Monday, April 13, 2009

Does a Ghost Haunt the Santa Ana High School Auditorium?

OCThen reader Julia shares her memories of growing up in Orange County...

I remember having so much fun when I lived in Orange County. I was born in Orange, but resided in Santa Ana. I left for Buffalo New York at age 16 but came back and resided in Anaheim from 1997-1998. I went back to Buffalo, New York and been here ever since. I'm 32 going on 33 years old and I can recall some of the great memories I had growing up.

I went to Carr Intermediate, Spurgeon Intermediate and graduated from there and went to Santa Ana High School as well as Valley High School. I ended up relocating and graduated from Kensington High School in Buffalo. I remember when I went to Santa Ana High School, the beautiful choirs, the cheerleading and tall flags squads, the food lol, how we had so much variety in what we wanted for lunch, which isn't like that at all here in the Buffalo school systems.

I also remember this time where there was a rumor spread about a girl who supposedly gotten killed by falling over the balcony in the auditorium during an assembly. They always said certain parts of that school where haunted. I have no idea if that was true or not but if anyone knows the truth about it or even remembers the incident, I'm still quite curious as to what happened.

I didn't stay at that school very long because of my grades, so I went on to Santa Ana Valley High School. Boy did I hate being there because it seemed like every single day I would get bombed by the birds LMAO!!! I had so many funny incidents there it was pitiful as well as sad. There were a few classmates that have passed away.

By the way I also went to Childs World Kindergarten and Lincoln Elementary School. Those were the good old days lol.

I have noticed that many posts are from people in the 1950's and 1960's, which I really find quite interesting. I'm glad I found this site and to be able to read these stories make me very homesick. Who knows, I may even come back to live one day.

I also remember the beaches that I used to go to. Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach which I really remember going to see the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose.

And let me not forget my favorite attraction, "Knotts Berry Farm" yesss!! I liked Knotts better than Disneyland, I always have. I think its because of the Old West environment that really attracted me to it and I'll never forget the attraction "Sam and Sadie". Does anyone remember that? Is it still there?

Sooo many memories and the fast food mexican restaurants were unbelievable! Of course no one can cook right here on the East Coast lol.

The thing that I regret most is losing contact with my friends. I do have MySpace and found a couple of family members that I lost touch with, still waiting to hear back from them but it's so exciting to know that I was able to find them, so I'm guessing that I can find a few of my classmates there too.

OK! Now that I have written a book here on my life lol, I'll stop here for now and read some more of these wonderful Orange County stories!!

Blessed Be to All!!
Julia
I never heard about the girl who fell from the auditorium balcony at Santa Ana High School. But I do remember singing there. I was in the choir of Santa Ana College, and one year we performed a Christmas program there, and indeed that balcony is pretty high.

It would be interesting to hear of ghost stories of Orange County's schools.

55 comments:

  1. I don't remember hearing about that but I do remember alot of kids talking about a place around Irvine (I think) where they would go and park. And when it was really quiet - - they would hear something scratching on the roof of the car. They said it was a ghostlike looking old lady with really long fingernails. I am sure that it was just the wind and leaves or branchs, but it made a good story. Just wondering if anyone remembers that story from back around 1962 - 1964. It may have gone on for years until they developed the area. It was out where things were not built up yet.

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  2. i graduated from sahs 44 years ago and never heard of this story,but if you check out ghost sightings on google it comes up many times so had to be after 1965,in the mid 60s we would go up to holy jim canyon at night and were told of a big foot or wolfman creature that haunted the area,i never heard or saw anything,some said it was just someone dressed in costume who got off scaring people,but to me no one could be that stupid,your only making your self a rifle target

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  3. I went to Mater Dei High School which uses Santa Ana High School's auditorium for it's plays and musicals. (Actually, they've built up MDHS quite a bit since I graduated so they may have their own theater now.) We heard the story about the girl who died at the school and I think we called her Alice, although I don't know if that was her real name or something a classmate made up. We had some eerie experiences running around that place during productions and I'll never know if it was just us scaring ourselves or something really going on, but it felt creepy and real at the time. We were not supposed to go to the third floor dressing room because I think that was where she died or supposedly haunted. I wish I could remember how the story went but it's been too long. :) I told the story to a good friend of mine whose brother in law works at the high school now, and he didn't seem surprised when I mentioned it. I'd love to see Ghost Hunters go check it out.

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    1. I went to SAHS (93-97) and was in performing arts and student government the entire time so the auditorium was a big part of my daily life the four years I was there. I have to say when asked I stand by my "I don't believe in ghosts" motto, however, there were a few incidents that will always remain a mystery.
      The story of Alice goes that on the opening night of the first play to be performed in the newly built auditorium (I believe the building was built in the early 30's, the year is on one of the plaques in the foyer) Alice, the female lead, climbed onto the ceiling beams that overlook the auditorium (if you are sitting down in the orquestra level of the auditorium and look up you can see that the lighting fixtures/accents in the ceiling are see-thru; some of the beams pass directly over these so you can actually look down into the audience). Anyway, legend has it Alice climbed onto one of those beams to look down, lost her balance and fell off, crashing through the plaster ceiling and fatally hitting her head on the orquestra pit railing. If you look closely at the ceiling you can see where the ceiling did have a sizeable patch job done just over stage right. So that's how the story goes as handed down by decades of stage managers. The stage manager when I was a student shared the story with me and actually let me explore the dressing room and even climb down to the beams. I stopped short of actually climbing ON the beams (just too spooky) but could see how someone could get a glimpse of the audience from that vantage point.
      I've read other people mention the moving curtains, which definitely does happen. There are two particular incidents that will always stick out in my mind. The first was the last day of school my Sophomore year. Three friends and I walked up the attic dressing room which was always locked. There is a small window (also tightly closed) facing the dressing room door. It was a bright, warm day in June without a breeze but when we made it to the door and tried to turn the door knob a strong gust of cold air blew by us. The gust was strong enough to make our long hair "blow in the wind". We bolted down the stairs in seconds.
      The second and most significant incident was Spring of my Junior year. I was the lighting technician for the musical that year and I was the only person with full control of all the lighting effects in the show and theater for the production. However, the floodlight over center stage would work on it's own without me touching or queuing it. Sometimes it would just turn on and off quickly and other times it would fade in and out slowly. This kept happening over a few days and nobody could it out or find any faulty wiring at all. During my last run through of the lighting queues before opening night I was completely alone in the auditorium and in the lighting booth itself when the floodlight faded in. I finally said out loud "Ok, Alice, I get it. Thank you." and with that the light faded out and it never did it again.
      I never thought it was a scary occurrence. It is definitely weird and unexplainable and if I hadn't experienced it myself I would call BS in a heartbeat. I just know what I saw and felt.

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  4. i went to sahs from 83-87 my brother went there from 79-83 he had drama class in old auditorium and said they would hear odd nioses and lights would come on and off the paino would play by itself i never heard or saw anyting myself i used to go the third floor and heard nothing and i believe he did say they called her alice

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  5. I just graduated from santa ana hs this year and I have actually seen the ghosts at the school. It was after a wrestling tournament late at night and the hallways were dark. And suddenly at the end of the hall we see something walk by really fast. But it was only the outline of something. So it could have just been our shadows. But either way it was really scary.

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  6. My gf was in cheer and when they took their pictures near an outside halleY a face appears in the hallway and then disappears in the next picture

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  7. i attend santa ana high school and i have heard about the story of the girl who died there she was in the balcony of the additorium waitin so see if her parents got there and she felt down and other people say that her boyfriend push her also some people say that before a performance you can see that on stage it says GOOD LUCK and that after its over the thing on the floor is gone

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  8. STEPHANIE ZARAGOZA 09October 28, 2009 9:05 PM

    MY NAME IS STEPHANIE ZARAGOZA IM CURRENTLY 18 YEARS OLD!! I ATTENDED SANTA ANA HIGH FOR MA FRESHMAN,SOPHMORE, AND HALF OF MA JR YEAR UNFORTUNALLY I DIDIDNT GRADUATE WITH AM CLASS..09THATS SOMETHING THAT I REGRET AND ALWAYS WILL.. I HAVE SO MANY FUN MEMORIES IN THAT SCHOOL.. SANTA ANA IS REALLY A GREAT SCHOOL WITH GREAT TEACHER,ANY HOW ABOUT THE HUNTED STORIES THAT HAVE GONE AROUND SCHOOL I HAVE HEARED THEM AND I REALLY WONDER IF THERE TRUE, IVE HEARED THE STORY WITH THE GURL WHOM DIED IN THE ADITURIUM, ALSO THE GUY THAT DIED IN THE POOL THIS WAS ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO MA BROTHER WAS ATTENDING SCHOOL AT THAT TIME.. IVE HONESTLY A BELIEVER OF GHOST IVE HAD PERSONAL EXPIRENCES THAT SUPPPORT MA BELIEVE.. IVE THOUGHT ABOUT CALLING TAPS A GHOST HUNTER TEAMN TO INVESTIGATE SANTA ANA HIGH.. IF I DO I WILL HAVE TO GET PERSONAL PERMISION TO DO SO..I HOPE I DO THAT WAY WE WILL ALL KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPEND IN THAT SCHOOL N OUR CURIOUSITY WILL END.. N ITS WUN OF MA GOALS THAT I WILL ACOMPLISH

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    1. You should have stayed in school....you can't spell to save your life

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    2. Wtf?^^ stupid fuck. I bet you just recently learned the difference between your and you're. No one asked you.that was rude.

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    3. Wow -.- worry about yourself.

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  9. Hi, I attended Santa Ana HS during 1972-1976, and was very active in choir and drama during '75 and '76. The story is that Alice was the lead actress in a play at the school. She had gone up to the organ loft which is located at the end of the dressing room on the top floor. You have to open the smaller door at the far wall and there is a cement slab there that only goes half way into the loft. Beyond the slab is a drop off to the auditorium ceiling. The story is that Alice had accidently fallen through the ceiling and landed on the chairs in the auditorium many stories below and was killed. There is a tradition in the theatre there. Opening night, the lead actress (I've done this)must go up to the organ loft, say hello to Alice and ask her to be with the production and give it good luck. You then are to say a prayer and leave. Legend is if this is not done, the show will a disaster. Stories include stage hands injured by rising back drops, etc. I have personal experience of Alice and I can say first hand that there is definitely a spirit that remains in the theatre. The story is a bit long to share here, but it's a good one. Still gives me goose bumps to tell it. I also would love it if Ghost Hunters paid the school a visit.

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  10. To anonymous Oct. 30, Thank you for the very interesting info! Lots of superstitions in the theatre, from what I've heard. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. wow interesting .... great story i remeber going to that theatre to watch the disney orcestra... im 26 years old already i move to reno nv got merried and have 2 wounderful children to my 2002 saddleback class mates you can find me on myspace oc girl ... jessica izquierdo :O)god bless you all :O)

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  12. Hi! I went to SAHS from 1993 to 1997. The auditorium was always part of my school life with being in chambers, orchestra, ASB, and helping with drama productions. Anyway, in response to the anonymous post on Oct 30th.....you got it pretty much correct except the way I was told the "official" unofficial story from the stage manager at the time, Alice was the lead in the first production ever held in the auditorium and just like you described she went up to the 3rd floor dressing room and climbed onto the support beams to look down at the auditorium through the ceiling fixtures to see if her boyfriend and parents had arrived, but unfortunately lost her balance, fell off the beam and broke through the plaster falling and hitting her head on the orchestra pit railings. If you face the stage and look up at the right corner of the ceiling you can see the supposed patch job, unless they finally fixed it. Also, the tradition in the 90s was for the female lead to go to the 3rd floor dressing room and leave a rose for Alice.
    I personally experienced several episodes that I just can't explain so draw your own conclusions.

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  13. Hi My Name is Juan and was there in my freshmen year, I was in orchestra so i got to do a few concerts, When i attended SAHS i remember my Orchestra teacher telling us about Alice, He told us that she fell from the top of the roof of the theater down to the stage, many of you might remember it was high as well as the balcony. I remember when i got the tour it was scary, especially the stairs that took you up to the top of the stage. It was so narrow. But i must say i had a great time there and i miss it so much, i moved to las vegas on my 2nd week of sophmore year. I wish i could have finish school in SAHS.

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  14. Hi,
    I attended SAHS from 1995 to 1998. My life also was all about that infamous place they say is hunted. i worked on productions for the school plays and was in concert band as well as many other things that happened there. Yes it is true that the lead roll was to go up there and leave a rose. So by the time they were done with all the shows all would go well. And they did.

    Go Saints.......

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  15. Garden Grove High has a famous ghost. She is a girl who died during the 1930s Earthquake. She is still seen by students and staff. They even put her on You Tube ! Does anyone who went to "Grove"(GGHS)in the mid 70s remember "Mongie" ? He climbed up a Telephone Pole in a school yard at night. We all used to go see him at night before the Cops kicked us out.

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  16. hello everyone, I attended SAHS my freshman yr in 1995. I actually went on the "Tour" done by one of the custodians. It took you to the higher levels of the auditorium and were really creepy! It all looked pretty old and dusty, that was the dressing room i believe. But i recall a small window those they use for light to come in and it had Alice's name on it.Like if she had wrote her name with her finger on the dust. and it was done throuh the outside because the custodian tried cleaning it and he couldnt....oooohh lol. true story...But I miss Santa Ana, OC!!! I Live in Las Vegas Now But Santa AnA will Always be home!!!

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  17. ITS NOT REAL PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU LAIRS
    GET A LIFE!

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    1. i CAN TELL YOU DIDN'T GO TO SANTA ANA HIGH SCHOOL.. ANYONE WHO KNOWS THAT STORY AND BELIEVES IT WENT TO SANTA ANA HIGH GO SAINTS!

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  18. The person who wrote "You Lairs!" Obviously is still ONLY 5 years old! Can't spell woth sh.....

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  19. Wow That's So Scaryy! My Sister Told Me About It, But I Never Believed It, Now I Do!!...BTW I Might Be Going To SAHS :O

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  20. I got quite a kick out of the comments about "Alice". I graduated from SAHS in 1966 - I spent many hours behind the stage, and on the stage, during my three years there. Hate to tell you younger folks, but Alice must have decided to haunt the auditorium after I graduated, because the story wasn't going around when I was there.

    I do remember the stories about the ghost who haunted the old El Toro Cemetery. I don't rmemember her name, or remember why she haunted the area, - seems to me that it had something to do with a baby or a long lost love. You might find her hovering over your car as you drove down the road, or hanging around the grave stones. You could also hear her moaning. I got the stories second hand from my brother who graduated in 1960.

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    1. Anonomous May 27, 2010. Wondering if you might have known of my husband who graduated 1963. He was the tennis star on the team and had a lot of trophys. Good guy who is gone now.

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    2. Was he the team captain?

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  21. im goin to be a junior year at sahs and ive heard about alice. and i also hears about some girl that got dumped by her boyfriend and she hung herself from the second floor, their is also a teacher that was working during spring break and she got a heart attack and she died but yeah is preatty scary

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  22. My fiance is doing a job at Santa Ana high and his co-workers have told him stories of seeing a girl while they are working and even one of them saying they felt someone touch them.

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  23. i just graduate fromm SAHS clas of 2010!!!! it is a great school lotz of fun memories!..anyways i use to be in drama class and our teacher wouldnt let us go to the third floor my classmates said it was because of the accident that happened there! i bealive the girl name was alice my classmates called her like that. one day we went up to the third floor just for fun and we took picture of the place it was really creapy there was a door lock with a bunch of locks we took a picture and a wear shadow showd up idk if it was made by the flash or something but it look sacary! my friend still have the pictures that we took there idk if its true about alice but what iam sure is that wear things happen not only in the auditoriumm but in the whole school...

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  24. i atend to santa ana high school im a sophomore and i actually heard of the ghost mr. lara a speech teacher told my friend and she told me that in building taht is being reconstucted a teacer named alice died in the year 1972 and her ghost still wonders around there

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  25. I attended SAHS from 2000-04 and have in fact heard of this story. I used to be in choir and i remember one of our winter performances we were told by that everyone performing had to be seated in the balcony unless it was your turn to perform. I remember i was with 3 of my friends and when we were going to sit i was the last one when i felt someone push me and i remember seen everyone at the bottom and tought to myself i was gonna fall down but one of the girls saw and grabbed me to pull me back and asked what happened and if i tripped and i said no someone pushed me and she said thats not possible no one was behind you you were the last one. This is when i believed that story and didnt think it was just a legend.

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  26. I went to Santa Ana and i heard that Alice is been around. I personally think that is true because i heard something in the hallways in the night. That was not the only thing i've felt something shoved me it the auditorium..believe it if u will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  27. I don't know why but it seems to me such a surprise that someone could go from a small ghetto town like Santa Ana and get to Buffalo, NY. I still live here. -14 year old high school student

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  28. Check out the "Costa Mesa Ghost Girl" video on youtube.

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  29. Wow for some of the most recent posts of recent graduates from SAHS or current students they seem to not know how to spell or use proper grammar... Sigh

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  30. Hi my name is Gloria I did not go to sahs I went to mountain view 07 my husband is currentlu working in the auditorium for construction I've never heard of this till 1month ago just this week said he hAd. A steep ladder by a stairway(about 5 feet) n someone pushed it down the stairs. And a lot of he's coworkers heard something

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  31. Elenita RIP did die falling from the balcony

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  32. I went to SAHS it 1999 and i heard that story as well of a young girl that got pushed and die at the auditorium

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  33. This is true im a student at SAHS and Mr.Lara still tells the story about "Alice" the girl who died and hunts the auditoriumm. Im gong to contact TAPS to check this out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. omg, I was in Mr. Lara's class 2001, he told us the same story!!!

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  34. I would like to know that its true that the old doctors hospital is haunted to because I live near by it in the lates 1990s a friend would tell me that its was closing I seen ghost and I work at a hospital that was closed and haunted too so learn alot

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  35. My grandfather attended SAHS in the 30s, my mom graduated in 1958, and I attended SAHS and graduated in 1983. I was involved in Drama, and music. Spent many hours on that stage and roaming the vast areas above and below the pit. (I dream it now and then, actually...) And yes, the tales of Alice were rampant. And we all loved that they she was part of the scene. I recall during one talent show, the cat who was our Sammy Saint (wild curly blonde hair,) at the time seduced me into climbing the stairs with him up to the third floor on the pretext of looking for spirits. He had other things on his mind! I was interested in the ghost. And also a tad young too know what his intentions were. I look back on that and think: You IDIOT! Most popular dude at school, hello, tryin' to get a little sugar.
    But I was clueless, and I think we descended the stairs and joined the rest of the kids without him so much as laying a hand on me. Damn. I need a do-over on that one! :)
    Tis true...youth is wasted on the young.
    SAHS has changed a great deal, but I fondly recall Bill and Chuck, and Elwood, and Patty Whitesides...all such good folks. I see what kids are like today, how they speak, what they have to say, and all the pressure they are under...and I am resolutely glad I grew up when I did.

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  36. Hello, These are amazing comments as there are people from far back as the 1930's!!. I attend Sahs as a Sophmore, when i was 9 yrs old i remember a senior student named Crystal P. taking care of me. She had to make up classes so i decided to go with her since i couldn't be home alone. When I went with her she entered this huge classroom, Which is now the teacher's lounge. When everyone left i decided to wonder off in the main building. I didnt know where i was but all i remembered was in a very old looking classroom with the old fashion door knobs. As soon as i entered i saw a short girl walking at exit door on the other side. From there on out I never wanted to go to that school again.
    Now as a sophmore most of my classes are in that main building. Since the entire school was heavily remodeled, I didn't feel that past anymore. Now, the auditorium is new but somewhere is alice as she roams the hallways by herself. The tradition of SAHS will never die and remember "Once A Saint Always A Saint"

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  37. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YEAR THIS HAPPEN OR DOES ANYONE HAVE A PICTURE OF ALICE

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  38. Im a current student at Santa VHS and they don't call her Alice I don't really know if its true or not but I heard her name was Mona and in three days I'm performing in choir there

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  39. I never heard the story about alice...but I worked on an ancient phone system they had there (stepper) part of which was located in the auditorium...everytime I went in there I could feel a presense and always felt I was being watched or that I wasn't alone in there

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  40. I am the theater teacher at SAHS and have been for the past seven years or so. I love the Alice stories and I am happy that we have this great history and tradition at our school. I am a skeptic by nature and none of the stories that I have heard have made me believe anything supernatural is going on. Every single instance can be explained by something else. Almost. Also, being someone who can easily claim to have been alone in the auditorium for great lengths of time and many, many times at that, I have not one personal incident to speak of.

    However, I was shown the patched ceiling where she supposedly fell from and, I have to admit, the hole, where it is and the size and everything else, would suggest to me that a human came through it. I know that it was just chicken wire and plaster--not meant to be climbed onto and, just past it, (if you are on the fourth floor where the hole is) was a small opening for lights in which a person could see the audience. It is reasonable to assume that there would be temptation for a student to climb across to look down at the audience. The theater was build in the 1930s, so the safety requirements would have been different at that time and if I could see that temptation so clearly, it is logical to me to assume that, over an almost 80 year span, someone at sometime would have climbed over to see. (It has recently been fixed as we went through construction in the past three years).

    Also, a photo of a student of mine shows a ghostly figure sitting in a seat a few rows behind and it clearly looks like a female. The picture was taken with a phone and, as I was present at the time, it wasn't doctored or edited and it was a surprise to all of us as we looked and examined it. Skeptical as I am, I have to admit that evidence suggests that the story is true and I have no explanation for the photo. I think "orbs" are stupid. I don't believe they are anything. The photo that I am speaking of is no orb. It is a pretty good picture of what appears to be the ghost of a young girl.

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  41. Its real!! been there With my friends stay there cuz of a football match we had and as we wer leaving we hear this big bam as something as fall very hard to the ground in the AudItorium we ran to see what was it but noting was there but as we walk in it was really cold! and we felt like something was just watching we is it was really Scary it's true.!! Also a teacher that been there so long he even said that really happen.

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  42. I've heard about Alice .-. And it is true! My band director and the principal would never let us go up to the third floor during a concert but I didn't know why. Some of my friends said because she haunts the third floor and some say that if you go up there and then go perform then you'll get bad luck.

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  43. I attended SAHS from 1992-1996 and i also heard about the auditorium being haunted by Alice. Who knows if this story is true but its a great story for an old high school to have. I definitely miss those high school days. Be blessed everyone!

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  44. I went to sahs and they said there was several accidents in several parts of the svhool which I cnt name but I know many students and teschers have been seeing a ghost apperance even the principle
    .... people think a guy pushed his girl friend down the stairs to kill her and some others say a teacher fell down to the auditorium of the school and others also say that a guy died in a pool never seen ......
    In my 89-2003

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    1. the guy from the pool was true. we had a pool class after lunch and the p.e. teacher gave us free time at the end of the class they discover his
      body and i believed no one knows how he died in the pool after that they had cpr classes so that wont happened again and people went to talk to us that happened between 2000-2001

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