Last week, I debuted my journalistic skills in the news section of The Record. This week, I have decided to flex my growing investigative skills in a new area: ghost hunting. At the request of an anonymous advanced ceramics student here at Goshen College, I have set my sights on the ghost that this person claims haunts the art building.

You may be thinking to yourself, “What ghost?” I, too, was skeptical. I’d never heard of an art building ghost. My source, however, was convinced. They described the strange sounds heard in the basement studio regularly: banging, rattling, ‘thumps’ in the dark. It certainly sounded spooky, but a ghost?

I knew I needed to investigate firsthand. This called for a stakeout.

On Saturday, September 11, at approximately 22:00, I entered the basement of the Art Building, armed with only the essential stakeout supplies: my cell phone and a charger. I positioned myself on one of the stools, ready to observe and record everything. I didn’t have to wait long.

Thump. A noise from the other room in the studio! I sprang from my stool and rushed to investigate. To my dismay, I found a living human hard at work. I went back to my stool, resolving to wait until this diligent art student had left. After a half-hour, I heard the student exit the building. It was finally time.

But there was nothing—no strange sounds with indiscernible sources, no moving shadows, or sudden chills in the air. I waited for over an hour, growing more impatient by the minute. Either this ghost was picky about who it haunts, or I had been lied to. I went back to confront my source.

Still, this art student remained insistent on the existence of a ghost. After they recounted a time when one of the wheels had started up with no one there, I began to wonder if others had similar stories. Sure enough, art student Greta Klassen immediately recognized the paranormal experiences. Klassen added, “For me [the haunting] has mainly consisted of some type of spirit ruining my artwork by adding ugly marks or colors.”

With two dramatic eyewitness accounts, I could no longer deny that something was up with the art building. Desperate for answers, I turned to art professor and ceramics studio expert Merrill Krabill. I presented him with the evidence I had collected, but he claimed that he could neither confirm nor deny any paranormal activity in the studio. His only comment was a warning: “Be very cautious in the ceramics studio.”

If a lost spirit truly does dwell in the building, it seems intent on simply improving as an artist. Still, it never hurts to play it safe with regular offerings of food and money! I’m sure that if you left a little something for our ghost in the cubby marked “Eli Reimer,” our mysterious friend would really appreciate it.