人妻少妇专区

Halloween is the season for ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. Many hallowed institutions boast an apparition or two on premises: the Opera has the Phantom, Hogwarts has Nearly Headless Nick, George Eastman House has its namesake spirit.

And here at the 人妻少妇专区 we have the ghost of Pete Nicosia.

Who is Pete Nicosia?

Pete Nicosia鈥檚 ghost haunts Rush Rhees Library. The legend dates back to the building鈥檚 construction in the late 1920s.

The story goes that Nicosia, a mason鈥檚 helper and recent Sicilian 茅migr茅, was working on the library tower when he slipped and fell 150 feet to his death. His foreman, James Conroy, supposedly signed the death certificate and saw to the burial arrangements.

A few years later, things got spooky.

School spirit

In October 1932, student George Maloney 鈥�34 recalled meeting a stranger dressed in a tattered sweater and workman鈥檚 overalls near the library. The man asked where he could find James Conroy, because Conroy still owed him pay for time worked.

Maloney directed the man to the service building and thought nothing more of it.

But a year later, Maloney and another student, Robert Metzdorf 鈥�33, were standing in the library tower when the strange man came up to them. He commented on the great height of the tower. The students informed him that it was about 150 feet to the ground.

鈥淥h boy, 150 feet!鈥� he said in accented English and then laughed. The man continued to stare down, shaking his head and chuckling, while the students got in the elevator and left the tower.

Coincidence or conspiracy?

Still confused, the students reported the strange man to a librarian, who showed concern. Apparently, this was not the first time the man had been seen wandering campus.

The librarian wrote to Conroy, giving the man鈥檚 description. Conroy is said to have answered in a letter that the description matched that of Pete Nicosia鈥攁 dead man.

A file photo, supposedly of Nicosia, soon surfaced. Witnesses鈥攊ncluding Maloney and Metzdorf鈥攕wore that the stranger looked just like the man in the photo. But the photo鈥檚 provenance is questionable, as no records of Pete Nicosia have been found in River 人妻少妇专区 construction files or Rochester city directories.

In February 1934, Maloney encountered the stranger again and confronted him, saying, 鈥淒o you know of anybody named Pete Nicosia?鈥�

鈥淪hu,鈥� he chuckled. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 me.鈥�

“But didn鈥檛 you get hurt? Didn鈥檛鈥斺��

鈥淣o,鈥� he said, cutting Maloney off. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 hurt a bit.鈥� The man then disappeared into the library cellar.

For years afterward, the campus newspaper reported claims of Nicosia sightings in the library stacks, basement, or tower, but with no concrete evidence. One person recanted his sighting; others doubt the original source, since Maloney鈥檚 story first appeared inThe Soap-Box,聽the literary magazine of the men鈥檚 campus.

In 1985, Maloney wrote, 鈥淭he story of Pete Nicosia was inconclusive in 1934. At this late date, I expect that it will remain so.鈥�

Scare today, gone tomorrow

At 186 feet high, the library tower remains the building鈥檚 most imposing feature; and after 80-plus years, the story of Pete Nicosia remains its most enduring mystery.

With the Halloween season upon us, modern-day ghostbusters can attend Scare Fair 2013 on Thursday, October 31. Rush Rhees librarians will host a Stack Stalk and Tower Tours.

Who knows? You might have your own close encounter to report.

2013 Scare Fair

The annual Scare Fair is one of two times each year the Rush Rhees Library tower is open for tours. Take a spooky look through the stacks, while snacking on cider, donuts, and Halloween treats.

Thursday, October 31
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.