MOOSE JAW, Sask. — As nights get longer and the spooky season approaches, employees remember unexplained situations at Sask. Polytech's Moose Jaw campus.
Opened in 1930 as the Moose Jaw Normal School to train educators, the building became a technical school in the1960s. With nearly a century of history, it's no wonder there are stories throughout its hallowed halls on separate floors.
The basement is only accessible with a key. Serving as a storage area, it is visited daily by commissionaires who make their rounds. Late one night, one of the commissionaires followed her routine, radio and cellphone in hand. As she walked through the basement, her cellphone rang but no one was on the line.
As she returned to the desk to complete her report, she was notified of a voicemail on her phone. When it was played back, there was only the sound of a steady breeze.
Decades ago, Printing Services was housed on the first floor. Dedicated, kind and fun, the supervisor was appreciated by all who worked with him. He loved his job and took great pride in his work, donning a shop coat every day. When he passed away, members of his team mourned him.
Late one evening, a colleague was alone in the shop when she heard a noise. She went to check it out but found nothing. After returning to the printing press she was running, she saw that an important switch had been adjusted. She thought it was strange but went back to work.
Then she heard the noise again. As she turned to see its source, she saw the tail end of a shop coat going out the door. She ran after it, looking up and down the hallway only to see she was alone. It had disappeared without a trace.
Sharing the story with colleagues, they compared notes on missing and moved objects. They all agreed the supervisor had visited the place he loved so much. They felt no fear and thought it was heartwarming that his presence was there.
A library technician who worked evenings recounted her process for locking up. As she was getting ready to leave, she heard what sounded like someone turning newspaper pages. When she went to the back of the library to check, there was no one there and there were no newspapers out on the table. This happened to her two or three times over a ten-year period.
On the fourth floor, people have felt a different presence. Leading into the attic, the space houses offices and a boardroom. People have reported a general sense of unease paired with an air pressure shift when they get out of the elevator or exit the staircase.
A little over a decade ago, an employee switched offices with a colleague who felt uneasy working in the boardroom. At the time, he worked with international students who approached him to set up a holiday party. None of them had had the chance to participate in a Christmas party before, and they looked forward to celebrating on campus.
It was his last day of work before the break between Christmas and New Year's Day. A DJ played hit songs at the event in the Macoun Lounge. Students drank pop, ate snacks and danced to the music. As the party wrapped up, he headed to his office to grab his coat.
He went to unlock his office but it didn't open. The mechanism unlocks with a button on the inside of the door. It was like someone held it down on the other side. A commissionaire was called up to let him in, but the commissionaire’s key also didn’t work that night.
Eager to get home, he left the coat behind. The following day, he contacted a colleague in Facilities. She opened the door without issue, so he collected his coat on the way to visit family for the holidays.
He has since changed departments, but he occasionally thinks about his old office. The space is now used as a boardroom and has a table and large monitor for conference calls and job interviews.
Have you had a spooky encounter at Sask. Polytech? Share it with our team!
— Submitted by Sask. Polytech Media Relations
