Interviewer: Okay, so you said something happened on campus?

ML: Yeah, um… okay, so this was like my second week here, right? I didn’t really know the campus that well yet.

I was coming back from studying kinda late, like, maybe 1:30 a.m., and I cut through this area near one of the older buildings… I don’t even remember which one.

And, uh, I saw someone sitting on a bench. Just like… completely still.

It was this guy, I think? Or… okay, I’m not even sure, actually. They were wearing, like, a hoodie, head down.

At first I didn’t think anything of it, ‘cause, like, yeah, college campus, people are out late.

But then… I walked past them, and I got this really weird feeling.

Like…

You know when it’s quiet, but it feels wrong quiet?

Interviewer: Yeah…

ML: Yeah, like that.

So I keep walking, and then I hear-

“Hey.”

But it was, like… really close. Like right behind me.

Interviewer: Did you turn around?

ML: Yeah, I did.

And they were still on the bench. Same position. Didn’t move.

And I was like, okay, maybe I imagined it, right?

So I start walking faster, and then I hear it again, but this time-

“Why did you come?”

So I turn around again… and now they’re standing.

But I didn’t hear them get up.

Yeah, and their face was still like… shadowed. I couldn’t see it.

And then they took a step toward me, just one step, and I just… I ran.

Like I didn’t even think, I just ran straight back to my dorm.

Interviewer: Did you ever see them again?

ML: No… and I don’t go that way anymore.

Like, I’ll literally take the longer route, I don’t care.

And, um… I asked my mom about it later, and she was like, “Don’t answer when something calls you at night.”

So yeah… I just… I don’t mess with that anymore.

Context:

This story was told to me at around 11am after a get-together with a friend at a restaurant near the USC campus. On the way back, I asked him if they knew of any ghost stories, and they recalled a creepy experience they had early at the start of his freshman year. The interview was roughly transcribed from a video recording of the interview.

The Informant’s Thoughts:

They were skeptical as to whether it was really a ghost. They admit that at the time they were very much convinced that the supposed ghost in question was in fact some sort of malevolent spirit. However, they also talked about how, looking back, there was in fact some suspicious individual who talked to them, but now they believe that many of the paranormal effects they observed may have been due to the nerves evoked by starting their transition into college and the naturally scary circumstances they were in.

My Thoughts:

I am inclined to believe the informant’s analysis of the situation. Being skeptical of ghosts myself, I am more willing to belief that any mystical effects were simply side effects of stress and superstition. However, I did find it fascinating how the environment can have such a massive impact on belief. I know the informant to be similar in disposition to myself, in that they are not particularly superstitious or spiritually inclined and that they display substantial suspicion of any accounts detailing mysterious encounters and phenomenon. However, the combination of several influences, such as the time of night, the lack of other people nearby, the somewhat spooky architecture, and most pressingly the presence of a suspicious unknown individual all cause the plausibility of a ghostly encounter to skyrocket.