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This not only interested me because I'm into hauntings and the paranormal; but the fact that I'm a substitute teacher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR29wbOnMSc

I wonder if the school I'm going to work for is haunted? I remember once my Mom cleaned this one school before she went to the one she cleans now (which is my old Middle School); and she could have sworn the eyes in the painting there in that room were following her.

You know, there are lots of ghost stories about Washington & Lee as well as Mary Baldwin right in your neck of the woods.

Really? I'd be interested in hearing some of the ghost stories that are local.

If Mary Baldwin really is haunted, all the more reason for me to want to go there! I thought about Washington and Lee but I think they're really expensive and I'm not sure if they'd have the endorsements I'd need...I think that's what they're called. I'm still figuring this all out.

I doubt W&L is any more expensive than MBC, but you can apply for grants, etc. Of course you will want to be sure that wherever you go, the school has the programs you need. I know MBC has the education degrees because that's where my husband picked up the courses he needed to teach. He already had a degree from Vanderbilt, but he needed the right courses for endorsements, as you say, and he wasn't planning on being a teacher when he was in college. (I would also say it is probably easier to be admitted to Mary Baldwin than to Washington & Lee, which is currently ranked #14 among national liberal arts colleges.)

I don't recall the specifics of the ghost stories from those schools right now, but I'm sure with minimal research, you could dig some up. I know at MBC, the girls used to talk about a haunted dorm room, where objects moved on their own, etc. I think it was connected with the movie actress Tallulah Bankhead, who had attended Mary Baldwin as a young woman.

On W&L campus, the stories center around the Lee Chapel, where Robert E. Lee is entombed (downstairs).

I could have sworn from the Virginia Education wizard (which I really don't like to use to be honest lol) that W&L was more expensive, but I'm not sure.

Sounds interesting and I'll have to look into them. A lot of references to Robert E. Lee were made on the Lexington Ghost tour, though since W&L is in Lexington I guess that makes sense.

I won't be staying in the dorms though, I'll likely commute or take my classes online, so I might not get to experience any ghosts if I go to MB. Unless the classrooms are haunted too.

I taught there for six years and had no experience with haunted classrooms, or haunted offices either, for that matter. Although I do recall there was a window pane in my office that had some initials and the date "1913" scratched in it, because the building had formerly been a dorm. At some point during my time there, they replaced the windows, and I was sad to lose that inscription.

I haven't looked at the relative cost of the two schools, Mau, so perhaps you are right about the price tag. I just know that they are both private, and most private schools are in the $50,000-$60,000 range. Places like Vanderbilt & Duke charge around $60,000. The smaller liberal arts schools settle around $50,000. But maybe $20,000 of that is room & board, so if you are not staying on campus, you can lop that part of it off the price. And you needn't be scared of the prices of any of these places, because private schools tend to have good scholarship & financial aid programs, and the government will often help out, too, if you qualify as lower income. And you'd be surprised who can do that--some very middle class folks get Pell Grants, or whatever they are called these days. There are also special funds available for women who are returning to school beyond the traditional college age.

I hope Harvard is haunted by Einstein he can help me with my homework
Just kidding lol

I can't believe I was still subbing at the time I made this thread...that feels like forever ago! Maybe I AM getting old. I was mostly in the elementary schools at the time. I couldn't tell you if those schools were haunted or not.

I KNOW the High School I used to work at as a TA was haunted. I heard a story about a custodian who met his unfortunate end by falling through a roof in the old gym. The old gym was near the science wing and I always got an eerie feeling being in that part of the building. Especially if the lights were off.

I've also heard stories about hearing doors slam late at night. I never had that experience and I'm glad I didn't. Apparently though there weren't any doors that were open to say so. I bet that sounded weird.

But other than toilets and urinals flushing by themselves as you walk by (automatic toilets...don't even get me started on those... ) I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary beyond feeling creeped out by the gym and science wing if I happened to be there late at night or early in the morning before the lights were on, or in the older part of the building.

Since then I've changed school districts and work at an elementary school that's about 25 minutes away. As far as I know I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary at that particular building...yet. A loooong story for why I changed districts though...but that gets a bit off topic. (I really enjoyed working at the high school and with the older kids by the way and I hope to go back to that eventually. Or at least teach my target age group of middle school, this school district didn't have a middle school. So it's not like I hated working with older kids... I had some awesome co workers too.)

But...over the summer I joined the paint crew and got to help make a really old school look nice that was built in the late 1930's. I've heard it was built in either 1938 or 1939...but either way I wouldn't be surprised if THAT school was haunted. It was recently acquired when the county wide merge happened. I enjoy the old timey feel of the school, but the only thing I don't like is the dust and mold in it. I hate having allergies. >>

My husband worked in Augusta County when we were up there. Which district is yours?

He has taught both middle and high school. He has mostly been in high schools, but he says in some ways he prefers the middle schools. He says when they are that age, you can intervene to help them. When they are older, you see them making mistakes that will ruin their lives, and you can do nothing about it.

Virginia is spook central. I've heard dozens of ghost stories about Mary Baldwin and Washington and Lee.

I'm going to blow the dust off this thread, because I thought about a story at the elementary school. Albeit it's kind of a sad one.

But first I'll answer Murf's questions about districts. The high school was Bath County, the one I'm in now is Alleghany. They've recently experienced a merger with Covington City and are now known as Alleghany Highlands Public Schools. I'm hoping to eventually move to the high school or middle school one day. Although the school I work at isn't too bad and is only a 25 minute drive. It's calm, quaint and remote.

Now here's the story...and again a little warning it's sad...and a trigger warning if you're sensitive to the idea of child ghosts...if you think it's triggering feel free to skip this part...and go straight to the quoted response.

But I guess there was some flooding in that area once. A child, at least I think this is how the story went, got too close to the river, got swept in and drowned. I'm not sure how old they were, but it was tragic to hear.

After that, it's said that when they waxed the floors during the summer, they'd find footprints in the wax. Child size footprints. Without any other kids there over the summer, one might make an inference that it was the ghost of that child who died getting swept away. They must have loved that school so much they decided to haunt it.

I don't think it was that long ago it happened either, that's the odd part of it. But that's how I remember it being told to me.

I'm not sure if there's any other hauntings at the elementary school though. But I still remember the story of the little girl at Dollar General. So I guess unfortunately, child ghosts could happen. I know it's sad though.

Murfreesboro wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 8:32 pm My husband worked in Augusta County when we were up there. Which district is yours?

He has taught both middle and high school. He has mostly been in high schools, but he says in some ways he prefers the middle schools. He says when they are that age, you can intervene to help them. When they are older, you see them making mistakes that will ruin their lives, and you can do nothing about it.

Virginia is spook central. I've heard dozens of ghost stories about Mary Baldwin and Washington and Lee.

I think that's one reason I want to work in the middle school. They still retain some childhood innocence, but they become more sophisticated in their speech that I feel like you can have some fun, intelligent conversations with them.

I remember working at the high school it was hard to reach some of the students there. There was a handful I felt I established a legitimate bond with though that I enjoyed working with.

I'd like to hear some the stories about Mary Baldwin and Washington and Lee. I've only been to Mary Baldwin's campus a couple times, but Staunton does seem like a good place for a good ghost story.

Indeed Virginia is spook central. I'm surprised there aren't more ghost enthusiasts around here. But I'm always eager to hear a good ghost story that takes place in the "real world." One day I'd like to check out Staunton's ghost tour. I did enjoy Lexington's after all and learned a lot about southern history!

For some reason my brother and I got into a discussion about dying at home and he said that he wouldn't like that because he wouldn't want to haunt his house.

My response was why would you want to haunt a hospital?

Lol about haunting the hospital vs home.

Bath County is huge, IIRC, and it's adjacent to West Virginia, right? Is there a place called Buffalo Gap there?

I'm too tired tonight to tell VA ghost stories. I'll have to think about that.

Yep. We're about an hour to West Virginia. There's a few ways to get there, but the fastest way is through a little town called Callaghan. That's also where my elementary school is.
Buffalo gap is a little area on the way to Staunton I believe. It's a nice long stretch for sure!
I think I'd rather be home if I'm going to haunt. Home is cozy. Hospitals are just...creepy. I'd hate to be stuck there as a ghost.
I guess it's a personal preference!
It makes me wonder if we get a choice where we would haunt if we did become ghosts...hmm...
Hopefully I'll just go to Heaven and get to see my cats and loved ones instead.

Yeah, heaven is a better deal for sure!

Now I'm trying to think of Staunton ghost stories. I recall hearing that certain places were haunted, but not so much the stories connected with them. Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee Univ is supposed to be haunted, especially downstairs in the crypt. I hung out there a few times when my husband was rehearsing a community theater play in the chapel (the play was performed at Oak Grove, but I guess another play was up, so they had to rehearse in a different space). I went down into the crypt, where Robert E. Lee is buried. I saw the sarcophagus, which I guess could seem creepy, but nothing really spooky.

Mary Baldwin itself is supposed to be haunted, and the girls were very aware that Tallulah Bankhead, a once-fsmous actress who'd attended there, had occupied a particular dorm room. They were convinced, or at least wanted to believe, that she haunted that room. One girl who lived in it told me a weird story about some items floating off her desk into mid-air in the middle of the night.