The Black Vault - Beware of headless cyclist, and other campus ghosts

Several spirits of the ghostly kind lurk about the Sacramento State campus. Now that Halloween is around the corner, I have four tales of such ghosts befitting to the occasion.

During the cold and dark months, crossing the Guy West Bridge becomes a risky endeavor. Especially if tired in the evening, the witching hour. It is not the evil troll who lives underneath that you should worry about, for he is asleep during those hours. What you have to worry about is the headless cyclist.

Yes, the headless cyclist an entity that will chase any student across the bridge for no apparent reason other than mere pleasure.

I first picked up on this story when a friend of mine, Student Trustee of the California State University system and former Associated Students Inc. President Eric Guerra, appeared on my front door step holding a contorted bicycle.

The bike had two flat tires, a bent handlebar and a maladjusted seat. His body was a mess with scraped knees and bloody hands; all crowned with a blue-green knot on his forehead.

Upon inquiring about his mishap he alluded to some creature of the nether world that had come from behind and pushed him off his bike.

“I was chased by this guy on a bike who had no head. I escaped when I reached the other side of the levee that runs parallel to University Avenue,” Guerra said.

I proposed that maybe he had imagined the whole ordeal because he was in a delusional state after long hours of studying. He challenged that notion, citing the lack of a probable explanation as to why he fell off his bike.

Those who have crashed during late-night crossings can attest to the existence of such a poltergeist, for only they can bear witness to the headless cyclist.

Other than wearing a garlic necklace, there are a few ways to ward off such an attack. For one, you could try wearing a helmet.

Another supernatural sighting is the spirit of a homeless man shot by the Sacramento Police back on January 21, 1998.

His vagabond spirit now roams aimlessly about the C.M. Goethe Arboretum, near the J Street entrance to the campus.

Tommy Carl Valdez, 29, died instantly after being fired upon six times by the police while waving a toy gun and talking to himself.

Reading the reports in The Sacramento Bee and The State Hornet, it seems like a police officer with a real gun might have been trigger-happy.

Valdez’s spirit drifts about haunting the underbrush like before he died, playing with his toy gun, hiding behind the shady trees that bring mysterious darkness to the arboretum during the daytime.

For the lovers that rush off to the romantic cover of the woods, you might not be alone. Valdez might be peeping.

But do not worry, he is a spirit of the benevolent kind.

If you don’t bother him, he won’t bother you. But beware of the cops.

The next ghost probably holds the record for being the oldest inhabitant of Sac State. Remembered only as Ralph, this slinking spirit haunts late night rehearsals.

Ralph died during the construction of the main theater in the 1954-55 school year, but his presence has been felt by many students and faculty since then.

“A girl saw a face looking at her from the light grid above the main stage. She called out to the rest of the crew to come and see, but after further inspection no one was there,” Larry Shumate said.

Shumate was the first stage technician when the building opened in January of 1956. He later on became chair of the department up until the early 1990s.

According to Shumate, Ralph was a building inspector who fell to his death from the roof of the theater, resting deep in the basement. The stage was unfinished at the time.

Odd occurrences indicate the probability of a presence.

“The scene shop elevator makes unmanned trips between the basement and the costume shop in the third floor,” Nina Pinckerd, a stage theater technician, said.

“When riding the elevator, sometimes you push up and it takes you down to the basement. Sometimes you feel a cold draft and even a presence when in the basement,” Debra Hammond, a former Sac State student said.

But there is no need to fear. Ralph is very dead and his mischievous existence has never been known to cause harm.

Besides, no theater is complete without some sort of phantom.

The fourth and final spirit holds the record for most appearances.

His name is Gerth. His appearance is pale, frumpy, short in structure and somewhat disheveled. Gerth is a slow-moving figure that drifts between buildings on campus. One of his favorite haunts was Sacramento Hall, but over the summer he moved to the library.

Many witnesses have spotted this specter lurking among the files as if attempting to compile a history of the California State University system. I suppose students will see his name pop up coincidentally more than a few times when the book comes out.

Even with this, the most frightening of the Sac State specters, his threat level is low.

The existence of ghosts may be questionable, but one truth stands out, the real horror of fear doesn’t come from the dead but from the living, for they can cause true harm.

Beware of the living and have a Happy Halloween.

http://www.statehornet.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/10/29/3f9f4f9fad8a6