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Whitewater legend says that the water tower in Starin Park was once a place for sinister gatherings, and that a body was hung near or on the tower.

Legends of paranormal

By: Joy Kowald & Nick Macaluso

Posted: 10/31/07

Web sites, news clippings and student whispers thread together a background of occult intrigue that surrounds the Whitewater campus and the town each Halloween.

Rumors include subterranean witch tunnels connecting to UW-Whitewater sorority house basements, ax-murderer Mary Worth toting her weapon around the dormitory halls, and Halloween pranks involving exhumed infant coffins.

Sometimes it's hard figuring out what and who to believe.

"I heard that little cabin on the hill was haunted on a tour as a freshman but was immediately informed it was not by the guide," Eric Godin said.

Not even the university library was spared blushes. Purportedly, a book exists in a sublevel of the facility that causes everyone who reads it to commit suicide. It apparently has claimed the lives of three students and sent one janitor to the asylum.

"Never mind that none of these [book victims] have ever been given names," UW-Whitewater Assistant Archivist Deronica Goldsmith said. "The same questions come up around this time every year."

Goldsmith has dealt with these questions since the beginning of her tenure but insists that no such book exists, at least that she's aware of.

Another popular tale being passed around is that of the water tower located in Starin Park.

David School heard that a boy drowned in the tower from his girlfriend Lisa Zimmermann after she read it in a book.

Others say that it's a meeting place for gatherings of a sinister nature. Shayla Kennedy was told that during these gatherings that somebody was hung near or on the tower.

According to Weird Wisconsin, the tower is the state's second oldest municipal tower still in operation. Until 2004, a wrought-iron fence surrounded Starin Park with spears on the top that instead of pointing outwards as to keep trespassers out pointed inwards as if to keep something from getting out.

Another reoccurring theme is of certain things buried under the Wells dormitory building and nearby dorms. Kennedy heard "that there are people buried right-side-up underneath one of the dorms." Weird Wisconsin supports this and adds that there was a sacrificial alter that was also buried in the same location.

Brittany Jenswold claims that Knilans, a dorm next to Wells, is haunted.

"I was in my boyfriend's room when I was awakened by a huge gust of wind," Jenswold said. "Then just a few minutes later, this little kid's meal toy bee that requires someone to manually turn it on started buzzing. I freaked out and woke up everyone in the room."

Rumors allege UW-Whitewater was originally the spot of the first official school for witches back when it first started. On WeirdUS.com, a letter from a Jeff Woosley said the university was originally built as a school for mediums and research in the paranormal.

Pratt built the Pratt Institute in 1888, located on 300 Center St. in Whitewater, where the Wisconsin Telephone Co. now operates. Woosely said large crowds would gather on Sunday nights, when wild public séances would be held outside of the Pratt Institute.

Although the school moved out of Whitewater in 1946, the institute is still has its headquarters in Whitewater and is part of the town's folklore.

Another well-known and conflicting rumor is that the city's cemeteries create a pentacle, or a five-pointed star. However, there are only three cemeteries in town. Still, supporting this geographic phenomenon is the fact that the intersection of Center and Third streets, where the Morris Pratt Institute was located, falls practically right on the lines of the triangle.

Weird Wisconsin states "all buildings and the land along the triangle's sides are said to be haunted." The haunting at the water tower, Wells Halls and Knilans are all located well outside the "Witches Triangle." Also located outside the triangle is the Delta Zeta Sorority house. Both Jenswold and Kennedy are members and have tales of ghostly activity.

Whitewater alumnus Justin Lehman had to research the topic of occult details within the town for a business class.

"We had a janitor come visit the class," Lehman said. "He used to clean the Tri Sig house, and we asked him about the rumor of the tunnel leading from their basement. He said he couldn't talk about it and neither could any of the sorority members.

The real purpose of the tunnels is unclear, but most people connect them to the Underground Railroad. Yet some say it was for a more sinister purpose relating to other witch stories.

Public relations major Kirby Johnson, junior, has lived and worked in the area since her time at the school began and adheres to a more pragmatic tack.

"There's some creepy stuff, like the water tower in Starin Park," Johnson said. "But I've lived in the dorms and have been around, and nothing has ever really happened to me. I think it's just a case of people believing what they want. It's harmless, really."