Bob
Carter, a member of the Southwest Ghost Hunter Association, points
toward where he said he believes a spirit may be present in the
basement of Zimmerman Library.
Studying in Zimmerman Library might not seem scary, but the ghost that haunts the basement may make students' hair rise.
For those who really want a scare, consider wandering around the labyrinth of underground tunnels that run for miles on campus.
It's all part of what UNM employees Earl Browning and Tom Carrillo get paid to do.
Browning,
a master plumber for UNM, has worked in the tunnels for more than 20
years. Carrillo, who has maintained heating and ventilation at
Zimmerman Library for 14 years, said he has witnessed some eerie
things.
From rumors of the ghost of a decapitated football
player in Mesa Vista Hall to the ghost of a former librarian haunting
the Zimmerman Library basement, Browning and Carrillo have heard it
all. But what may be scarier are the things both men have experienced.
Carrillo said he has seen an unexplained shadow more than five times and has seen the ghost of a former librarian.
While
working at Mesa Vista Hall, Browning said the hair on his neck stood up
for no apparent reason. He said he has seen an eerie shadow in the
basement of Zimmerman Library and has had his only light source burn
out without warning.
Mesa Vista was built in 1948 and was once a dormitory. Browning said it seems to be the center of strange activity.
Legend
says when Mesa Vista Hall was a dormitory in the '50s or '60s, a UNM
football player was decapitated when he looked up into the elevator
shaft to check where the elevator was, Browning said.
Although he's never seen the player's ghost, he said he has had plenty of strange feelings while working there.
"I'll
be going down the corridor late at night or in the basement early in
the morning, and all of a sudden, the hair on the back of my neck will
stand up," he said. "I'd just get this weird feeling for no reason at
all, a feeling like someone was watching me."
On the other hand,
Carrillo, who works mainly in the basement of Zimmerman Library, has
seen the ghost of the librarian. He said he tried to chase after her,
but couldn't catch up to her. Continued...
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