Sorority shares spooky stories

Buildings built upon ancient burial grounds and locations of past murder scenes are notorious for having strange activity often associated with the paranormal. From possessed artifacts to unexplained disturbances, stories of haunted happenings vary upon location.

In 1985, a student of Southeast Missouri State University and member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, Julie A. Saenger, died at Saint Francis Medical Center after contracting a form of meningitis. Legend has it that her spirit haunts the room she previously inhabited during her stay in the F building on Greek Hill.

Since her death, stories have emerged about the mysterious happenings in room 302 at the Delta Delta Delta sorority house. Emily Clark, a junior at Southeast said she lived in the room during the fall 2014 semester. The strange occurrences are limited to the room in which Julie lived.

"In this house, only weird things happen in this room," Clark said. "Some of us would play jokes on each other and use Julie, but I never wanted to make her mad."

Clark experienced frequent disturbances with the lighting fixtures, to the point where she believes Julie has used it as a means of communication.

"One time I walked into the room to say hi to Kaitlin [Welter] and Kara [Hartnett]," Clark said. "They weren't in here, but the light was really dim. Then it immediately turned full bright, and I said, 'Hey Julie, I miss you!' Then it started flickering like crazy!"

At first the lighting problems appeared to be from faulty technology, but Clark soon realized it wasn't the case. Coincidentally, the light only worked properly in certain situations.

"My roommate and I would be laying in bed at night watching a movie, and the light would be flickering for no reason," Clark said. "One time we put in a work order to get it fixed, because half the time it wouldn't work. They came and tried to fix it, but told us there was nothing wrong with it."

The lighting was not the only eerie event to have taken place in recent years. Welter and Hartnett, the room's current inhabitants, explained that their experiences tend to be more drastic.

"I started living here this semester. In the beginning I was getting random bruises," Hartnett said. "I had some marks on my neck as if someone was strangling me, dots on my arms and random ones on my legs. I know I wasn't bumping into things, it was just so random."

Hartnett believes what usually incurs Julie's presence is how tidy the room is kept. To Hartnett, Julie does not appreciate her former room to be in less than tip-top condition.

"I don't think she likes the clutter," Hartnett said. "Stuff usually disappears whenever the room is really messy."

According to Hartnett, the less people within the room the bigger the chance it is for Julie to make an appearance.

"The worst experiences happen when we are alone in the room," Hartnett said. "One day I walked into the room, and everything was normal. I was starting to get changed, and the light overhead just crashes to the floor. I turned around to see that the sink's water was on full blast. That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me."

With the tampering of lighting fixtures and the unexplainable events ensuing while the women are alone, Welter feels she isn't free from haunted activity, even in her sleep.

"I had this nightmare of a weird kid screaming at the top of his lungs," Welter said. "I woke up the moment he screamed to see a battery powered light Kara put up fall to the floor. She had just put it on the ceiling that night, and it was pretty strong. We had the same light hanging from the ceiling in another room all year long. Nothing similar has happened."

While the semester is halfway finished, Hartnett and Welter do not regret staying in the room. They plan on living there for the remainder of the year. Hartnett believes the experience has been worthwhile.

"Lately, it's been chill," Hartnett said. "I chose to stay in this room, and I knew it was haunted, but not to this extent. It's kind of fun, honestly. She's a sister so I don't think she means any harm on us."

To Welter, the ghostly happenings may disrupt the peace every now and then, but nothing to which she and her roommate can't handle. In the end, Welter believes Julie's actions are a friendly reminder to keep her living area neat and organized.

"Every now and then she may give me the vibe that the room needs to be cleaned, but other than that it's not a big deal," Welter said.