Do you believe in ghosts? When we think of ghost stories, we think of the classic haunted house with cobwebs and spiders. We don’t seem to think of our new and modern campus, yet longtime teachers would say differently.
We’ve all been in moments we can’t quite explain: shadows in the corner of our eyes, doors shutting unexpectedly, lights flickering. But humanities teacher Brandon Spars has a more chilling story to tell.
“Around 10 years ago, maybe 11, I started seeing something sitting on the wall at Ziegler Point. I thought it was a person.” Spars described seeing what seemed to be a young man in plaid sitting on the wall. Spars then said when he tried to approach him or talk to what he presumed to be a student, the figure would disappear, causing him to question its existence in the first place.
As time passed over the years, the image of the young man in plaid started to shift, slowly morphing into a dark shadow, almost as if it’s forgotten its original shape. Brandon described the shadow as quiet, occasionally appearing, yet nothing like poltergeist activity. Until the beginning of Metamorphosis, that is. For those unfamiliar with the show, Metamorphosis was one of the spring shows at Sonoma Academy. Because the show involved water, Sonoma Academy decided to hold the show outside. By Ziegler Point.
Some of the actors of Metamorphosis described an unexplainable experience they faced when in one of the bathrooms near Jamie’s classroom. I couldn’t get the exact story, so before I proceed: this is all alleged. Apparently, the girls’ tampon dispenser fell from the wall and slid side to side like a hockey puck, before stopping at the actor’s feet. Now, I don’t really understand the physics of this, but I think collectively we can all agree that it was a strange experience.
What could have caused this? Brandon Spars believes that after Metamorphosis took over the area, the spirit became agitated; this was its home. This intrusion caused the spirit to disrupt the actors, hoping to make its aggravation known.
Once Metamorphosis moved out, the spirit returned to its usual routine.
A little Sonoma Academy history lesson. Our beautiful campus is located upon the breathtaking view of Taylor Mountain. Speaking of breathtaking, that’s exactly what the mountain did to the coal miners back in the Gold Rush. During this hard time, pioneers lost their lives working underground in the mine’s harsh conditions. One theory suggests that the Ziegler Point spirit hails from the Gold Rush age, and likes to observe the view of the hillside after a long day of work.
Whoever the spirit may be, it seems to not hold vengeance, but rather carry peace. To this day the spirit is unclear on what it wants, whether that be to tell its story or not.
