In the weeks leading up to the Halloween holiday, many Jones students noticed an increase of the ghosts and ghouls haunting the typically sleepy hallways.
“This has been really different. Ghosts and ghouls are really new. I don’t know how they got here, but ever since that one fire we had in the old building, there have just been these ghosts that won’t leave us alone,” said Sophia Moore ‘26.
Jones is no stranger to paranormal or odd events and sightings, ranging from gnomes roaming the stairwells to goblins taking over parts of the school; However, this is the first reported ghost sighting at Jones.
“I remember when you guys interviewed me about the gnomes. They were annoying and a little scary. But this is honestly different. The goblins and stuff are in the past now. This has definitely been scaring me,” said Moore.
The new spirits haunting the school initially just terrorized students, but staff say the effects of the new visitors are affecting their work as well.
“I was trying to do an MCQ in my AP Gov class, and these kids all got possessed and their Chromebooks became sentient and started talking to me or something,” said AP Euro teacher Michael Levanowski. “The first time it happened it was really scary, but now, it’s not so scary, just kind of annoying. Kids get possessed every day. We’re a full unit behind now.”
Security guards complain about the severe workload and special attention these ghosts and ghouls require.
“Man, this is crazy. Before I had to deal with kids skipping, standard stuff. Now, I walk into a classroom and some kid is possessed and floating on the ceiling and screaming tongues or whatever. And it’s scary for me. Real scary,” said security staff member Howard Frangella.
Some of the spirits and phantoms, however, say they enjoy the downtown learning environment of Jones, and decided to instead seek an education and future as an alternative to haunting people for eternity.
“It’s really new and stuff, I used to just haunt people all day as punishment for being hanged in 1839 for stealing bread from the town center. But now I’m actually getting my education, and I think I have a new direction I want to go in,” said The Man in The Black Cloak ‘28.
Not all teachers find themselves aghast towards the spooky visitors, and say that adding new perspectives in the class expands students’ learnings in new ways.
“I’ve been taking them on as students, and looking past the haunting and possessing stuff, it’s been a pretty cool experience. The ghosts and ghouls simply need to get adjusted to the rules and expectations of the classroom, really,” said APUSH teacher Jennifer Hackey. “The ghost of Abraham Lincoln just visited us the other day, and that was a really cool experience for the kids.”
Some ghouls and ghosts say they never meant ill intention with their hauntings and possessions, and look to switch tracks towards learning, instead of scaring.
“I can’t speak for my peers, but we honestly didn’t mean to cause harm. We’ve been haunting people for centuries, some even millennia, so it’s kind of just ghost nature to do that. When we got here we honestly didn’t realize it was bothering you guys,” said The Man in the Black Cloak. “I really want to learn, and I think a lot of my friends do too.”
However, many students are still troubled by the past few weeks of hauntings and possessions when the spirits first arrived.
“It’s just hard to get past the possessions and stuff. But I’m glad that things are changing around here,” said Moore.
But students still hope to come together with the ghosts and learn as one, even if it means moving on.
“Alas, I think we could coexist peacefully with the ghouls and ghosts one day. They could help us learn more about the past,” said Moore.
