Spirits, spectors, skeptics, oh my! With halloween just around the corner, students and staff members reminisce on their beliefs regarding the paranormal.

“[I experienced the supernatural] when I was in elementary school,” said junior Edgar Crow. “I was in this after school program. The school… had two stories. I was sitting in the cafeteria with my friends. [When] we looked up to the second floor through a window, there was a shadowy figure in the shape of a human. [My friends and I] freaked out because we could see it, but the janitor [who] was in the same hallway as the figure couldn’t… I’ve always believed in [the paranormal]. I believe in the afterlife; I think believing in ghosts is built into me.”

“I’ve seen [evidence] that has proven it right and wrong,” said senior Ari Abbas. “I’ve never thought ‘oh my God this exists’ or ‘oh my God this doesn’t exist,’ because I’ve never experienced it. I think to each their own; if [you believe in the supernatural] then that’s cool.”

“My paranormal experience happened when I was young,” said junior Lyric Oliver. “One night when I was sleeping [on the couch]… I got that feeling [you have] when someone sits on the couch next to you [and you sink]. It was really cold next to me. I wasn’t scared of whatever it was. I remember it very vaguely and whatever that stayed… until I went back to sleep. I do believe in ghosts… because I do think there is an afterlife. [When] somebody close to me passes away and I get that feeling that someone is looking over me. Everyone has their own opinions and experiences, that’s for them to decide.”

“I feel like [the paranormal] could be possible, but I’ve never heard of or seen any real evidence,” said sophomore Reece Hamilton. “It could go either way. There are so many theories– you hear different peoples’ opinions that it influences your own opinion. [To believe], I would need a solid example. I need real life proof, not something recorded from the 90s.”

“I went to a house for New Years,” said freshman Nithya Poola. “I didn’t wanna sleep with my sister, so I [slept] alone. When I looked out the window, I saw a deer staring at me… It happened every single night. I couldn’t sleep in that room– it was cold… I’m Hindu and we [are] really auspicious. We believe in ghosts and… do rituals to ward off bad spirits in our house. [I think that ] when people don’t believe in ghosts, it’s because they[haven’t had] an occurrence themselves.”

“I think it’s our way of explaining things we don’t understand, but I don’t really believe too heavily in the paranormal,” said audio visual productions teacher Jim Dirkes. “I’ve never seen anything that makes me believe in it. I’ve had spooky feelings, but nothing that would make me believe it’s supernatural. I’m a little more logical… unfortunately.”

“In my culture, when someone in your family dies, anything strange that happens is them communicating to you from [beyond] the grave,” said junior Kaidyn Arroyo. “A few days after my great grandfather had died, suddenly this fake moon that I had which glowed to show moon cycles started blinking randomly. The batteries were fine. [Before that] I already believed in the paranormal, but that definitely solidified it for me.”
While there are believers and non believers in the paranormal, the Leander High School cheerleaders promise a spooky thrill in their annual Trunk or Treat and haunted hallway.