Exploring the paranormal stories of legendary sports venues across the world.
Lucas Carpignano, Sports Editor
While sporting venues are usually filled with cheers (and boos) from fans, it is a whole other story when the crowds disperse, and the lights go out when the game is over. Many iconic venues worldwide reveal a different side, a side haunted by the past. Today I will be going over the most “haunted” sports venues and explaining the history of these spooky tales.
One of the oldest sports teams in North America, the Chicago Cubs, has been calling Wrigley Field home since 1916. Since then, Wrigley Field has become one of the most iconic sports venues in America. Considering how old the stadium is, you can imagine how many paranormal stories there are. Former infielder, Charlie Grimm, spent many years with the Cubs, both as a player and the team’s manager. He was able to lead his team to the 1932 World Series, only to get swept by the Yankees embarrassingly. During this time the Cubs’ World Series drought was up to 24 years, and this drought would not be broken until 2016. Since then, many night shift security guards claim to hear him whisper names in the empty halls of the building. They also claim to hear the bullpen phones ringing with complete silence on the other end. The spooky part about this is, the bullpen phones are not open-lined and can only be rung from the phone in the dugout, where Grimm would be as the team’s manager.
In 2001, Southampton FC left their old stadium after over 100 years and moved into the newly constructed St. Mary’s Stadium a couple of kilometers away. This new stadium was perfect for the team and fans, as it had double the capacity of their old stadium. There was a problem though, as they were struggling to find success in their first season playing there. The team had only 10 points in their first 14 matches and the team’s manager Stuart Gray was fired. Many believed that the stadium was cursed, as the site it lies on was an ancient cemetery from the seventh century. Nightshift workers heard whispers and screams and saw shadowy figures all around the empty and dark stadium. It was at the point where the team hired a “witch” to perform a ritual to cleanse the stadium. A couple hours after the ritual, Southampton won their first game in their new home.
Lastly, it would make sense for us to talk about a haunted site in Toronto. While it is not an arena or stadium, The Hockey Hall of Fame is haunted by a ghost named Dorothea. The building where The Hockey Hall of Fame is located is very historic. First built in 1885, it was one of the Bank of Montreal’s branches. When the building was still a bank, a teller named Dorothea took her own life in the women’s bathroom on the second floor. Ever since then, other bank employees would notice the lights flickering, windows opening and closing on their own, and their entire workspaces in a huge mess. These little things were nothing compared to what employees would feel walking into the bathroom. There was a feeling that they were being watched and it got to the point where employees would refuse to use that bathroom completely. In 1993, The Hockey Hall of Fame took over the building, but the paranormal activity continued. Around the second-floor bathroom, where Dorothea took her own life, there have been sightings of a woman with long dark hair crying alone, especially at night.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these sightings have been reported by thousands of people. Next time you are at a sporting event cheering on your favourite team with other fans, just consider the idea that some of those cheers are joined by voices from beyond, forever echoing through the haunted venues.
