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I try not to walk across campus alone late at night, a difficult enough task for the average student whose late night work can be completed in the safety of his or her dorm. For me, an architecture student with a penchant for procrastinating, late night strolls — or bike rides — come with the territory. 

When I was a sophomore, I made a habit of leaving the architecture building after 2 a.m. at least four nights in a row during a deadline week. I always tried to leave with a friend who would be heading back to the dorm right beside mine. I feared what anyone walking alone at night might fear: real people with malicious intentions, whatever they may be. What I never considered — and now I am thinking I perhaps should have — were ghosts. It simply never crossed my mind. I suppose my negligence deserves a pass, though, because at the time I had no clue that campus was home to a spirit, friendly or otherwise.

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately?), there was no mention of ghosts during freshman orientation. In fact, I survived almost three and a half years on this campus — years filled with late night walks — without hearing so much as a peep about the spirits moving among us. It was blissful ignorance, one less thing to worry about. But now that I know otherwise, I will think twice about walking near Washington Hall late at night (and give it a wide berth during the daytime). 

Unfortunately, Kathleen Van Vleet, the facility manager of Washington Hall, did not assuage my fears. She has worked there for over 17 years, and can attest to the popularity of the so-called ghost of Washington Hall. She first heard about the ghost during her freshman year as an undergraduate theater major at Notre Dame, a time when the theater department was housed in Washington Hall.

But the ghost of Washington Hall takes different forms depending on who you’re talking to. According to Van Vleet, the most popular iteration of the ghost is the spirit of George Gipp, the football player who died of pneumonia during his senior season at Notre Dame. 

“We believe that George Gipp worked in Washington Hall, kind of as a student manager. And it was back when you had actual curfew, and you would get locked out of your dorm. On nights he knew he was going to be going out and wouldn't be back in time [for curfew], he would supposedly leave a window unlocked off of a fire escape that used to be on the east side of [his dorm building]. One night he came back late and couldn't get into his dorm; someone had closed and locked the window, so he could not get in. And then he fell asleep on the fire escape and caught the pneumonia that he died of.”

The other famous iterations include a steeplejack who fell through the ceiling and died during the construction of Washington Hall; a student professor who lived in the building during the early 1900s and died of pneumonia; and a priest in the 1950s who died while watching a movie in the Washington Hall theater. “There’s no recorded proof of anything, but those are the big four stories that go around,” Van Vleet said.

The ghost of Washington Hall — whoever he may be — has made quite the impression throughout the years. “We get asked about [the ghost] at least once a month. Every now and then we get an alumn[us] who comes by who tells stories about creepy things that happened to them as a student,” Van Vleet said. 

Van Vleet personally isn’t convinced that the ghost exists, but she doesn’t want to take any chances either. “I always tell people I don’t disbelieve. But I don’t know, because you have to hedge your bets, right? Just in case.” 

In her 17 years as facility manager, in addition to her four years as an undergraduate, Van Vleet has certainly experienced oddities that could be attributed to the ghost in Washington Hall. Lights turn on and off of their own accord. Doors open and shut for no apparent reason. “When you're alone, late at night in an auditorium or up at our black box theater, it just feels creepy because you're in a big open space in the dark.”

Adding to the eeriness, moreover, are “some acoustical oddities where they added air shafts on either side of the auditorium. And because of those, there are certain spots when you're backstage, and it sounds like people outside who are talking are inside the building,” Van Vleet said.

For the sake of hedging her bets, Van Vleet tries to avoid staying in Washington Hall alone after dark. “I’m very, very fond of this building,” she said. “But I'm also very good at not leaving myself in the dark in this building. You know, when you’re closing up, there's always a way to do it so that you're never alone in the dark.”

For Van Vleet, it’s not necessarily a disdain for the idea of ghosts that drives her speculation but more so a confusion as to why George Gipp might want to haunt Washington Hall of all places. “He didn't die in the building. So I would find it interesting if he would choose to haunt here, but I mean, honestly, if I was going to haunt someplace, I'd probably haunt here, just because I've spent so much time here.” (Perhaps that will be my same rationale for haunting Walsh Family Hall of Architecture one day.)

I’ve never been afraid of ghosts, and it doesn’t seem as though the ghost of Washington Hall is particularly scary. But in what is generally considered to be the spookiest month of the year, maybe a little more vigilance wouldn’t be amiss. And personally, I’d rather not have my first encounter with a spirit be late at night on the grounds of Notre Dame.