Post The
Read about the university’s hurricane relief support ... PG 4 Missed the Rocky Horror Picture Show? Then check out our coverage ... PG 10 Here are six last minute Halloween costume ideas ... PG 12
OCTOBER 22, 2024
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 10
THEPOSTATHENS.COM
Southeast Ohio houses the paranormal
ETHAN HERX| FOR THE POST
T
he Appalachian region is no stranger to the paranormal. The hills and mountains making up the area once stood taller than the Rockies and were created almost a billion years ago. For reference, trees first evolved around 400 million years ago. Due to this immense age, much of the region is said to be a hotbed for the supernatural. Southeast Ohio is no exception, with Athens being called one of the most haunted college towns in America, according to College Consensus. Many know the stories of the Ridges, but Athens County and nearby areas are home to some lesser-known tales. Brian Collins, the Ram and Sushila Chair in Indian Religion and Philosophy in the department of classics and religious studies, said he noticed local interest in the paranormal and now teaches the class “The Global Occult: Ghosts, Demonology, and the Paranormal in World Religions.” “I started a class on ghosts, magic and demons, and it was a popular class,” Collins said. “I began to teach it during the regular semesters. And now I teach it pretty much online, and have for a couple years to about 150 students per semester.” About five and a half miles north of town is Mt. Nebo. At 1,017 feet, it is the highest point in Athens County and holds spiritual importance to the Indigenous peoples of the area. In the mid-1800s, a man named Johnathan Koons and his family built a log cabin atop the hill, where he performed séances to commu-
that you're being watched … It's just a very creepy place.” About 45 minutes south of Athens along the Ohio River sits the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, home of the Mothman. In 1966, two couples first reported seeing the beast outside of town. The next year, the Silver Bridge collapsed, which many blamed on the Mothman. Point Pleasant now holds an annual Mothman festival every September, celebrating the creature. Maddie James, a graduate student studying education for social studies, said the local aspect of the Mothman legend is the main reason she likes the story. “Obviously, Mothman is in the area, and I think that might have been part of the appeal,” James said. “People are very proud of it.” Recorded in Salt Fork and The abandoned Moonville Tunnel in Zaleski State Forest, Ohio, Oct. 19, 2024. (ETHAN HERX | FOR THE POST) Hocking Hills State Parks, the Ohio Grassman is the Buckeye state’s claim to the Bigfoot nicate with spirits, a popular act road. It is said that the ghosts of railroad fame. The creature is similar in stature at the time. workers inhabit the tunnel and can be to the Bigfoot mythos, except it is said to Over several years, the room where seen waving their lanterns at night. be covered in long, shaggy grasses and these séances were held drew in hunBack in Athens, people have reported builds makeshift shelters out of grass and dreds to try and communicate with the an iconic building on campus is haunted. sticks. dead. In his book, “Guide to Ohio UniBekah Davenport, a sophomore studyJames said the idea these occurrences versity Ghosts & Legends,” author Craig ing organ performance, said Galbreath could be real is part of the fun of paraTremblay claims these rituals opened a Chapel on College Green is a hub for the normal legends. portal that has caused Athens County to unexplainable. “My thought is that even though I perbecome a paranormal hotbed. “There’s the basement part, which is sonally haven't seen something, there's Although not technically in Athens super creepy,” he said. “If I'm down there, so many stories that even if the majority County, the nearby Moonville Tunnel in I'll hear people talking and a bunch of of them are lies, there's still so many that Zaleski State Forest has become a focus commotion up in the top part. I go up, no some of them have to be true,” she said. of local legend. Moonville was once a coal one's there. I've taken people with me, town on the Marietta and Cincinnati railand the same stuff happens, or a feeling
Students find safety in numbers on nights out
SOPHIA ROOKSBERRY HUMAN INTEREST STAFF WRITER
D
espite the many exciting and wonderful aspects of university life, college campuses have long been breeding grounds for assault, muggings and other similar crimes. An ADT and Clery Center survey reported more than 82% of college students are concerned for their personal safety on campus, whether it’s “being in an unfamiliar area, interacting with strangers, walking home in the dark or leaving a bar/party alone.” Many students take preventative measures to help with feelings of safety. Addison Kearns, a freshman studying journalism, said although she generally feels safe on campus, it is mostly because of her own planning ahead. “If I am out at night, I’m usually with a couple of other people which, definitely helps,” she said. The majority of college students take the phrase “safety in numbers” seriously. Many students, particularly women, feel safer when friends or escorts accompany them, and there are a number of campus organizations that exist to encourage this
practice. Two of these services are Phone a Friend and Pink Cab. According to the former’s BobcatConnect page, “All one must do is text the number and two people will come to walk the individual home.” Phone a Friend was founded by Jess Mitchell, a senior studying biological sciences. “I heard (a story) about a friend of mine that occurred on her walk home, and I realized that certain people have to alter what their college experience looks like in order to feel secure, and I didn’t think that was okay,” Mitchell said. Kaycie Tillis, a senior studying psychology and the founder of Pink Cab, got the idea for the organization after hearing about a service at another university that allowed students to serve as imitation Lyft or Uber drivers for other students. Upon hearing this idea, Tillis thought a similar service would be useful to help promote campus safety for women at night. “I think it’s just better to have women driving other women because even if
a man is harmless nine times out of 10, you’re still going to feel unsafe around a man just because you don’t know him,” she said. “I just think it’s a little bit more calming to have women driving each other.” No matter how safe a small city like Athens may seem, unfortunate incidents surrounding campus safety are never a impossibility. “I don’t think any woman loves the idea of walking home alone at night no matter where they are,” Tillis said. “I generally don’t feel particularly threatened, but I still feel like there was a need for (Pink Cab).” Although Phone a Friend does not put an end to campus safety concerns, Mitchell believed the service does a fair share of good in combating the problem. “People have expressed feeling more secure knowing that there’s a program out there, I feel like the idea of something like this is really comforting to people,” she said. “I feel like it gives people peace of mind before they go out or hang out with their friends.” One of the primary safety concerns
in Athens, expressed by both Tillis and Mitchell, is the lack of streetlights. “My street is completely dark at night, and I feel most uneasy whenever I turn down my street after a night out, even when I’m with friends,” Tillis said. Mitchell said to feel safe people need to feel seen something which could be achieved if Ohio University and the city of Athens increase lighting in areas on and off campus. During Halloween weekend, one of OU’s most major “red weekends” in which campus experiences more criminal incidents, Pink Cab is planning to accommodate non-OU students who are accompanied by someone with a valid student ID and will allow people to schedule rides in advance. Kearns anticipates the impending weekend and plans to be aware of safety concerns. “I think my friends and I just (need to) have a conversation that we need to be more aware of our surroundings,” she said.
@SOPHIAROOKS_ SR320421@OHIO.EDU