Jack lives in what was once the Tri-Delta sorority house, a boardinghouse for out-of-town students to live close to campus cheaply. Its power is out for renovations, so many of its residents have found other arrangements, but he has decided to stay the week anyway.
"Hello?"
"James, is that you? It's Jack. Can you talk?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's me. I can talk for a bit. Why are you panting? It's so late, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry to call so late. I was running, I just, I don't know what just happened. I'm freaking out."
"Jack, what's going on? Just talk to me. It's fine."
"So I was coming home from the library tonight, and the building's power is out for renovations, so it was pitch dark. I'd lit candles before I left, but they burned all the way down and —"
"Wait, so why are you staying if the power's out? Can't you just come stay at home?"
"I've got big exams coming up this week. Didn't want to waste time driving back and forth that I could use for studying. Would you just let me finish this story? I'm shaking, James. This is crazy."
"OK, OK."
"Right, so, OK, I get back and the room is totally dark, and I'm like, stumbling around, trying to find my matches so I can light another candle, and something grabs me. Like, grabs me around the neck. It felt like a rope, or maybe a really tight grip. I don't know what it was."
"Oh my God, Jack."
"I know. So I'm choking and I can't breathe, and I'm just like, 'Jesus, help me,'" you know? And the thing — whatever it was — it just drops me. I sort of just collapsed. I grabbed my backpack and bolted, and I ran to this phone booth a couple blocks away to call you. I just needed to tell someone, I'm sorry to call so late."
"No, no, it's fine. Jesus, Jack. Where are you going to stay? You can't go back there. Not after the choking thing you told me about a couple weeks ago, right? Didn't you feel like someone was choking you when you woke up in the middle of the night?"
"Yeah, right. It was like someone was grabbing my neck while I was sleeping. I can't go back there. I've got to find somewhere else to live. You think they'll let me break my lease? I think I'm going to come home for the night — can you leave a light on for me? I'll be there in like an hour."
"Yeah, of course. I don't know about the lease, but man, this is crazy. I'll wait up for you. Drive safe."
"Got it, thanks. See you soon."
Author's note: This story is a retelling of a ghost story in Jeff Provine's "Campus Ghost of Norman, Oklahoma" in which a student only identified as "Jack" was haunted by a ghost (or maybe multiple ghosts) during renovations on the old Tri-Delta house, which was being used at the time as a boardinghouse (essentially, a dorm). I decided to tell this story as a phone call after the ghost had officially freaked Jack out, so I imagined him running to a phone booth to call his brother James. I changed background colors between the two as they talk so that readers can easily tell who is speaking, and I hope the dialogue keeps this story fast-paced and easy to read.
A little history on the building this story focuses on: In 1926, the Delta Delta Delta chapter at OU bought a house at 700 Elm Avenue, just across the street from campus and near Ellison Hall, the school's infirmary. The Tri-Delts stayed there for three decades before they moved further south to a house on College Street. After that, the original house was sold to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fratenity, who later sold it to a private buyer that used it as a boardinghouse — that's when Jack's story would occur. After it was used as a boardinghouse, it became the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center, where groups like the Native American Student Association would use it until Jim Thorpe was moved further south on campus.
In 1973, an exorcism took place at the old Tri-Delt house to rid it of the same malevolent spirit that gave Jack a fright during his time at the boardinghouse. The building in which this story takes place was eventually torn down to make room for Zarrow Hall, and maybe that's for the best, given its haunted history.
Photo credit: A photo of one of the phone booths on OU's campus. Web source: Souvenir Chronicles blog
Bibliography:
Provine, Jeff. Campus ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma. The History Press, 2013.