One of the Ghoulest Things About Central

Every once in a while, you may meet someone in public who just so happened to go to Central. They may pass by you and stop to recognize your shirt, or hoodie, or uniform, or they might just tell you in an innocent conversation that they went to Central. Then comes the stories. Everyone has had a unique experience attending Central—positive or negative, long or short. Most of these stories are light-hearted, maybe they would talk about their time as a member of National Honor Society, or that they played tennis as a high-schooler. But there also stories that are most likely to stick in the head of the average Central Eagle. They might tell someone a story about how Central inspired them. That Central is one of the best high schools to go for a good education. That Central is historical. That Central is diverse.

That Central is haunted.

Now, I’ve had my fair share of possibly-paranormal experiences myself. When I was four, in my bed, and about to go to sleep, I saw the shadow of a seemingly disconnected hand was waving at me. I knew that I was the only one in the room… or was I? I also was about to go to sleep about 3-4 years ago when I heard a very distinct voice out of nowhere telling me, “Go”. I thought it was God. But go where? I asked, confused but unafraid. I am Catholic, but at the age of twelve I was not about to answer the calls of Jesus Christ at 9:30 on a school night. Finally—just a couple weeks ago—I found my Instagram feed scrolling by itself. My brother was even there as a witness.

All of my life, lights have flickered, signs have been shown, and reoccurring childhood dreams and nightmares have been engrained in vivid detail to this day. It is safe to say that I believe in ghosts. Call me childish. I dare you. But—as a Catholic—I have believed in an afterlife since I knew what it was. It is again engrained in my brain every single Sunday. Religious Education is pretty much the same thing, but with a formal education setup and time I didn’t have. I believe that spirits are with me to guide me. My mom always tells me that these paranormal signs and activities are the dead (she likes to use her late mother, who I never met, as an example) talking to us and giving us guidance. And with taking eight honor’s classes and an AP class, that guidance is needed, appreciated, and straight up wanted.

But do I believe that Central actually has spirits that either throw shoes at us, or gingerly touch our shoulders? Yes and no. I don’t know if it shows any paranormal activity, but school is cold. According to multiple studies, a sudden drop in temperature indicates the presence of spiritual being—a ghost. According to thoughtco.com, “Cold spots are classic haunting symptoms; any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernible cause could be evidence.” Although the whole school being cold does not exactly count as a cold spot, but I have found that some classes I feel perfectly fine, but it seems that in some classes only a winter coat would suffice. Is that all of the personal evidence that I have? Yes. This is why I have doubts.

Most of the evidence that I have comes from the stories that I have heard throughout my years at Central. I have heard of people having shoes thrown at them, hearing footsteps when no one else was walking, and custodians taking precautions and not going to some areas of the school alone at night. This, my religious beliefs, and my bandwagon personality makes this whole ‘Central is haunted’ thing somewhat believable. But I am just a sophomore who decided to write about the first thing on my mind. Moral of the story: believe what you want. I still have two-and-a-half years to figure this out.