It took little deliberation for our team of paranormal psychologists to name Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina our choice for the most haunted campus in America. The story below has all of the elements of a chilling horror movie - yet it is true.
One of Meredith College's oldest and most prized traditions is its esteemed doll collection. The tradition began in 1936 under the stern and watchful eye of Margaret Irene Bright (photo below). Each year, the graduating class at Meredith contributes a doll to the collection housed in cabinets in the Johnson Building. By 2012, there are dozens of dolls dressed in the fashion of the era (photo below).
Even though she never married, in 1938 Margaret had a daughter, Martha. The identity of Martha's father caused much speculation on the strict Baptist campus, and Margaret would keep Martha hidden in a dorm room on the fourth floor of Vann Residence Hall. Margaret was a stern, callous disciplinarian as a mother, and even though she was the curator of Meredith's prized doll collection, she would not allow her daughter to play with the dolls. Margaret's shame toward her daughter was even fiercer because Martha was born deaf and seemed to have low intelligence.
Martha would often defy her mother and sneak away with a doll from the Johnson Building and go up to the fourth floor of Vann Residence Hall to play. When her mother would find her with a doll she would become enraged, snatch the doll away, and punish her daughter by locking her in a small storage space in the corner of room 414, leaving her there for days. One day, hoping to avoid punishment, Martha snuck away with a doll and wandered away looking for a new hiding place, ending up by the train tracks just off of the Meredith campus. She would never hear the train approaching. The engineer saw the child ahead on the train track but could not deploy the brakes in time, and Martha was tragically killed.
Margaret was grief-stricken and guilt-ridden. Although she would not speak again after her daughter's death, Margaret was vigilant about maintaining the doll collection and would often be seen pacing around campus mutely, brushing one of the doll's hair.
After Margaret's death in 1969, the new doll curator noticed that occasionally overnight one of the dolls would be missing. Groundskeepers would find the doll in the following days strewn about somewhere on campus.
Meredith employees and visitors would continue to report strange occurrences involving the dolls. The figure of a small girl dressed in white playing with a doll would often be spotted in the Quad and surrounding campus, only to vanish when a Meredith worker would approach. Many speculate that it is the spirit of Martha, still wandering the campus at night, taking a doll from the cabinets in the Johnson building and playing with it under the cover of night. The most common sightings occur on the 4th floor of Vann, Martha's favorite place to play hide and seek and sneak away with the dolls. These sightings continue to this day, as well as unexplained occurrences such as lights turning on and off, erratic elevator behavior, and odd sounds late a night. It is easy to see how Meredith College and the story of Margaret Irene Bright and her daughter Martha earned our top spot as THE most haunted campus in the United States.
One of Meredith College's oldest and most prized traditions is its esteemed doll collection. The tradition began in 1936 under the stern and watchful eye of Margaret Irene Bright (photo below). Each year, the graduating class at Meredith contributes a doll to the collection housed in cabinets in the Johnson Building. By 2012, there are dozens of dolls dressed in the fashion of the era (photo below).
Even though she never married, in 1938 Margaret had a daughter, Martha. The identity of Martha's father caused much speculation on the strict Baptist campus, and Margaret would keep Martha hidden in a dorm room on the fourth floor of Vann Residence Hall. Margaret was a stern, callous disciplinarian as a mother, and even though she was the curator of Meredith's prized doll collection, she would not allow her daughter to play with the dolls. Margaret's shame toward her daughter was even fiercer because Martha was born deaf and seemed to have low intelligence.
Martha would often defy her mother and sneak away with a doll from the Johnson Building and go up to the fourth floor of Vann Residence Hall to play. When her mother would find her with a doll she would become enraged, snatch the doll away, and punish her daughter by locking her in a small storage space in the corner of room 414, leaving her there for days. One day, hoping to avoid punishment, Martha snuck away with a doll and wandered away looking for a new hiding place, ending up by the train tracks just off of the Meredith campus. She would never hear the train approaching. The engineer saw the child ahead on the train track but could not deploy the brakes in time, and Martha was tragically killed.
Margaret was grief-stricken and guilt-ridden. Although she would not speak again after her daughter's death, Margaret was vigilant about maintaining the doll collection and would often be seen pacing around campus mutely, brushing one of the doll's hair.
After Margaret's death in 1969, the new doll curator noticed that occasionally overnight one of the dolls would be missing. Groundskeepers would find the doll in the following days strewn about somewhere on campus.
Meredith employees and visitors would continue to report strange occurrences involving the dolls. The figure of a small girl dressed in white playing with a doll would often be spotted in the Quad and surrounding campus, only to vanish when a Meredith worker would approach. Many speculate that it is the spirit of Martha, still wandering the campus at night, taking a doll from the cabinets in the Johnson building and playing with it under the cover of night. The most common sightings occur on the 4th floor of Vann, Martha's favorite place to play hide and seek and sneak away with the dolls. These sightings continue to this day, as well as unexplained occurrences such as lights turning on and off, erratic elevator behavior, and odd sounds late a night. It is easy to see how Meredith College and the story of Margaret Irene Bright and her daughter Martha earned our top spot as THE most haunted campus in the United States.
Above photos:
1. Portrait of Margaret Irene Bright
2. A Doll from the Meredith Collection
3. Martha's favorite doll, buried with her in the Meredith graveyard (photo credit to T. Waller, Meredith Archivist, found July 2013)
4. Photo allegedly taken of the storage closet in Room 414, Vann Residence Hall
1. Portrait of Margaret Irene Bright
2. A Doll from the Meredith Collection
3. Martha's favorite doll, buried with her in the Meredith graveyard (photo credit to T. Waller, Meredith Archivist, found July 2013)
4. Photo allegedly taken of the storage closet in Room 414, Vann Residence Hall
