tl20001030-000 "Monday JR_ www.thetowerlight.com Mi ler ig Published twice-weekly by students of Towson University 10/30/00 Middle East conflict hits home 3 Zippers swingin' through changes 9 Tigers win, get into playoffs 15 Departments News 3 Campus briefs 6 Nation 7 A&E 9 In a Theater Near You.10 Sound Bites II Sports 15 Fast Break 15 Athlete of the Week 18 Op/Ed 1 ') Did you remember to set your clock back one hour? Halloween hits local haunts Towson's own Auburn House is said to be haunted by the ghost of Martha, a servant who died when the original Melissa Flanzraich The Towerlight Forget about the Blair Witch. What many Baltimore natives don't know is that there are many sites right in their own backyard that have had docu-mented ghost sightings and fre-quent accounts of paranormal activity, including right here on campus. One of Towson's best-kept secrets may be a small building near the Towson Center called the Auburn House, which is supposedly haunted by a ghost named Martha. The historic facility, originally built in 1790, was destroyed in an 1849 fire only to be rebuilt in 1950 by the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital. But when the house burned down in 1849, the fire took with it the life of a ser-vant named Martha, whose ghost is said to haunt the build-ing's halls to this day. Perhaps in some respects, the fire has yet to die down. ""I don't like [the Auburn House] because it's ugly. It always smells like something is burning,"" said 27-year-old fore-man Coy Wallace. ""It gives off a creepy feel. It makes you feel odd walking in there."" Over the years, Towson employees who have worked in the building have accumulated a list of stories accounting the many mysterious incidents that make Martha's presence diffi-cult to forget. Everything from mysteriously opened windows to self-activat-ing lights have spooked the building's occupants since Towson purchased the building in 1971. ""There's always water on the floor,"" Wallace said. ""Seriously, every time I see that, I go over there and the water strangely disappears."" Moving toward Baltimore, one can find not just places inhabited by ghouls, but people who are willing to hunt them down. ""There are tons of places all over Baltimore that are suppos-edly haunted,"" junior electronic media and film major Chris Resnick said. � You have to do a little research to find some of them, but Baltimore's such an old town that there are plenty of historic buildings with some good ghost stories."" Resnick, a member of the Baltimore Ghost Hunters Society, is an enthusiast of the paranormal and spends much of his free time exploring local haunted sites. ""I consider myself an opti-mistic pessimist,"" Resnick said. ""I go with the hopes of seeing a ghost, but I don't really expect to. It's all about the thrill of just scaring yourself really. It makes you feel alive."" Most people don't realize that there's actually a large under-ground following of ghost hunters here in Maryland. ""I grew up in a haunted house,"" said Jay McClenahan, founder of the Ghost Hunters of Baltimore. ""We put together a small website five years ago and found hundreds of people were into the whole ghost thing."" The group today has 6,000 members that conduct investi- Chris ifsrtry/Ths Towerlight structure burned down in 1849. gations, holds lecture seminars and teach training classes to learn about ghosts. But for Baltimore natives, it's common knowledge that Edgar Allen Poe's house and gravesite are supposedly haunted by supernatural spirits. Located at 203 N. Amity Street, the former residence of Poe is one of Baltimore City's most famous haunted land-mark. Poe's grandmother, who died in the house in 1835, is thought to haunt the top floor as visitors continue to spot unusual phe- See HAUNTED, page 10 More inside Halloween partying: Tuesday isn't just for little kids anymore, as most Towson stu-dents know. [Me 31 Staying safe: The University Police have some tips on how to stay safe on Halloween. [Page 41 Today High 53 Low 34 Tuesday High 63 Low 41 Wednesday High 66 Low 45 Thursday High 68 Low 46 "
