Aggies share their spookiest campfire stories

*Audio clip is of Jenny Garrard.

As Halloween approaches, spooky stories could just exist as just that — fictional stories. But Utah State University (and Weber State University) students have proven that fear isn’t limited to fiction. In many experiences, supernatural happenings have haunted them and they aren’t keeping them a secret. 

Jenny Garrard, Utah State University Kaysville student representative 

“We moved into (our) house about six years ago, and there were several days where we were all in the house. I wasn’t alone at all, and then finally the kids started school — I was still unpacking lots of things. I went into the downstairs food storage area of our home and felt the distinct presence of something otherworldly, if you will. I just had the feeling that it was a grandma.  

“Our house has been remodeled multiple times; it’s an oldish house, like fifty years old. And the food storage room is the only room that has not been remodeled. I was down there and felt like I was being watched — and thought there was a little grandma there. 

“Several weeks later, some people from the neighborhood invited us to a dinner party — and another couple that was there, the wife said, ‘Oh, did you know that my grandpa died in your house?’ She said, ‘A few decades ago, your house was used as a hospice center. They were running a hospice out of your house.’”  

Leo Shirley, Weber State University student  

“I was reading Harry Potter, so I was staying up pretty late. It was about 11:59 p.m. — I know that because I had an alarm set for 11:58 to start wrapping up (my reading). My little brother was out like a light, though.  

“I was completely lucid, in fact, I was about to put in a bookmark and go get a snack, or at least a drink of water. So it’s 12:00, I had just turned off my alarm, I was sitting upright in bed, book in hand, about to close it and put in the bookmark — and the doorknob is jiggling.  

“I thought it was my mom, because she said she might just grab Wyatt (my brother) to put him back in his bed, but my doorknob is jiggling. I was a super paranoid kid, so I would always lock my door in case there was a murderer. Then I just hear a ‘click.’ 

“My mind is still reeling that it might be my mom — but the way it was jiggling and the way there was no knocking, no nothing, I didn’t think it was her anymore. And the fact that it just clicked open … I was sitting straight up, staring at the door.  

“Next thing I know — I don’t know how fast it was — but I would assume it happened in seconds, the door just flung open, and it flung so hard it left a dent. Mind you, my brother is still asleep during this; he did not wake up. I lose my (mind), I’m scared, because my door was locked, I knew that for a fact — and it just flung open. And it wasn’t even something that wind would do, because back in the area in California where I lived, the wind wouldn’t be that strong enough to make the door do that.  

“So I jump out of bed as fast as I possibly can. I run out through my doorway, upstairs — I turn on the hallway lights, the living room lights, my mom’s bedside light. I think I grabbed a knife too. I was in my mom’s room; she was dead asleep too.  

“The thing I remember most was that my doorway was cold — not abnormally cold, but cold compared to the rest of the hallway. It was weird.”  

 Megan Bartschi, USU student  

“Throughout all of my childhood my family had a friendly ghost. It was a trickster ghost and would open and close doors. Whenever someone was showering, it would come in and turn on the sink. My mom would always see a small child running by whenever she did dishes.  

“There was one time me and my mom were in her room, laughing. She had just gotten off her memory foam bed and was walking towards me — when a bowl of trail mix that was in the middle of her bed flipped onto the ground.  

“At the current house I live at, we have a ghost who is also friendly. I’ve had dreams where I have seen her, and she has talked to me. She helped to warn me about something bad going on and made me laugh. One night I had a dream she was grabbing my shoulder, and I could feel her.”  

 Ella Fletcher, USU student  

“The first story is during Spirit Week. We have a ghost that haunts our house, and while we were talking about (club trainings), it said, ‘I’m here.’ We were talking about Pattie (the house ghost) specifically, and the Siri (on a computer) turned on and said, ‘I’m here.’ And it was terrifying, and everyone was in the room — we were all spooked.  

“The second was is that Makayla Whitney (a friend) saw the ghost that haunts the house standing in front of her. That’s what she told us. Sometimes the doors on the kitchen cabinets just open and close, and that’s terrifying when that happens.  

“The final one that I have was when Riley’s (a friend) dad came over, and he senses spirits. He saw Pattie’s picture; she was at the bottom (below other pictures), and he was like, ‘She doesn’t like being there,’ and moved her (picture) to the top — which was freaky because Riley hadn’t told her dad about Pattie or anything.”  

Claire McCallum, USU Student 

“Me and my roommate both had a dream where there was a woman watching us in our sleep. We both woke up at the same time at around 3 a.m. My roommate heard the woman say, ‘Wake up,’ and then we heard a knock on our window. Note there are no trees or anything by our window that would make that noise.”  

-Jenny.Carpenter@usu.edu

Featured photo by Sam Warner