Macandless

McCandless was the center for performing arts. According to the story, there was a famous actress or singer who performed here. I think her name was Abigail. the audience loved her so much that she went through several curtain calls before she was allowed to leave the stage. Clutching a bouquet of red flowers, she promised she would return. Well, a few miles outside Athens, the buggy was going across the bridge when a sudden clap of thunder spooked the horses. The buggy fell over the side of the bridge, and she was killed. Not long after her death, a beech tree was planted by McCandless Hall in her honor. That beech tree is still there.

The story is that occasionally she will appear in the window upstairs. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard that story that’s been perpetuated through the years. When I first came here, the student center was in the basement. Snack Shack, that sort of thing. That’s where I first heard the story. Students have seen visions at windows, shadowy shapes. They have heard footsteps in the building when no one else was there. Her ghost is usually seen at a third floor window of McCandless Hall holding some flowers. Sometimes, it is bathed in an eerie light. Some students have smelled the flowers. The stories are not told as much now as they were in the 60’s and 70’s. But they are told in dormitories in close-knit groups. We have had people come from Birmingham during Halloween to catch a glimpse of her.

Last updated 07/24/01

MacCandeless By Sandra Cooke

MacCandeless
By Sandra Cooke