Indiana Legend

[janet42]

Return of the Gipper:

One of the most famout residents of the University of Notre Dame's Washington Hall was sports legend George Gipp. Gipp quite possibly the greatest all-round player in college football history, was a varsity athlete at Notre Dame from 1917 to 1920. He lived in Washington Hall the entire time and his spirit may reside in the dormitory still.

Gipp was born on February 18, 1895, in Laurium, Michigan. He was the 7th of 8 kids and by all accounts, a natural athlete. He had speed and agility and a competitive fire that burned brightly. In 1916 Gipp headed to Notre Dame with ambition of playing baseball. But one afternoon Knute Rockne the coach of the Fighting Irish, spotted him drop-kicking a football 60 to 70 yards just for the fun of it. The coach convinced Gipp to try out for his team instead. Gipp experienced nothing but success on the grid-iron. In fact, he proved to be the most versatile player on the team. He could run, pass, and punt. He lead his team to 20 consecutive wins and 2 western championships. But sadly his career was short. Playing against Indiana University in 1920, Gipp began to feel ill with a sore throat and chills. He lay in bed for a week, hoping to improve and rose again only to compete against Northwestern University. He played very well that game, but observers could see that he was ailing. On November 23rd Gipp was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia and a serious strep throat. Despite treatment his condition worsen. Finally on December 12th his family and friends were sent for and Gipp died two days later. On Dec 17th the entire student body of Notre Dame came out to watch his casket being loaded onto a train for Calumet, Michigan. While his body rests forever in Michigan, some say his spirit remains in South Bend.

Early in 1921, Jim Clancy was practicing his trumpet in Washington Hall's music room when he heard a strange eerie sound resembling a low moan coming from the other side of the camber. Startled, he got up and tried to locate the source of the noise. He found it coming from a tuba resting against the wall. Clancy approached the tuba and immediately the moaning stopped. Thoroughly spooked, Clancy grabbed his music and began to rush out of the room. But before he could exit the camber, he was stopped in his tracks for the instrument began playing again. Within days other residents of Washington Hall also heard the unearthly sound. Joe Shanahan, sneaking back into the building one night, passed the band room as he headed for the staircase. At that exact time, a low moan broke the silence. Shanahan his breath caught in his throat slowly turned towards the sound, immediately, he caught a glimpse of what he called a "gossamer haze". Terrified he fled to his room. As the weeks and months went by the moans became more and more common. And they began to be accompanied by the sounds of footsteps. Students whispered about doors closing on their own and things disappearing from their rooms. And one person even reported that a ghost pushed him while he walked down the stairs. In the mid 1970's, after some people claimed to have seen the spirit of George Gipp riding on horseback on the steps of Washington Hall, a group of curious students decided to launch a ghostly investigation. The students had heard the stories and were determined to prove the phenomenon's existence.

Armed with cameras and recording devices, the students broke into the hall. They were trying to be discreet but were unable to set up their equipment in the dark, so they had to turn on the lights. But the lights wouldn't stay lit. The light switch flicked itself off immediately after it was flicked on. Other odd things happened too. Flashes from cameras began to fire on their own, and the air was filled with a mournful wail. Eventually, the students were filled with terror and ran away. They had definitely found what they were looking for. Although that particular group of students were frightened, it didn't seem that the ghost was intent on scaring people who entered Washington Hall. In the late 1970's, a group of theater students decided to stay late and hold a seance in the building, in an attempt to contact the spirit. They used a Ouija board and asked whether or not there was a spirit in the hall who wanted to speak with them. They received a puzzling message: "SG---Goodbye." Confused the students asked the question again. They got the same result. Uneasy about the situation, the budding thespians packed up and left. They heard footsteps behind them and once outside, they dove into the bushes. Seconds later a Notre Dame security guard stepped from the building. According the Marimen, the students claim to this day that SG stood for security guard and that the spirit that walked the staircases of Washington Hall had been giving them a warning.

I hope that you enjoy hearing about the Legend.