Ghost in the Classroom – Are These Missoula High Schools Haunted?

Tis the season for everyone to try and get a good scare out of their fellow co-workers, friends, family, or even classmates. With Halloween approaching, many of us begin to tell stories. As the nights get longer and the days get shorter, the stories tend to get darker and darker. Whether it be stories of a crazed killer with a hook for a hand or the lady in white that haunts the banks of the local river. These are obvious urban myths made to give people a little fright. But, what if some of these stories were more reality than myth?

We can all close our eyes and picture the hallowed halls of the high school we attended. If you imagine it long enough you can probably start to remember how it smelled. A lot of young and vibrant energy passes through the halls of high schools every day. That energy can be absorbed in the walls of the school, creating a paranormal hot spot. In fact, your energy may haunt a place you frequent, and you are not even dead. It is called the Stone Tape Theory.

According to Wikipedia

The Stone Tape theory is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other items and "replayed" under certain conditions.

 

With high schools being filled with so much energy, what are some claims of hauntings in the Missoula area?

We reached out to the paranormal investigation team, Tortured Souls Investigations, to see if they have ever heard claims of possible hauntings in Missoula high schools. The answer was "YES" with two high schools in particular: Sentinel High School and Hellgate High School.

Now, keep in mind that these are claims and not proof of paranormal activity.

1) Sentinel High School

Sentinel has been around since 1956. Since then thousands of students have come and gone. One of those students has a particularly dark reputation in Missoula. The "Missoula Mauler" a.k.a Wayne Nance used to roam the halls. Known for his vicious slayings and being a serial killer in the '80s, Wayne was reportedly a bully while attending Sentinel. He prayed on weaker kids and would pick on them any chance he got.

Claims of Wayne Nance still roaming the halls of Sentinal have been heard from multiple people over the years. Some claim that Nance's malevolent spirit considered himself the "King of Sentinel." Many have claimed to hear voices in the driver's ed buildings located just outside the main high school. There are also claims of Nance's spirit wandering the basement, a frequent hang out for Nance while he attended school.

2) Hellgate High School

Hellgate has been around for well over 100 years. Founded in 1908 along Higgins Ave in Missoula-- with a building that old, there have got to be claims of paranormal activity. It turns out that there are a few, and they are creepy.

There are claims of people seeing the apparition of a man and a young girl walking the 3rd-floor hallways. Also, there are claims of hearing a young girl talking or singing. There have been many people who have claimed they have heard and seen glimpses of a spectral dog on the 3rd floor, saying that they would hear a dog growling at them as they approached the top steps of the 3rd floor.

So what do you think? Are one of these possibly haunted schools your Alma Mater? Have you experienced similar claims? Comment on our Facebook page or leave us a message via our app. We would love to hear your story.