When I started instruction English Language at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, cipher warned me about the ghosts.

Northwestern — a beautiful, old granite edifice — was a boarding school. A hundred male children lived there, ranging in age from 7th class through twelfth, although the edifice could have got accommodated maybe twice as many. The school had been in being for about a century. The hallway leading to the secondary school was lined with photos of all the graduating classes

The entranceway to the school featured two wrought Fe Gates and a long private road that lesion through the extended grounds. Trees, flowers and bushes added to the park-like atmosphere.

Northwestern was both a military and a naval academy, and some of its alumni had served in World War Iodine and World War II. A couple of those who had been killed in action were buried on the grounds. Considering the age of the edifice and its history, I say I should have got got expected shades — Oregon rather, I should have expected shade stories.

But I didn’t.

Not until one autumn morning time when my pupils came to class so disquieted that they couldn’t dressed ore on their school work.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” one of them asked finally.

“Yeah, Ms. Ralph. Bash you believe in ghosts?” respective others chimed in.

While Iodine was attending the university to gain my instructor certification, none of the professors had mentioned how you were supposed to manage a inquiry like this.

“Well,” I said, “I believe there are probably many things in this world that we don’t understand.”

By now, all of my pupils were giving me their extreme attention. If lone they were this interested in English.

“Have you ever seen a ghost?” one of them asked.

I shook my head. “No. I’ve never seen a ghost.”

“We have,” said one immature man.

“Really?” Iodine said. “And when was this?”

“Last night.”

“In our room.”

“We did, too,” said a couple of others.

“What happened?” Iodine asked.

“It was just after visible lights out. Our drape started moving.”

Instead of doors, each of the dormitory suite had drapes covering the doorway.

“At first Iodine thought it was the sergeant coming to check up on on us,” my pupil said.

Military force were on duty around the clock to supervise the boys.

“Then what happened?” Iodine asked.

“S-sss-some,” he stammered.

“Something pulled the blanket off his bed,” his roommate finished.

By now, all of the male children looked frightened.

“I don’t desire to remain here anymore,” said one immature man.

“Me, either.”

“I’m career my ma to state her to come up and acquire me.”

“Me, too.”

“All right everybody,” Iodine said. “Take A deep breath.”

I waited for them to take a deep breath.

“Now allow it out slowly.”

They all did.

“What else happened?”

Other male children described buffooneries of a similar nature — waking up in the center of the nighttime freezing cold, only to detect that their window was broad unfastened when it had been close and barred hours earlier; mathematics books that had been sitting on their desks when they went to kip were in the underside of the refuse can when they woke up; uniforms were switched so that when they started to acquire dressed in the morning, they discovered they didn’t have got their ain clothes.

“Hmmm,” Iodine said. “Who make you believe would play fast ones like that?”

My pupils considered the inquiry for A few moments.

“Well, it sort of sounds like something we would do,” said 1 immature man.

“Hey…it bashes sound like something we would do!”

“You mean value you believe it’s A existent person…?”

“Or is it a ghost, one of those cats that’s buried here…?”

“I believe it’s one of us.”

“But even if it’s a ghost, it’s still one of us — a cadet.”

“Yeah, it WOULD be a cadet, wouldn’t it…”

I smiled to myself as they continued their discussion. At least they didn’t look so panicky anymore.

For the remainder of the autumn the incidents continued. Then they stopped as abruptly as they had started. Either the perpetrator was afraid he was going to acquire caught, or else. .

Wait a minute. You don’t say there really WAS a ghost?

Naaa. .couldn’t be.