It seems like a scene straight out of a Halloween movie. The cold, grey sky is nearly the same color as the tombstones that line Pioneer Cemetery. Wilted roses and bright faux flowers laying by the graves dot the otherwise drab cemetery with color.
“I’m all into graveyards,” said Kent Goodman, a local Eugene author. Though Goodman’s day job is entertainment marketing through Amsel Media, he has authored six books on paranormal activity in Europe and the United States. His most recent book, “Haunts of Western Oregon,” details paranormal sightings in Oregon. @@http://www.amselmedia.com/@@ @@http://www.amazon.com/Haunts-Western-Oregon-Kent-Goodman/dp/0764332244@@
According to Goodman’s book, many notable ghosts reside in Eugene, with many hauntings taking place on the University of Oregon campus. The reports range from a 1970s sighting of a floating woman in a wedding dress in Pioneer Cemetery to a transparent man in a black cowl approximately four months ago. Despite the many eerie sightings, Goodman did not seem to be concerned as he walked through Pioneer Cemetery.
“The more you’re around paranormal stuff, it takes the ‘para’ out of it and it just becomes normal,” he said.
According to Goodman, there have been numerous reports of spirits around campus. The Pocket Playhouse Theatre,@@http://uopocket.blogspot.com/@@ located in the basement of one of the campus’s oldest buildings, caused students to report feeling an unnatural presence. Goodman also writes that in Room 101 of Stafford Hall, there have been numerous sightings of dark male figure peering inside the windows. The same figure has also been seen standing at Pioneer Cemetery, a short distance away from Stafford Hall.
Goodman collects the information in his books by talking to locals about their paranormal experiences, and comparing the stories to reports on state websites. According to Goodman, it is fairly easy to tell the difference between an urban legend and a true sighting. Real sightings are site specific, he said, while urban legends are often not.
Goodman has found reasonable success with his books and is under contract with his publisher to write another about paranormal activity in the Northwest. He said his reason behind writing about supernatural subjects is not to convince any skeptics, but to open people’s minds to something different.
“It’s outside their normal frame of reference,” he said. “I consider myself really lucky … I’ve seen a ghost … It’s nice to know there’s still some mystery left in the world. It makes things more interesting.”
Local author Kent Goodman writes about UO hauntings
Samantha Matsumoto
October 26, 2012
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