Haunted Hallways: The Ghost of Reese Phifer
By Hannah Holcombe
For many students at the University of Alabama, Reese Phifer Hall feels like a second home. However, students and faculty are not the only ones roaming the halls of the 94-year-old building.
Among the students and staff in Reese Phifer is the spirit of Clarence Cason.
Cason graduated from UA in 1917 and became the first head of the university’s journalism department in 1928. He devoted much of his time to writing essays that criticized the South’s racist culture, later expanding his ideas in a book titled 90° in the Shade.
In May 1935, just days before the book’s publication, Cason took his own life in room 402B on the building’s fourth floor. Though he left no explanation or note, some say Cason feared public backlash over his upcoming book.
In the 89 years since his death, students and faculty have reported hearing footsteps in empty hallways, hearing whistling, feeling cold spots and even feeling a touch when no one is there.
While some remain skeptical, faculty members such as Dr. Dianne Bragg, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media, believe Cason still works alongside them in Reese Phifer.
On an early Sunday morning in June 2013, Bragg was working quietly in her office on the fourth floor, just doors down from room 402B. While working, Bragg said she felt overwhelmed and began to cry in the quiet of the empty building—until the motion-sensor copier went off in the next room.
“I felt like I was not alone,” Bragg said. “I immediately got up and heard a door in the hallway slam.”
Being that it was a Sunday morning, Bragg said it would have been unusual for anyone else to be in the building. She expected to find someone who was not supposed to be there, but after checking the copier room, hallway and even the bathrooms, there was no one to be found.
All of a sudden, Bragg said a feeling of calmness came over her, replacing the sadness she had felt.
“I just felt this calmness come over me,” Bragg said. “It was a comforting feeling.”
In that moment of peace, Bragg said she knew she was not alone—she felt certain Cason was with her.
“It’s what some people call intuition,” Bragg said.
Like others in the building, Bragg believes Cason is a friendly ghost who plays an important role in the building’s history and is part of a story shared by students and staff alike.
