Image Information: Bizzell Memorial Library Source: Wikipedia
The Fall semester was finally coming to an end, and Jane and Sam were getting ready for finals. The girls decided that during Dead Week and Finals Week they would spend nights at the Bizzell Memorial Library to study, especially since it would now be open 24 hours. However, what they didn't know was that late nights at "the Biz" also meant late night hauntings.
It was Saturday night of Dead Week and Jane and Sam were making their way to the Biz to study for their final in General Chemistry on Monday.
"I still don't get how to use the Ideal Gas Law," said Sam.
"Oh, it's so easy! I'll have to show you the video I watched to understand it when we get to the Biz,'' replied Jane.
The girls passed George Lynn Cross Hall, and before entering the Biz, Jane said, "You know I wonder if the Biz is haunted at night."
"Oh, here we go again!" exclaimed Sam.
"No, seriously, what if we studied till about midnight and then went walking around the Biz to see if anything strange happens around here? The Biz is open 24 hours this week, you know," said Jane.
"You know, I don't know why you drag me into these things, but I guess we can go 'look.' I doubt there's anything," replied Sam.
The girls spent hours studying anything and everything that made up General Chemistry from periodic trends to stochiometry to the ideal gas law.
The girls were studying at the new and improved Lower Level I, where the Bookmark was still up and running as hundreds of college students prepared for their finals.
The clock showed "10:05 PM" and Sam decided to go order an espresso drink from the Bookmark.
"Want anything, Jane?" asked Sam.
"Actually, sure. Could you just get me a vanilla latte? Thanks, Sam!" replied Jane.
While Sam was away, Jane began to listen at the conversation the table of girls next to her was having.
"Oh my gosh, no way! That can't be true!" exclaimed one girl.
"Don't you remember that from the OU tour? They definitely said the Biz was haunted," said another.
Intrigued by what the girls were talking about, Jane leaned over and asked, "Hey, what is exactly the haunted story behind the Biz?"
"Well, you see, a student was walking through the Decks of books when one of the glass plates came loose. The student fell through and broke his neck," said one of the girls.
"So, I guess you could say that the Decks are haunted. You can hear footsteps, see shadows, and whispers in the Decks," said another girl.
"Wow, that's crazy! Well, let's just hope we can get through finals without any hauntings," said Jane.
Sam returned with their drinks, and before Sam could even sit down, Jane whispered, "Sam, we have to go to the Decks of the Biz later tonight. I heard that there's hauntings that happen there."
"Okay, whatever you say, Jane," scoffed Sam.
It was now nearing midnight, and the girls began to yawn.
"I don't know how much more General Chemistry I can fit into my brain!" exclaimed Sam.
"Well, we could go take a break and walk around the Decks," said Jane.
"Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this, but fine," said Sam.
The girls began to walk up two flights of stairs to reach the 1st floor of the Biz. The girls noticed that not many students were in the Biz studying.
"Guess people will study more during the week," said Sam.
"Guess so," replied Jane.
The girls began walking toward the entrance of the Biz where they came across the stairwell that led up to the Great Reading Room.
"Should we go this way?" asked Sam.
"Well, I know you can access the Decks from The Great Reading Room, so we could try," replied Jane.
The girls made their way up the stairs and entered The Great Reading Room.
"I think it's that door over there," said Jane, "I think that's how we can enter the Decks."
The girls made their way over to a door on the far left side of The Great Reading Room. Sam pushed the door open, and the girls arrived to the Decks side of the Biz.
"So, do you want to walk around together?" asked Jane.
"What do you mean? Of course I want to walk around together!" exclaimed Sam.
"Oh, so you're scared, huh?" said Jane.
"Just keep walking, Jane," said Sam.
The two girls began walking around the Decks of the Biz and noticed that there were so many books that were old, and must have been there for years.
"Wow, it's so cool in here," said Sam.
The girls began opening up different books and looking at different stacks of books. Time began to fly by, and before they knew it, it was 2 AM.
"Oh man, I should have brought my coffee! I left it on the table," said Jane. "I'll be right back."
"W-w-what? You're seriously going to leave me here alone?" asked Sam.
"Well, you aren't scared, are you?" asked Jane.
"No, just hurry up!" exclaimed Sam.
While Jane was away, Sam began walking around the Decks. Although she told Jane she wasn't scared, and there were no such thing as ghosts, something about being in the Decks by herself at 2 AM scared her.
Sam's heart began to race faster as she walked slower around the Decks. Every step she made would startle her as sounds of creaking would result.
As Sam turned the corner, she saw a shadow.
"W-w-who's there?" asked Sam.
Thinking her mind was playing tricks on her, Sam turned around and returned just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. However, the shadow was still there.
"Okay, Jane, is that you?" asked Sam. "This really isn't funny!"
"I'm moving. I don't want to stay by this stack if you're just going to mess with me!"
Sam moved to another side of the Decks, and as she turned the corner, the shadow reappeared.
"Okay, Jane, seriously if that's you, I am NOT studying with you the rest of the week!" exclaimed Sam.
Sam turned the corner once again, but this time the shadow wasn't there. Sam began hearing the pitter-patter noises of bare footsteps walking around the Decks.
Sam began to make her way out of the Decks and toward the doors that led her there.
"I swear, Jane, you win. You officially have me scared, but could you please stop?" asked Sam.
The footsteps kept getting closer and closer, and Sam's heart began racing even faster and faster.
Without thinking another second, Sam began running towards the doors of The Great Reading Room.
Just as she was about to push open the door, there was Jane opening the door from the other side.
"Jane, we seriously have to get out of here. You were right. This school does have hauntings, but can we please just go back to the dorms now?" asked Sam.
"Okay, okay, Sam, calm down. You sure it wasn't just the Ideal Gas Law getting to your head?" asked Jane.
"You think this is funny, don't you?" asked Sam.
"Well, you did say you don't believe in ghosts. How do I know you're not just trying to mess with me?" asked Jane.
"Oh, whatever, Jane. Let's just go. I'm tired and we've got a big week ahead of us. I really need to get an A on this final," said Sam.
The girls packed up their stuff and began to make their way back to the dorms. What Sam had experienced that night was out of the ordinary, and Jane, while at the time was making fun of Sam, believed that it must've happened.
The two girls spent the rest of finals week studying at Grey Owl on Gray Street, and vowed to never stay in the Biz later than midnight ever again. The two girls had a lot of memories from the Fall semester, and boy, was Jane excited to go home for the Winter Break and tell her parents all about her first semester at the University of Oklahoma.
BOO-mer Sooner!
Author's Note: This story was based on the haunting stories of the Bizzell Memorial Library. On every tour of OU, visitors are taken to the Decks of the library and shown the glass plate where supposedly a student fell through and broke his or her neck. There were some people who actually looked into this story, but never found any news dating back to the 1940s that ever mentioned this being true, but this story continues to be talked about on OU tours today. However, people have always talked about paranormal activity that would occur in the Decks to books randomly falling, footsteps being heard, whispers being heard, and shadows being seen. Jane and Sam experience this paranormal activity firsthand! I thought it would be really interesting to have Jane discover the story behind the hauntings, but then have Sam experience it on her own without any knowledge of the legend. The two girls then realize that the Biz is just one of many places at The University of Oklahoma that is haunted.
Bibliography: Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma by Jeff Provine