Lynwood Montell, former Western professor and writer of books about Kentucky ghosts, said he’s heard many ghost stories about the Bowling Green area.

Montell said Western’s campus also has many legends about ghosts and spirits that are well-known throughout the community.

This past month, I took a flashlight and a tape recorder to investigate some of those frightening tales. Here’s what happened:

The Phantom of Van Meter

Supposedly, a man fell to his death from the balcony in Van Meter Hall. Legend has it that no matter how many times the floor is replaced, his blood stains still seep through.

Unfortunately, I never discovered monsters or ghosts lurking in Van Meter. I did, however, meet a security guard who probably thought I was a vandal when I was trying to find an unlocked door.

Cravens Library Horrors

Legend has it that a student fell to his death from a ninth-floor window when trying to open it after a long night of studying.

I looked around the windows and found nothing. No ghosts tried to push me out like some people said it would. The only eerie feeling I got was when I looked out the window and thought about falling. That was scary enough.

The Haunting of Mattie McLean

In the lobby of McLean Hall, there is a rumor that the painting of Mattie McLean will smile at you if you stare long enough.

It only took a few moments of gawking at the painting to realize that it appeared as if McLean was snickering at me. That’s when I booked it out the door.

House on Haunted Hill

Driving toward a house out in the middle of nowhere off of Barren River Road, my stomach was turning knots.

The house looked like something out of a horror film, including barely-there walls and hanging window frames.

There, I met Larkin Ritter, the owner of the house, who said it was built after the civil war.

Ritter has been giving wood from the house to other people to use for redevelopment of the downtown historic district.

I was a little sad this house wasn’t the haunted house I had always suspected it to be, but I asked Ritter if he’d ever seen any ghosts around anyway.

“I’ve seen many hoodlums, but never any ghosts,” he said. “But they can be scarier. Ghosts can be nice.”

Ritter said he’s found these “hoodlums” building meth labs, throwing parties and trying to live in the house.

So much for the ghosts. But I guess I would rather meet up with a ghost than hoodlum meth addict.

The Cemetery

My last stop was Pioneer Cemetery across the street from the Roland Bland Skate Park.

Mooresville junior Arron Roberts has hunted ghost there a couple times. He said he’s never seen anything, but it does evoke an “eerie, creepy feeling.”

I didn’t necessarily get a eerie or creepy feeling, but I was scared to death when a couple of dogs ran toward me at the cemetery. Fortunately, they weren’t the zombie canines of Resident Evil.

After three weeks of ghost hunting and no ghosts found, you’d think I’d be disappointed. But I’m not discouraged at all.

It was interesting to explore some of the ghost stories I had heard about in the area and find out if they were fact, fiction or in between.

How can anyone ever really know when there isn’t someone from “the other side” lurking around anyway?

Maybe all those times I didn’t find anything or see anything, it wasn’t because they didn’t exist. Maybe it was because they didn’t want to be found.

Reach Heather Ryan at diversions@chherald.com.