From: enw2049@rigel.tamu.edu (WALKE, ERIK N)
Subject: Re: College Ghosts
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 16:29:00 GMT

In article <4019@keele.keele.ac.uk>, cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear) writes
> 
>I've only just found this group. How's this for a college ghost. The
>Principle's garden at Jesus College Oxford is said to be haunted by a
>17th century maid. The tale goes that the area was a royalist hospital
>in the civil war and the girl worked there and fell in love with a
>wounded cavalier. He was taken away and she died of a broken heart and
>now comes back to look for him. Must confess I never saw her myself
>though.
> 
>Andy

       This little story reminds me of one read when I was young.  I 
       know it took place at an English university-I think it was Oxford,
       but no flames please if that's wrong!  I'm trying to locate the 
       book, but I may have trouble-it was old 15 years ago, and the 
       library where I read it no longer has their copy.

       One room, a room at the top of a long flight of stairs, at
       Oxford [I think-vide supra] was haunted for years by ghostly
       members of The Everlasting Club.  Long ago, a group of wild and
       reckless students, devoted drinking and carousing buddies, 
       agreed to form their own social club-one in which memebership
       would be as permanent and eternal as their friendship.  Not even
       death would sever a Member's ties with the Everlasting Club.

       Apparently this Club was formed and chartered in a most lewd and
       sacreligious way, as the members really were hell-raisers.  They 
       selected one night each year for their eternal annual meeting.
       As long as the members were all living, drinking, debauching 
       college mates, all went fine.

       Some years passed until one of the members died (killed in a war?
       I can't recall).  The first annual meeting after his death was a
       frightful affair, beginning with the dead man's answer to his
       name at the roll, and continuing on to all sorts of horrors after
       he reminded his still-living brothers of the EVERLASTING pledge 
       they had made.  Well, one by one the Members died, and the 
       yearly gatherings became more and more wild and horrible.  Loud
       cries and songs were heard, furniture was overturned and broken,
       bedlam reigned.  Finally, when the last member died, the 
       hauntings grew really awful, violent and noisy-and they took 
       place in an empty chamber, one the university sealed in attempt
       to stop the terror. The dons were powerless to stop the members
       of the Everlasting Club from meeting once year-even from beyond  
       death . . .

       That's my recollection of the tale. There might even have been 
       something about maids or workers being frightened in that room.  
       I think one was so terrified that (s)he ran out of the chamber
       in a panic and died in a fall . . .

       I hope someone with more first-hand knowledge of this tale will
       respond.   Andy . . .?

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  All opinions expressed by this user are well-reasoned and insightful. 
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