F E ATU RE S
7
On a chilly
November night
ghost hunter
JohnZaffis
(above), led stu
dents on a tour of
Guilford's haunted
campus.
m
■
L
Could Guilford truly be haunted?
John Zaffis, the "Godfather of Ghost Hunting,"
thinks so. And the spirits are in places where
you might not expect them.
By Paddy Lehane
Staff Writer
Dana Auditorium has always
lurked on its lonesome on the far
side of campus. But after Nov. 8, the
building became even more eerie.
Some might even say hauntingly
so.
The "Godfather of Ghost
Hunting," John Zaffis, came to
Guilford to hunt the ghosts that may
or may not be haimting our college.
The event was sponsored by CAB
for a nominal fee of $2,000.
Following a presentation detail
ing his past experiences, Zaffis invit
ed the crowd of about 30 to go ghost
hunting in several buildings across
Guilford.
Using a K2 meter, Zaffis is not
only able to detect the presence of
spirits but also ask them yes-or-no
questions.
A K2 meter detects electromag
netic waves in the air. Some believe
that spirits and ghosts are made up
of this kind of detectable energy.
The first stop was Archdale Hall.
According to Zaffis and his K2 meter.
Archdale is indeed graced with the
presence of a spirit.
The spirit played coy and didn't
answer the yes-or-no questions
asked by some eager students. When
asked if it wanted the gang of ghost
hunters to leave, the K2 meter lit up
once, meaning yes.
This prompted shrieks and
a mad-dash for the door, almost
knocking over a poor member of the
faculty mducky enough to be work
ing late that night.
Zaffis led the tour on to Founders,
an alleged hotbed of ghost activ
ity. Zaffis was somewhat impressed
by the readings on the
meter.
The unique activ
ity was indicative
of ghost activity or,
as Zaffis stated, a
dying battery.
The troupe
returned to Dana,
where the most
famous Guilford
ghost allegedly
Some
students
claimed
had
an
resides.
Guilford
have
to have
encoimter with the
spirit.
Following a trip to the Hess
last summer, senior Kyle West and
Courtney Hutchison, a junior, had
a close encounter with the spirit
haimting Dana.
"There was a big storm com
ing in and suddenly a strong wind
picked up," said an excited West,
"There was a plastic Teeter bag on
the ground that filled with air and
started floating."
"I said, 'lA^aTs up ghost,' and
the bag started moving and going
around towards the Moon Room,"
Hutchison said.
Shortly thereafter, the piano in
the Moon Room began to play.
"It sounded like a little girl learn
ing how to play the piano," West
said. "When we started walking
away, the piano stopped. We looked
in and there was no one in there."
"It was a really intimidating
experience," Hutchison said. And
also, according to the witnesses, a
An old piano in Found
ers was checked for
spirit presence with a
K2 meter.
sober one.
In Dana, the gang of ghost hunt-
ere continued to prod the ghosts for
information. Zaffis could feel the
energy, and many students claimed
to feel the whole-body chill that
indicates of a spirit's presence.
The ghost revealed some infor
mation, but was either tired or flus
tered, and it again told the crowd to
leave.
While many students were clear
ly thrilled with the tour and its find
ings, others were a bit skeptical.
"It was cool, but I wasn't totally
convinced," said sophomore Bryan
Smith.
Others found the bombardment
of questions from a large group of
people disheartening.
"I don't know if I believe in
all this, but I'd be more respect
ful about it," said senior Brennan
Aberle. "And I didn't have to see
"The Sixth Sense" to know that."
WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM
BATHANTI
Continued from page I
Bathanti's direct, staccato
like delivery gave the poems
the feel of a Faulknerian
monologue in stereo - com
plete with bizarre, dysfunc
tional, and quintessentially
southern characters.
"I hope these aren't too de
pressing, folks," he said after
reading "Dogs at Salisbury,"
which told the ominous tale
of Luther the bounty hunter,
who roamed swamps look
ing for escapees with his
"catamites and his pack of
chain-gang bloodhounds."
With no glass of water
to refresh his vocal cords,
Bathanti became hoarse by
the middle of "Dogs of Salis
bury," which while probably
unintentional, complement
ed the narrative's macabre
tone.
As his hoarseness in
creased, so too did the sense
that at any second, the pack
of ghoulish bloodhounds de
scribed would burst through
the door, come to claim us for
their master, sitting "word
lessly" atop a "sore old geld
ing."
Luckily, we were spared,
and the poem culminated
instead in a great phlegmy
cough from Bathanti, which
gave Luther's tale a sense of
grim finality.
"Well, that was some
cough," he said with a laugh
while surveying the audi
ence. Hopefully, he could tell
that we were far from being
depressed.
Other poems included,
"Freedom Drive," "Crying,"
"The South," "Teaching an
Inmate to Read," "Donuts,"
and "Women's Prison."
"Women's Prison," which
recounts a monthly visit
between children and their
mothers in a Raleigh prison,
was particularly moving.
"They know to smile at the
twirling jagged grandeur
Surrounding the massive
compound
Concertina, plaited with sil
ver scraps of dew and dawn
light"
After the reading, Bathan
ti held an open discussion in
which students, mainly from
Carolyn Beard Whitlow's
poetry workshop, asked
questions about his craft and
some of his influences. He
mentioned James Joyce, Wil
liam Faulkner, Samuel Beck
ett, Flannery O'Connor, and
poet Robert Lowell as some
of his favorites.
"Just be really hard-head
ed and spit in the eye of any
one who tells you you can't
do it," he offered as general
words of encouragement to
the aspiring writers in the
crowd.
"I really liked his com
mand of vocabulary, he used
really sensory, intense words,
like 'excelsior,'" said Lehn
Robinson, a senior English
major in Beard-Whitlow's
class. "Where, sir, did you
learn to use a word like excel
sior?" Robinson asked aloud
while leaving the reading.
One student, Joanna Bern
stein, was awarded a copy of
his book "East Liberty" sim
ply for being from Pittsburgh.
All in all, it was an enriching
and entertaining experience
for all in attendance.
Second annual Shopping for Change
Friday, Nov. 30 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fair trade and
artisan direct
items will be
available for
purchase in
Sternberger.
Co-sponsored by Leadership for Social Change,
Greenleaf and Community Learning
Contact jstmary@guilford.edu with questions.