Marietta College

A former Ohio governor may be the one haunting Marietta College's Alpha Xi Delta sorority house at 322 Fifth Street. Although it was built by William P. Skinner in 1855, and he lived there until he died in 1866, it's George White who everyone thinks of when they talk about the history of the house. The Whites lived there after the turn of the twentieth century, when White had earned his fortune in oil. He had the third floor built on to accommodate his family. It wasn't until the 1930s that he became active in the Democratic Party and served two terms as Ohio's governor.

By all accounts, "George" is a gentleman. He appears full-body to certain girls, dressed in a grayish, conservative suit and looking out a window or staring off forlornly. He also performs some poltergeist activity, including making creaking noises on the floors overhead (he prefers the second floor), and turning the water on and off in the "Sink Room," where he makes every noise that a person using the bathroom would--except that when you open the door, no one is there.

"George," whether he is Ohio's former governor or not, is a legend passed down from generation to generation at the Alpha Xi Delta house. As long as he remains protective and relatively non-aggressive, he'll be a welcome presence there. And what better deal can you ask for as a ghost than to spend eternity in a college sorority house?

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Sources

Cartmell, Connie. Ghosts of Marietta. Marietta: Marty's Print Shop, 1996.