Beauregard Hall, the second-oldest building on campus, does not need jack-o-lanterns and sheet-clad ghouls to convey a Halloween feel because of two paranormal entities that supposedly haunt the halls and classrooms.
Two ghosts, “the blue man” and “a woman in white,” have been spotted and heard over the years at Nicholls. The ghost of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard has been given the name “the blue man.” People who saw him around the building say he wears a blue and gray uniform with a blue hat and walks very quickly. The ghost of Marie Fletcher, known as “a woman in white,” is a tall and slender lady who wears a white buttoned-down skirt with black hair.
Beauregard was born in Chalmette, La., on May 28, 1818. He graduated from United States Military Academy at West Point where he ranked second in his class. He served as an engineer on the staff of General Winfield Scott in the Mexican war where he was wounded twice. Beauregard made history when he ordered the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. He became an influential figure in Louisiana after the war where Beauregard parish and Camp Beauregard near Alexandria were named after him. He died in 1893 and was buried in Metairie.
Marie Fletcher was a professor of English and past head of the English department who died in 1983.
Former staff members that worked in Beauregard Hall saw “the blue man” walk into a professor’s office and heard noises when no one else was in the room. After the noises and sightings, Beauregard staff used a Ouija board to communicate with Beauregard’s alleged ghost and ask him what he wanted. When asked in French what his name was, the pointer moved to G, which could have stood for Gustave, the name he liked to be called. The staff had the building blessed three times to try to make the ghosts disappear.
Joey Hebert, who has been with Bayou Spirits for five years now, offers a paranormal class here at Nicholls. For $60, the participants can tour allegedly haunted buildings around Nicholls.
Hebert has been in Beauregard with his team to try to find out information about these two ghosts. He heard noises from the woman in white from his electronic voice detector. He has not seen anything, but as his wife departed from the scene, he heard a woman’s voice say, “And there goes that bitch.” He also heard a man’s voice, whom he believed was Beauregard’s, say, “Help me.”
“I think Nicholls was built on grounds that was the site of some Civil War battles,” said Hebert. “This may help to explain some of the residual hauntings that are there today.”
For those who are uncertain of paranormal activity, skeptics can do their own research and develop their own opinion. If you see General Beauregard or Marie Fletcher, do not be scared of these friendly ghosts.