Caldwell Exorcisms

By Frankie Bustamante

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is not to be taken as truth and sarcasm is intended. This is a spoof, it is written in jest with no intent towards fact.

Not many universities can boast, and I use that word lightly, a “haunted” building on campus. By now, most Catholic University students have heard a piece, chunk or even the  entire story of the Caldwell Hall haunting. But thanks to the ways of the human networking, this story has suffered several face-lifts and touch ups.

However, the “truth” is actually stranger and more exciting than the differing versions of fiction that have floated around. Though many may not believe this “truth,” it is the most complete and structured “truth” that comes closest to explaining what happened in the attic of Caldwell Hall.

The source of this official story agreed to tell it, under the sole condition of anonymity. And after reading the story, you’ll know why. So, for your Halloween treat, here is the longstanding story of Caldwell Hall.
The story all begins in the early 20th century.  A priest by the name of Father Walt made it a habit to hear confessions in the attic of Caldwell, for he found it a detached place from the rest of campus.  Every week he heard confessions and every week students and faculty would come to him.  He lived a long and happy life until his quiet and peaceful death in a room on the fourth floor of Caldwell Hall.

To this day, it is said that his ghost still waits to hear confession in that room.  At a certain hour one can see Father Walt’s image waiting in the reflection of the window.  His presence is a kind and benevolent one and supposedly, he has watched over those in Caldwell for the past century.

Now we get to the darker portion of the story. Only two original print exorcism books exist, which are used to perform the act of expelling demons.  One must have a special sanction by the Pope to even read these two books.  One of these books is held in Vatican City, while the other was held at Catholic University, to no surprise, since Catholic University is sponcered by the Vatican and is located in a country with a large Catholic presence.

The book used to be held in Mullen Library, until three freshmen broke into the library and stole the book.  In their foolishness, they brought the book back to Conaty Hall and began to read it aloud.  The only actual fact besides that is that all three were found dead three hours later; they had lept of the roof.
Furthermore, the book was found clutched tightly in one of the freshmen’s arms. (However, the MPD has no record of this, nor does DPS or any other law enforcement agency). It is said that on that night, when the book was tainted by blood, something within the book changed.

The book was moved from Mullen Library to one of the upper rooms in Caldwell; coincidentally, in the same room where Father Walt would hear confessions.  One could tell if the book was present or not by the flickering of candlelight from out the window.  If the book was present, a candle would be lit.  If there was no light, the book was being used in an exorcism somewhere in the world.  (Maintenance reported the flickering is caused by a short circuit.).

Another priest, by the name of Father Luther, who was in every way similar to Father Walt (except to that part about being dead), would also hear confessions in the attic of Caldwell for the same reason Father Walt had. Every week, he heard confessions, and every week students and faculty alike would come to him. Then one day, a sophomore girl came to him for confession.  In the midst of the confession, she stared to convulse and speak  in a strange Latin dialect.  Father Luther, not knowing what to do, lunged for the book, lying on the other side of the room, opened it up, and began to perform the exorcism.     But before the exorcism could be complete, the demon forced the girl to leap out of the window, despite the best efforts of Father Luther to prevent in.   The girl lay dead on the pavement below.  (Surpisingly, DPS had no record of any of these events.)

Over the next week, Father Luther, in a mixture of shock and depression, continually sank into darkness. With each passing moment his thoughts slowly turned from sadness, to darkness. Though the thoughts disturbed him, he could not rid himself of the horrific images he created in his head.  He became consumed by the darkness.  Here is where the facts turn a bit hazy (as if they were clear before).

It is not known what exactly he had been doing at the time, but traces of a satanic ritual in that room remain.  Six pictures of priests were hung on the wall of that room, with their faces carved out by what seems to have been a spoon heated by a flame.  The ritual’s aim was to destroy those six priests for some unknown reason.  The ritual was completed a month after the attempted exorcism of the girl; Sunday at midnight. Then, Father Luther stood in the room and shot himself, thus completing the ritual through his suicide.

Monday- the first priest died. Then, on Tuesday, the next one died.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday yielded the same results. Yet on Saturday, something strange happened.  The final priest was walking somewhere on the fourth floor of Caldwell, when at around midnight, all of a sudden, he experienced what he described as someone pushing through his chest and gripping his heart.  As the grip tightened he fell to the ground and the light began to fade from his eyes, but with what seemed to be the last light, he saw an image of a priest approach him.  This apparition knelt down by his side and whispered something into his ear.  It was Father Walt.  Immediately, the light returned to his eyes and the grip on his heart was gone, yet he was not without his scars, as he was left paralyzed from the waist down.

The completion of the ritual was halted.  It is unknown whether the design of the ritual was merely the death of those six souls or whether they were a mere ingredient for a larger scheme.  Questions still remain about the exorcism room; the most important being whether or not Father Luther is still looking for that last soul claim somewhere in the halls of Caldwell Hall.

And there you have it, the  story of our very own Caldwell Hall (the story you will not hear at Odyssey Day). But whatever the veracity of this case may be, this story proves as one of the Catholic University of America’s oldest tales, thus it is part of our history and culture. It is a great story to tell your non-CUA friends, and an even better tour to give. After all, to this October day, scratches, (presumably) caused by the possessed girl, bullet holes, (presumably) caused by the bullets of Father Luther’s shotgun, and the tainted portrait of the priests can still be seen in the attic of Caldwell Hall. And the whereabouts of the book in question are still unknown.

Whether or not you believe, Caldwell Hall is mighty large, leaving room for late night roaming, in case anyone is up for investigative work. Anyone down for a little Halloween investigation?
Anyone?