A harrowing and ghostly tale from Columbia’s Archives.

In the spirit of Halloween I began to wonder if Columbia had any spooky or scary ghost stories. With the help from the Columbia Archives I found a harrowing tale from the 1930s. 

On the evening of May 22, 1936, Professor of East European Languages, John D. Prince was walking through Philosophy Hall en route to meet with President Butler. Walking down the stairs to the office he felt something pat his kidneys. Though meaningless to others, this pat reminded him of the familiar nudge. Professor Richard Gottheil, who long held the office next door to him, would give him. Prince looked around for his colleague but there was no one to be seen. 

Later, in his meeting with the President, Butler’s secretary, Frank Fackenthal, walked in and conveyed to them that Professor Gottheil had just passed away in his home. Thoroughly scared and saddened by the news, Professor Prince returned to his office and ran into Harriet Levy, a graduate student who had class with Professor Gottheil. She conveyed to him a similar haunting story from earlier in her evening. Levy sat at a desk that evening and saw Professor Gottheil in the hallway and because she had his key she followed him to unlock his door, but as she approached, Professor Gottheil seemed to pass through the door and disappear. 

Nearly ten years later in 1945, Professor Jeffrey, who was told this story by Professor Prince, relayed the haunting tale to the Columbia Archive’s curator Milton Halsey Thomas who tried his best to get as much information as he could. In his investigation, secretary Fackenthal said he would make no confirmations on the matter, raising the question if Professor Gottheil really is haunting Philosophy Hall.

Image via Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York