems the Randall ghost was short-lived.