Professor explores the haunted campus

From professors to students, seemingly normal people are diving into paranormal investigations of the University of Oklahoma campus.  Freshman Programs professor Jeff Provine spends his days directing students, and some of his nights telling ghostly tales. 

After going on several ghost tours while studying abroad in Europe, Provine said that he was possessed by a case of “ghost jealousy.”  A suggestion from a friend led him to create OU’s very own campus ghost tour.

“At first I was like, nah, there’s not enough ghosts,” Provine said.  “But as it turns out, there’s more than enough.  In fact, we’ve even kind of had to scale down all of the ghost stories.” 

In his stark office in Wagner Hall, Provine has office hours and meetings with students like any other professor.  However, in his spare time Provine said he investigates OU’s paranormal past. 

“I’ve always loved the paranormal,” Provine said.  “ ‘Ghostbusters 2’ is a big influence on my life.”

On the tour, Provine, in his tweed jacket, guides the groups from Holmberg Hall to Walker Tower, stopping along the way at buildings like Ellison Hall and Cate Center.  Provine said he drew on external sources, like OU student David Burkhart’s film of the Cate basement ghost, to create his tour. 

“The tour is always changing,” Provine said.  “I’m always looking for more stuff, but it’s hard to decide what to include and what has to go for time’s sake.”

In 2010, The Daily Oklahoman ran a short feature on Provine’s ghost tour.  The article briefly described Provine’s interest in ghosts that led him to create a “Mysterious and Macabre Norman” tour. 

Though Provine runs the only ghost tour on campus, he said he is still a skeptic on the subject of ghosts. 

“I know that something is obviously going on that is supernatural,” Provine said.  “I’m just not quite sure what that is yet, but I’m going to find out.”

OU history and anthropology senior Sarah Nevling said she also uses her spare time to investigate otherworldly activities and is looking to start a paranormal club on campus.  Though she has not gone on Provine’s ghost tour, she said has heard of his tour and hopes to go on it soon. 

““I found a website of some investigators who explored the campus at night, and they got some compelling evidence that there’s definitely something here,” Nevling said.  “I would love to do an investigation of my own here on campus one day.”

Like Provine, Nevling said she does not know for certain whether ghosts are even real.

“When it comes to ghosts, I’m a complete skeptic,” Nevling said.  “Now if you were to say angels and demons, then yes, I absolutely believe in them.  I don’t know if the spirit of a person can actually stay here on Earth, but that’s what I’m interested in finding out.”

Other groups have shown an interest in OU’s paranormal aspects.  In 2011, group called Society of the Haunted investigated Ellison Hall, which used to be OU’s infirmary, according to the group’s website. 

The Society of the Haunted website includes audio that allegedly came from ghosts in Ellison Hall and blog posts from two of the investigators describing their paranormal experience there. 

With Halloween on the horizon, Provine said that interest in the paranormal is at a high point.  To accommodate for this demand, Provine will run two tours on October 31, both of which are already full.  The tours are free, but Provine said he will take up a voluntary donation, which he will give to the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma.

(VIDEO 1:36)