In the Spirit of Halloween...

In the spirit of Halloween this past week, I went on a Haunted Tour of campus lit by a spooky candle-lit lantern. It was led by two of the RA’s from my dorm and we walked all around campus and heard different tales.

Image found on the Miami Alumni Association website of
what the original fountain looked like.

There are a handful of ghost stories surrounding Miami, and I’m amazed at how many I am still unaware of. On this Haunted Tour the other night, I heard, for the first time, the story of Henry Thobe, a strong supporter of Miami athletics, as well as the nation’s most notorious gate-crasher during the early 20^th century.

Thobe managed to get into a number of World Series games and Rose Bowls without ever paying for a ticket.

When Thobe attended Miami football games, he was known for sporting a white suit. He also carried a megaphone with him and had diamond-studded teeth. At each game, Thobe would assert that in the previous night, he had a dream about the outcome of the game. He would use his megaphone to tell the crowd about his dream.

In the early 20^th century, Thobe, a stonemason, gave Miami a fountain that he built. The fountain was placed near what is currently King Library and Harrison Hall. Throughout the Miami community, there were mixed feelings about the aesthetic quality of Thobe’s fountain. Soon after it was installed, the fountain became a spot famous for fraternity hazings.

Image I took of what Thobe's Fountain looks
like today.

Until his death in 1950, Thobe took care of the fountain. However, after he died, no one picked up the job, and the fountain was soon in disrepair. 

In the 1950s, the fountain was replaced with a smaller one, but was then later removed. To cover the fountain, a seal for Kappa Kappa Gamma was placed on top.

The legend is that if you stand on top of the seal covering the fountain, and face in the direction of Harrison Hall, you can yell “Henry Thobe” and you’ll hear his voice echoing his name back.

I had the opportunity to try this the other night with a few others from my dorm, and we were surprised to hear a voice echo Henry Thobe’s name back. Whether or not it was Thobe’s voice is still up for debate…