Whether you’ve just arrived at NC State or you’re a senior beginning your final semesters, know that you tread on historic ground. Some of this history is plain to see: the iconic Bell Tower, the stone carvings marking the original buildings and especially our sports teams’ winning records. However, some stories are a little less transparent. These tales have been shrouded in mystery, myth and legend.
Some of the most prominent stories you’ll hear while at NC State are those surrounding the infamous steam tunnels beneath campus. There have been many interesting stories to come out of the depths of these tunnels, some humorous and some with a dark edge. There are stories of the group of students who came to call themselves “The Tunnel Rats” whose spray paint insignias can still be seen in the tunnels today. There is even documented evidence of students visiting the tunnels as far back as the 1950s. However, entering the tunnels is considered trespassing on university property, and students caught in the tunnels are subject to disciplinary action. That action is entirely at the university’s discretion, though Paul Cousins, director of the Office of Student Conduct, said there has not been a case in recent memory.
“Going into the tunnels was big about 15 to 20 years ago,” Cousins said. “There hasn’t been a case of a student found in the steam tunnels in recent years. They’ve done a good job of keeping access limited. It’s dangerous down there. There’s exposed wiring and slick surfaces.”
However, the tunnels have reportedly been connected to at least one major crime. In 1988, an NC State student used the tunnels to conspire with two friends to murder his mother and stepfather in order to secure part of a $2 million estate. As reported by the Fayetteville Observer, Christopher Pritchard was arrested and convicted for facilitating the murder of his stepfather. His two accomplices, one of which Pritchard convinced to carry out the deed, also did time in prison.
Some legends veer into the realm of the paranormal. Edgar Labra, a senior studying wood products, remembers the stories told to him when he first came to NC State about one of the most popular freshmen residence halls, Lee. “I heard coming in that it was haunted,” Labra said. “We were told a story about a student who died in the dorm, and people reported to see him hanging around his old room or banging on the walls trying to run new students out. At an old school like this, ghost stories are going to exist around campus, and none of us really took it seriously. Still, no one out of my friends wanted to be posted in Lee after that.”
Jane Cockrell, an NC State alumna, offered a grounded solution to the so called “haunted” residence halls. “My friend Bud was the wild man of our group,” Cockrell said. “He used to climb into the elevator shafts in the dorms and get on top of the car. Then he’d start banging on the roof and walls of the elevator when he knew someone was inside.” Undoubtedly moments like these could lead to stories that would be passed on until the original story was so entwined in myth that the truth was lost to history.
Of course, no school worth its salt is without tales of school rivalry. Bryson Shelton, a senior studying biological sciences, said he heard rumors of serious tension between NC State fans and their long-time rivals, UNC-Chapel Hill. “I heard that before games, students from each school would try to sneak over to the opposing campus and leave a school logo or something on the grounds.” Indeed, there have been times where NC State students left their mark on UNC-CH and vice versa, but these incidents are largely overly reported.
With a school draped in as rich a history as NC State, separating tall-tale from historical fact can become difficult, if not impossible. True or not, these legends weave a tale of legacy that all students at NC State can call themselves part of. Maybe someday tales will be told of the freshman class of 2015 that will have future generations saying, “That couldn’t have happened … could it?”
