Twin Cities Haunted Handbook

EXCERPTS Hamline University Drew Hall1539 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55104 Directions: From Downtown St. Paul, take I-94 West for about 3 miles to exit 238 toward Snelling Avenue. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Snelling Avenue. Follow Snelling Avenue for one mile until you see Hewitt Avenue. Turn right onto Hewitt Avenue. About halfway onto the university s campus, you ll see Drew Hall on your left. There will be a sign in front. History: While Hamline University itself is the oldest university in the State of Minnesota, Drew Hall is relatively new in comparison. The hall itself was built in the mid-1900s and has existed since that time as a residence hall, classroom building, and administrative office building. Today, the building houses all of these things as well as student lounges and an auditorium. It was named after a benefactor of the university, a lawyer named Charles Drew. The ghost story stems from an accident that occurred in the school during the 1960s. Soon after the elevator was installed in the hall, a young freshman student felt it wise to show off in front of his friends. He would put his hand in the closing doors of the elevator seconds before it slammed closed, counting on the sensors in the door to cause the doors to spring back open. This worked several times, but then he cut it too close. He put his hand into the elevator without giving the sensors enough time to pick up his hand. His hand was severed. The student survived but his hand was never found. Ghost Story: Believe it or not, Drew Hall is haunted by a hand. Most of the stories about this ghostly hand involve people actually seeing it crawling throughout dark corridors and stairwells of the building. According to the legends about this phantom hand, the hand has somehow developed a mind of its own and is crawling around the building, looking for the body from which it was detached. While stories of a hand walking around the hall may seem unfeasible and somehow blown out of proportion, there are other stories about how the phantom hand haunts the hall. Residents at Drew Hall, especially females, will sometimes feel icy cold fingers touching their feet at night. When they awake suddenly and in terror, they look and find that there is no one else in the room. Visiting: It is possible for a visitor from outside of the campus to enter Drew Hall. Since the building houses administrative offices and classrooms, the doors from the outside are open and you can enter parts of the building. That being said though, this is a place of learning and a professional establishment. You should not enter Drew Hall with the sole intention of looking for ghosts. As a student or employee, you can enter, but besides that, entering the building would be frowned upon by the university. In order to have any chance of experiencing the icy cold fingers on your feet at night, you would both have to be female and a resident of the hall."