Here’s a story that’s been written about a few times but
with a twist of paranormal fact. The legend of Sydney Grimlett is an old one at
Auburn University and one that students and most locals know very well. The
first time I read the legend of Sydney Grimlett, I was about 7 years old. The
school library carried several copies of the 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffery series by Kathryn Tucker Windham
which was originally published in 1969 but the story of Sydney Grimlett has
been a staple in the history of Auburn University since its infancy.
In 1864, the location of Auburn University wasn’t the beautiful campus setting it is today. In the later part of the Civil War, the rural south was largely intact but suffering greatly as a result of the war. Many homes, churches and warehouse were being transformed into make-shift prisons and hospitals. The University Chapel, during that time, was a Presbyterian Church and was used to tend wounded, sick and dying soldiers. Among the Confederate soldiers, who were present at this hospital, was an English born soldier named Sydney Grimlett. Grimlett was allegedly part of a Calvary Division from Virginia. Other sources mention he was part of General Hood’s army and he died at the Texas hospital from either infection or blood loss during an amputation of his leg and is presumably buried with the ninety of more soldiers at Pine Hill cemetery. Historical elements regarding his actual identity and cause of death are sketchy at best, but his legacy continues through the verbal traditions at Auburn.
After 1927 the tale of Sydney Grimlett and his ghostly
antics were an established story in Auburn. The theater students used the old
Chapel as a play house and preformed countless plays and acts here until the
late 1960’s when the Telfair Peet Theater was built and opened to students.
During plays, some guests attending the event would see glowing balls of light hovering
over the actors and players on stage. Other antics began to present on opening
nights when props would go missing and electrical problems halted the performance.
Most often Sydney’s ghost was to blame for the problem and one student jokingly
suggested leaving a gift out for the spirit to keep him quiet and calm, so the
tradition of leaving chocolates in the rafters of the Chapel began. Later, the
students asked the ghost to come with them when they moved into the Telfait
Peet Theater several blocks away.
Today the theater still carries on the tradition of leaving
out candy for Sydney. A small pink bucket sits in the cat walks, high in the
rafters, over the stage. M&M’s are the most common gift left in the bucket
and some staff are so superstitious about leaving out Sydney’s candy that they
flat-out refuse to take stage or even begin an evening play without making sure
the candy is left. Fear of the supernatural stage phantom was prompted many to
be very careful and not anger this peculiar spirit.
In 2011 the book; Haunted
Auburn and Opelika featured the story of Sydney Grimlett as did the book; Hidden History of Auburn. Both books
made mention of a team of ghost hunters who stayed the night at the Chapel in
2008. Since then, the team of paranormal researchers have also investigated the
Telfair Peet Theater (in 2011 and 2012) in an effort to find the ghost of the
legendary Sydney Grimlett. The investigation at the Chapel turned up a few odd occurrences.
A few strange sounds encouraged the investigators from the Alabama Paranormal
Research Team to look closer at the Chapel’s lady’s room. Shortly after
midnight, the team had not experienced much activity and so they began to pack
up their equipment to go home. A dripping sound came from the bathroom and when
the investigators went to check it out, the water from the sink facet was
running wide open. The team chalked it up to faulty plumbing, the building is
old but they activity was documented and labeled “inconclusive” in regards to
it being classified as a supernatural occurrence.
The following year (in 2011) the staff at the Telfair Peet
Theater contacted the Alabama Paranormal Research Team regarding unusual things
that were happening. For some time the activity level in the theater had been quiet
and peaceful but according to the theater staff, something had stirred up the
ghost of Sydney Grimlett and the Alabama Paranormal Research Team was
determined to figure out if the paranormal activity was contributed to him or
not.
Upon the first interview with the staff director; Paul, I
was informed that the activity was unusually disturbing and that countless
people who worked and volunteered there were having experiences. The costume
room was the most prominent and often shoes would come up missing. Months later
a box full of the same right or left footed shoe would turn up in an odd
location. Sometimes the staff would see a dark figure dart around corners and disappear
into hall ways from the projection room. Others could hear the sounds of someone
talking in parts of the building where no one was at.
Once the investigation started, APRT covered every room open
to investigate and found that the stage seemed to be the most active location. Strange
electrical anomalies registered on the electric magnetic detectors. No source
could be found to determine if the field was in the wiring or walls and it
appeared to be a moving field that would register on the meter, causing it to
light up, when we asked “yes or no” questions.
The second investigation of the Telfair Peet Theater turned
up the most conclusive evidence of possible paranormal activity. Team members
sat on the stage and asked a series of questions in the hopes that we could
capture electronic voice recordings of Sydney on our digital voice recorders.
We used the same Electronic Field Detector to determine if communication could
be made using the magnetic fields inside theater. I used a bag of peanut
M&Ms to coax the spirit out. It seemed appropriate since the spirit
(according to legend) was partial to chocolate. While going through the bag of
candy, I asked, per color if Sydney preferred one color over another and
watched for the magnetic field detector to light up in reference to yes or no
as an answer. I addressed the colors in no particular order and asked; “Sydney,
do you like the blue ones?” to my surprise the meter lit up twice when
investigator Tonya Campos asked the same question again to verify. I waited a
few seconds and asked “Do you like the red ones?” a few seconds went by and
there was no response from the meter. We went through two more questions,
asking if Sydney liked the green or yellow ones, still no response came from
the meter. On the last question I asked “Do you like the orange ones?” and in a
split second the meter lit up in response to YES!
As a paranormal investigator we always look for intelligent
answers. We could only assume we were speaking with the legendary spirit of
Sydney Grimlett at the theater that night in Auburn. We may not be able to
determine who or what it was that lit up our meters but one thing was very
certain. The entity we were encountering was aware that the university's team
colors are orange and blue and they are obviously the favorite of a chocolate
loving ghost, I’d say that makes him worthy of the title: “School Spirit”.
View video evidence of this activity on youtube: http://youtu.be/MhBoE9KiB68
