Monsters Among Us – S19 Ep37: Back to School Ghouls
Host: Derek Hayes | Date: August 19, 2025
Theme: First-hand paranormal experiences tied to schools, universities, and student life. Listeners recount creepy, chilling, and unexplainable phenomena experienced in educational environments, curated and commented on by host Derek Hayes.
Episode Overview
Derek Hayes celebrates “Back to School” season with a thematically curated episode featuring stories of hauntings, unexplainable events, and ghostly encounters from educational settings. Experiences from elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and dorms fill the episode, contributed directly by listeners in their own voices. Hayes ties the stories together with context, commentary, and signature spooky humor, reinforcing the idea: “Nearly every school seems to have a ghost story.”
Key Stories & Discussion Points
1. A Breathing Classroom in Pennsylvania
[03:01–06:50] (Gabrielle)
- Gabrielle, newly hired middle school teacher in Pennsylvania, experiences a bizarre event early in her tenure.
- Incident:
- Arrived early, before dawn, to prep and use the printer.
- Hears a strange, slow, human-like breathing noise coming from a misshapen back corner of her (older) classroom, specifically near the breaker box.
- Investigation:
- Walked straight to the corner (unafraid, in the dark), shone her phone flashlight, but saw nothing.
- When she finally turned on the lights, the breathing stopped immediately.
- Noticed noise only happens when lights are off; never heard it again.
- Notable Quote:
- “I teach middle school, I’m not really afraid of anything… I had no fear. I walked straight back in the dark.” – Gabrielle ([04:27])
- Host's Reaction:
- “A strange breathing sound in the classroom. Like I said, unsettling. And why only in the dark, I wonder? That might be the most ominous detail.” – Derek Hayes ([06:50])
2. Elementary School Over a Cemetery – Elgin, Illinois
[10:06–15:55] (Taylor)
- Taylor recounts local legend and personal experience near Channing Memorial Elementary (built atop Elgin’s first cemetery).
- Background:
- In the 1970s, school expansion unearthed human remains—implying incomplete cemetery relocation.
- School and surrounding Victorian homes are believed haunted; stories abound of footsteps on the roof, janitors encountering apparitions, and a legend of a janitor suicide.
- Personal Encounter:
- Sleeping at a friend’s nearby (historic) house, Taylor is kept awake by unexplained attic footsteps and a rhythmic rocking chair.
- Her friend confirms these sounds are common—"it just happens sometimes."
- Notable Moment:
- “I get up and I look to see if my friend is awake, and she is. She looks back at me and she says, ‘This is what I was talking about… it just happens sometimes.’” – Taylor ([13:56])
- Host's Comment:
- “A school built over a former cemetery. There’s a pretty good horror movie in there somewhere, I bet.” – Derek Hayes ([15:55])
3. Dorm Disturbances at Southern Illinois University
[17:24–20:24] (Ray)
- Ray, an RA, is called multiple times in one night to investigate increasingly strange disturbances.
- Sequence of Events:
- Midnight: Student reports someone in the (long-abandoned) next room. Room is a mess, but empty.
- 2 am: Same student hears someone in her own bathroom—Ray finds lights inexplicably turned on; hears movement, but finds nothing.
- 5 am: Student claims her door was opened; Ray finds the bathroom and doors disturbed again.
- Notable Quote:
- “She swore it wasn’t her. So I fixed it up again. I didn’t really get any messages or anything about that because it was just a weird coincidence… but it was still kind of creepy and I don’t know how to explain it.” – Ray ([19:47])
- Host's Reflection:
- “Colleges, universities, technical schools; none of them are immune. Nearly all of them seem to have some sort of ghostly reputation.” – Derek Hayes ([20:24])
4. Unseen Visitor at Mount St. Mary’s University, Los Angeles
[23:25–26:37] (Anonymous)
- Caller’s roommate, accustomed to the creaky floors, is startled in the night by the telltale floorboard noises announcing a return—but no one is there.
- Key Detail:
- Only the sound; no actual person—fear and confusion ensue.
- Seen as possibly the ghost of one of the university’s founding sisters.
- Notable Quote:
- “I really just can’t find a logical explanation on how the floor would creak without pressure being applied, because there was no way.” – Anonymous ([25:09])
- Host's Take:
- “There’s just something about these places, something creepy that is.” – Derek Hayes ([26:37])
5. Muncie, Indiana: Haunted Student Houses at Ball State
[27:06–35:31] (Katie)
- Katie shares various tales of haunted off-campus houses near Ball State, including:
- The “North Street” House:
- Apparition of a sad old man at the foot of the bed.
- All lights turning on/off, door slamming while standing outside—police found nothing.
- Rec Street House:
- Mysterious voices calling her name in the (empty) basement.
- One roommate sees a girl with long dark hair (like Katie’s) standing in the doorway; Katie wasn’t home.
- Recurrent dreams of a ghostly girl, odd sounds of footsteps, heavy breathing at night.
- Intense encounter during move-out: a visitor sees the girl and flees; later, the house shakes violently before they leave for good.
- The “North Street” House:
- Notable Quotes:
- “She woke up in the middle of the night, there was just like this older man sitting at the foot of her bed… He looked so sad, which I feel like is the overwhelming feeling of Muncie.” – Katie ([28:29])
- “It was just like there was this heavy breathing behind me all night, and it just kept getting louder and louder and louder. And he finally was just like, ‘Please shut up. I have a test. I do not have time for this!’” – Katie, quoting her brother ([33:49])
- Host’s Campus Aside:
- Derek reminisces visiting Ball State during a legendary luau party; while he didn’t encounter ghosts, he notes, “I didn’t visit the highly active house from Katie’s story. Perhaps next time.” ([35:31])
6. Western Michigan University Dorm Ghost
[39:37–43:18] (Zach)
- Zach recalls multiple odd happenings in his aged dorm (Ernest Burnham Hall):
- Quarters falling off his desk, one at a time, in the night—as if someone was deliberately playing with them.
- An episode where a presence seems to yank his backpack back while walking through an abnormally dark hallway.
- After accidentally breaking his bed frame and moving to the top bunk, he hears distinct rolling and shifting (as if someone rolled beneath him in the empty lower bunk).
- Notable Quote:
- “You'd hear somebody just rolling around below me… I would try to stay completely still just so that I knew that it wasn’t me.” – Zach ([42:54])
- Host’s Lighthearted Take:
- “I know one way that could put an end to that activity. Glue the quarters to the desk and watch the fun commence.” – Derek Hayes ([43:18])
7. Physical Encounters in a Tennessee Dorm
[46:00–48:54] (Emma)
- Emma describes two unsettling experiences:
- Feeling a finger poke firmly into her back while washing dishes; roommates are all visibly in the living room.
- Later, sees a cat-sized, black “thing” dart past her door—no animals are allowed in the dorms, and nothing is found.
- Notable Quote:
- “I felt somebody put a finger in my back and just, like, poke my back really hard. And I freaked out.” – Emma ([46:54])
- Host’s Response:
- “You know, it can’t be good when they make contact, physical contact, but it’s always unnerving when they do and to do so where you’re living… well, like I said, that’s never good.” – Derek Hayes ([48:54])
8. Mississippi High School – “Pure Terror” in the Halls
[51:40–60:07] (Jael / J.L.)
- JL, first-year high school teacher in Central Mississippi, details haunting sensations at her workplace:
- Initially senses something “watching” from a shadowy ceiling gap during a tour—feels dread, sees nothing.
- Regularly visits the deserted school at night; experiences overpowering dread, especially around unlit halls, feeling as though “something” stares from dark classroom windows.
- One night hears a rolling backpack (a coworker’s trademark) but realizes she’s alone.
- Final straw: while working late, is overwhelmed by a terror so intense she begins praying aloud. Senses a palpable cloud-like evil entering the room and dissipating only after invoking Jesus’ name. The light above her goes out and never works again despite repairs.
- Notable Quotes:
- “Pure terror, like the kind that makes you speechless. But whatever it was coming into my classroom, it was drifting towards me slowly.” – JL ([55:29])
- “The minute, right when I used the name Jesus the first time the light fixture above me went out. And afterwards maintenance workers could never get that light to work again.” – JL ([58:38])
- Host's Reflection:
- “A laundry list of examples to help prove my point that most schools are haunted.” – Derek Hayes ([60:07])
9. Midwestern College House – The “Beeping” Ghost
[63:08–64:51] (Anonymous)
- Caller is so uncomfortable in her college rental house that she moves out after just one month.
- While cooking, hears the microwave finish, followed by a disembodied voice mimicking the beep: “Beep.”
- Frequent sounds of muffled voices and inexplicable break-ins.
- Notable Quote:
- “It was so clear as day that I was like, I know either the ghost has a great sense of humor and was making fun of the fact that I didn’t open my microwave fast enough… or what.” – Anonymous ([63:53])
Derek’s Interludes: Commentary, Lists, & Fun Facts
- ”Almost every school is haunted!” Hayes repeatedly emphasizes, drawing on personal anecdotes and crowd-sourced lists.
- Most Haunted U.S. Colleges & Schools:
- Highlights Boston University (Miles Standish Hall), Kenyon College, University of South Carolina, Tennessee High School, El Paso High, and Elizabeth V. Edwards School, sharing brief but chilling campus legends. ([43:18], [60:07])
- Themed Humor:
- “Zombies in elementary school. Sort of like the Goonies meets The Walking Dead. Someone get Hollywood on the phone.” ([15:55])
- Personal College Reflection:
- Derek reminisces about his own college experiences and a legendary party at Ball State, where he did not see ghosts but did see “six inches of sand from wall to wall.”
Notable Quotes & Moments
- “I have a theory that the whole city just kind of, like, died. It was like a boom town, and then it shriveled up. My boyfriend now says that’s the plot from Ghostbusters… but I think it’s real.” – Katie ([27:19])
- “At a certain point, it becomes home. And to experience that sort of intrusion in your home, well… that’s never good.” – Derek Hayes ([48:54])
- “I walked back in the dark… In the back, there was nothing I could see, but I kept hearing it. Even as I was going back to the light switch.” – Gabrielle ([05:10])
- “I could sense something was there, and I quickly left the hall and rejoined the group… I don’t know if I would have been able to see anything, but my senses… it’s like I picked up on it visually nothing. But I could sense something was there.” – JL ([52:18])
Episode Structure & Timestamps
- [01:38] – Introduction & Explanation of Theme (Derek Hayes)
- [03:01] – Caller Story: Haunted Middle School in Pennsylvania (Gabrielle)
- [10:06] – Caller Story: School Built Over Cemetery, Elgin, IL (Taylor)
- [17:24] – Caller Story: Dorm Haunting at Southern Illinois University (Ray)
- [23:25] – Caller Story: Creaky Dorm Visitor, Mount St. Mary’s, Los Angeles (Anonymous)
- [27:06] – Caller Story: Ball State Haunted Houses, Muncie, Indiana (Katie)
- [39:37] – Caller Story: Dorm Phantom at Western Michigan University (Zach)
- [46:00] – Caller Story: Physical Encounters in Tennessee Dorm (Emma)
- [51:40] – Caller Story: Terror at Mississippi High School (Jael)
- [63:08] – Caller Story: “Beep” Ghost in Midwest College House (Anonymous)
- [End] Host sign-off, closing remarks
Final Thoughts
Derek Hayes delivers on his promise: school—often thought mundane—proves itself a recurring backdrop for eerie, unexplained phenomena. Stories from teachers, students, and RAs alike point to a universal truth: where there are halls of learning, there are also specters, secrets, and shivers. “Keep it spooky!”