My strangest ghost hunting stories

I am extremely skeptical of the paranormal. Well, at least I used to be. This might be hard to believe, since I co-host a podcast that basically investigates ghost stories.

I, alongside my colleague Sarah Kennel, run an award-winning podcast called “Bizarre Butler County” with The Miami Student Newspaper, where we analyze strange and unusual happenings in the area. While most episodes center around ghost stories, we’ve also talked about the disappearance of former Miami University student Ronald Tammen and the processing of uranium at Fernald Feed Materials Production Center.

We released our first season last fall, and we are currently producing our second. This has taken us longer than expected due to technical difficulties, so I have no choice but to say our own podcast must be haunted.

In honor of Halloween and the spooky season drawing to a close, I wanted to share some stories from our investigations. These may sound too good to be true, but I swear on journalism ethics that what I’m about to tell you is what we really experienced.

So, here are three locations in Butler County we have investigated that we recommend checking out yourself.

3. Peabody Hall

This mixed-use academic and residential building hall is named after Helen Peabody, who was the first principal and teacher of the Western Female Seminary from 1855 to 1888.

Helen is also the spirit haunting the halls. It’s said she is extremely protective of the women living in the dormitory. She has also been known to mess with any men who lurk the halls, due to her well-known stance against co-education.

Peabody Hall was the first location that Kennel and I investigated, and it was a perfect place for our first-ever ghost hunt. The fourth floor contains an empty classroom, so that is where we started.

While upstairs, we kept hearing strange noises coming from the elevator: voices, footsteps, the arrival bell and the emergency alarm. It didn’t help that the hallway to the elevator was mostly pitch black.  

Later, we decided to check out the outdoor theatre. We used our spirit box – a device that rapidly scans through radio frequencies through which spirits can supposedly communicate – to speak with any ghosts. Imagine Kennel’s shock when I, while wearing headphones connected to the box, heard the name Emily – Kennel’s first-year roommate whom she lived with in none other than Peabody Hall. I swear this was something I didn’t know beforehand.

2. Ghost Biker

Every time I tell someone from Oxford I’m working on a podcast about local legends, the first thing they ask me is if we’ve investigated the ghost biker.

The story is a simple and rather common one. One night, a young man was riding his motorcycle on his way to meet with his secret lover. He was driving on Oxford Milford Road, and supposedly, he took a too-sharp turn and fatally injured himself on a nearby barbed wire fence. It is said he is still trying to reach his girlfriend’s house.

The legend goes, if you drive to the intersection of Oxford Milford Road and Earhart Road, face your car south and flash your headlights three times, you will see the lights of the phantom motorcycle straight ahead, disappearing as it approaches the curve.

Unfortunately, I must inform you that both times we tried this, we were unsuccessful. But it's what happened on the way home that sticks with me.

While on the road, we didn’t get much on the spirit box besides creepy phrases like “accident,” “turn around” and “behind you.” But, while driving away, we glanced in the rearview mirror and saw one singular light on the road behind us.

We were freaking out as it slowly got closer, only to reveal that it was just a random car and not a phantom. This happened both times we visited, which is a crazy coincidence, but sadly just that. Although we proved to ourselves the whole lights thing was probably a myth, I still find this location to be very creepy.

1. Butler County Historical Society

The Butler County Historical Society is a private non-profit group dedicated to preserving and promoting local history in Butler County. The museum contains several artifacts from various important figures in our area’s history. 

More than a dozen spirits reside there, according to various investigations done by paranormal groups. This was definitely one of the most active places we’ve been to. Before we even began our investigation, Kennel and I were talking to some employees, and I kept feeling something touch my arm. Kennel was getting a weird feeling from the nearby hallway.

Things slowly progressed in craziness. Our trip wire – a cord of lights that flashes when something touches it – kept going off, which has never happened to us before. We heard the word “dolls” on our spirit box as we were near a display case full of them.

This episode is currently out, so I don’t want to spoil any more. To learn more, visit our podcast and see the investigation in our video.

As of now, I am very on-the-fence about my belief in the paranormal. But the stories I just shared with you have me leaning toward a believer status.

Taylor Powers is a junior studying journalism and media and communication at Miami University. She is a former intern for the Oxford Free Press and also works for The Miami Student Newspaper and Magazine.