Cone-Bottoms legend: The Lady in Black
January 01, 2020
Some may not be aware that Ouachita has a ghost story, but it’s a thought I can never
get out of my head. I’ve been working in Cone-Bottoms Hall for more than three years
now and not a day goes by that I don’t think about the Lady in Black. When my boss
first told me the legend, I was intrigued that a Baptist school had passed on a ghost
story for generations.
The legend of the Lady in Black dates back to the late 1920s when a Ouachita girl
fell in love with a boy from Henderson State University, OBU’s cross-town rival. What
could possibly go wrong?
As they began, Jane and Joshua didn’t think much of their controversial relationship
until Henderson’s homecoming game approached. With the rivalry in mind, Henderson
students pressured Joshua to break up with Jane. Finally, on the day of homecoming,
he ended things with her and took a Henderson girl to the homecoming dance instead.
Devastated, Jane went back to her room in Cone-Bottoms and put on a black dress and
veil before throwing herself down the elevator shaft.
Now her ghost haunts Cone-Bottoms, where she roams the halls moaning and sobbing,
a warning against dating a Henderson boy. It is said that you can still hear her moans
in the halls at night. Legend also has it that every year on the night of Henderson’s
homecoming, the Lady in Black leaves her room in Cone-Bottoms to search Henderson’s
campus for the one who stole her true love.
With Henderson’s homecoming and Halloween quickly approaching, the spirits in Arkadelphia
may be more active this weekend than usual. So if you’re planning on going out, here
are some simple steps to follow in case you encounter a ghost. Thankfully, I made
it into an easy acronym for you to remember:
- Get yourself together. You aren’t going to get anywhere by freaking out. Calm your nerves and take a deep breath.
- Happy thoughts. Try to calm down by distracting your mind. Examples are a field of flowers, a day at Lake DeGray or Chick-fil-A.
- Out and away. Obviously, the goal is not to stick around where potential evil spirits are.
- Safety first. Just stay safe, kids.
- Take photos. In this day and age, people don’t believe anything without picture proof. Try to take a quick selfie before the opportunity passes.
By McKenzie Wells ('17) from Little Rock, Ark.
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