More of a story than a sighting, the Carriage Ghost is rumored to be on a service road that runs behind the Mary Morse and Ethel Moore residence halls. The road cuts into a steep slope with one side of the hill dropping off.

Purportedly, on a stormy night a horse- drawn carriage was coming down the narrow road when it lost control and tumbled over the edge.

The scene of this accident is believed to repeat itself and while there have been no witnesses as of yet, sophomore Kathryn Hall said she does feel a presence.

“I believe that there are entities that are all around us. I get that feeling when I walk that path.”

Phillipe Cunningham

Footsteps pacing on the stage have been heard and some say they have seen a lady walking backstage among the dusty stage props. Could it be Susan Lisser herself? She did, after all, leave a lump sum of money to the school for a library that was never built. Perhaps she remains eternally angry until her will is fulfilled.

Junior Elil Hoole said that she thinks the ghost is a different being.

“One time during my freshman year I was doing a production at Lisser. This girl, Amanda Parker, worked backstage with the props and she said she would be working and there would be this shadowy old man in old fashioned clothing and a top hat who would follow her around.”

One well known incident occurred in 1996 when Mary Morse was the Foreign Exchange residence hall.

One male student claimed he and his European roommate had fallen asleep one night with the lights left on. The student said that he and his roommate woke up in the middle of the night and found a man sitting at the desk, reading a newspaper. When the man noticed that he had an audience, he stood up, dropped the newspaper and left the room by walking through the nearest wall.

There is also a rumor about a particular room in Mary Morse where a Mills girl had slit her wrists. A pool of blood occasionally resurfaces on the floor where it happened and the floorboards have to be replaced periodically.

More recently, Freshwoman Hazel Wheeler said she witnessed a strange phenomenon.

“I was at Mary Morse one day with some friends and we were leaving the building through the front. As we walked by the lounge, we heard two notes come from the piano,” she said. “We all thought it was really weird because the piano was closed, but then we heard it again. We just left.”

Phillipe Cunningham

Allegedly, two ghosts live at Ethel Moore. The first is thought to be Ms. Moore, herself, and the general consensus is that she can be found in the residence library. Students say that they have felt her presence there and when papers are ruffled or books go missing, they say it’s just Ms. Moore playing tricks. If you happen to be in the building on Halloween, pop in and say hello to Ms. Moore. It is said that her girls are always welcome.

The second presence is one that is seen more than felt. It is said that a ghost of a girl periodically walks one of the long Ethel Moore hallways. Many pass her, thinking that she is a student, but then notice her outdated clothing. When they turn around for a second look, some say she is nowhere to be found. Think you may have passed this possible alumna when you weren’t minding?

Freshwoman Victoria Chetty said, “I do believe in ghosts, although, I haven’t seen any since being [at Mills].”

When she came for the overnight stay as a prospective though, she said she heard many odd sounds. It just sounded like things falling on the floor.”

Another story that has circulated is about a rather unfriendly female spirit who only shows herself in an unidentified bathroom and even then, only to those who are alone.

Could the bathroom banshee be one of the rumored suicides that happened in the Mary Morse and Ethel Moore rooms?