Boulder - Cockerell Hall

by Stacey
(Denver, Colorado)

I was a first floor resident of Cockerell Hall during the 2003-2004 academic year. During my time living in Cockerell, I repeatedly experienced "strange" things going on in the first floor bathroom. My experiences only happened when I was alone.

My first experience is very vivid in my memory. I remember walking into the bathroom; I pushed the swinging door open and got the feeling that someone was trying to come out of the door right when I was trying to come in. I saw a shadow move quickly around the corner. I paused for a brief second, then walked in, expecting to see someone standing around the corner. There was no one there. I had a strong sense that someone was hiding from me. I could even pinoint where I thought they were hiding. It was in the farthest stall on the left hand side of the bathroom. I can't explain it; I just felt a presence in that stall and it lasted the whole time I was in the bathroom. Afterward, I had convinced myself that it ws probably someone on my floor that didn't want to be seen. However, it kept happening - over, and over, and over. It was the same exact experience every time, and it lasted the whole time I was a resident. I have always been a skeptic, so I convinced myself that the shadow must have been created by the angle that the door was opening, and that my sense of a presence was just "wacko".

I never gave much thought to my experiences; eventually I became very used to it. However, one day I was compelled to tell a close friend of mine about it (she stayed with me in my dorm a lot). I wasn't expecting her reaction to be so strong, but, she pretty much flipped out. She literally grabbed my hand while I was still talking about it and told me that she has also got the feeling that someone was in the bathroom with her (again, only when she was alone). Now we had both become totally FREAKED OUT!

After that, we began talking about it more frequently and telling other girls in my hall. It kind of became a joke to everyone. I really didn't know how to deal with it. I get so scared of paranormal things like that; I think I just made myself believe that I was creating it in my mind. However, it all became real for me one day when that same friend and I were in a bookstore at the nearby Pearl Street Mall. We had picked up a copy of a book about hauntings in Boulder and wanted to see what it had to say about our Campus. We couldn't believe what we saw! We read that Cockerell Hall was haunted by a girl who had died on the third floor and that she was often seen in the bathroom. To this day, those experiences stay with me. I am always searching the web to see if I can read about what anyone else has experienced there. Unfortunately, there isn't really anything out there. I would love to find out about how and when the girl died. I would also love to hear about other people's experiences. There has got to be more people out there who have experienced something with this girl!