UNTITLED TALES
Untitled 17
I arrived at
New Mexico Military Institute in
the fall of 1976. I quickly found out that it is a school steeped in tradition.
Founded in 1891, it originally served as a cavalry outpost against Mexican or
Indian raids. Over the decades many of it's students have led men into battle in
the wars of the 20th century. Sometimes, just surviving school life can be
harrowing.
I graduated from the high school division in 1979. I returned six years later to
tackle the junior college division (I had been in the Marines).
One of the first stories printed in the school newspaper in 85 read that the
school was haunted by no less than 38 ghosts. I set out to debunk this number
and ascertain the truth. After an exhaustive investigation I found that there
are three spirits too powerful to be denied.
The first ghost is the ghost of Cahoon Armory. Cahoon Armory is actually a
pre-World War II multi use athletic facility. There is a fanciful tale of the
ghost of "Blood Tower", the tower that serves as the entrance to the Armory, but
that ghost is the result of a prank played on athletic cadets by nerd cadets in
reprisal for the athletes skipping inspections that others had to endure.
The
ghost of the Armory is indeed real. To this day, the Campus Police refuse to do after
hours building checks within. They just chain the doors from the exterior,
and reopen them in the morning. When I asked why, I was told this: One officer
stayed at the back door while two other officers walked the basketball court on
the main floor. One officer went to the gym floor below while his partner went
to the front door to wait. While the third officer walked the gym floor he heard
steps on the basketball court above. The third officer radioed the other two
officers asking who was walking the floor. Both officers looked in, but saw no
one on the basketball floor. The third officer high tailed it out of there.
The second ghost is the Ghost of Pearson Auditorium. The auditorium is also a
pre-World War II building. A giant theater that seats over 1,200.
I myself experienced a bit of the ghost. On a Friday night, while on Guard Duty
I responded to a report of a disturbance at the auditorium. It was movie night.
A group of excited cadets were in the orchestra pit in front of the stage. One
pointed to a small door leading under the stage. I went through the door. I
walked into a large general dressing area. Instantly, clothes flew off a rack
towards me. I ran out of the room. Each room that I entered I saw the light
switches switch off and on as if an unseen hand was manipulating the switches. I
made it back to the orchestra pit just as the Officer of the Day arrived. He
asked what was going on. I was too shaken up to answer coherently. He went in to
investigate. A Vietnam Vet, the OD reappeared a moment later with his face very
pale. He ordered the building sealed that night. The ghost of the auditorium has
a calling card. A seat, towards the rear of the main floor, just under the lip
of the balcony has been broken time and again despite many repairs. A myth is
told about a murder in the building, but no such event took place.
The third and last ghost is the spirit of the bell tower. The bell tower is a 15
foot memorial to three cadets killed in a polo match in 1940. Atop the memorial
is a bell salvaged from a steam locomotive sent to the scrap yard. It is a well
documented fact that on the nights that the bell rings, a cadet will be dead by
morning. This threat is taken so seriously that physical harm has come to
practical jokers who have attempted to ring the bell.
So, if you visit the institute in Roswell New Mexico, don't ring the bell, be
out of the auditorium and armory by nightfall, and please don't walk on the
grass.
-Unsigned.
