Philadelphia Weirdness

A Haunting Tale of Two Endings

Bryn Mawr College in Montgomery County harbours a tragic legend. One both scary and also sad, for it pertains to the spirit of one Lillian Vickers who in 1901, after becoming mentally unstable, allegedly committed suicide. Lillian believed herself to have leprosy which drove her to the brink, and whilst for many months she sought a solution to her disease, she eventually self-destructed, and her spectre is said to roam the dark halls to this day.

The ghost story, however, is not that simple and it has become a classic urban legend within Philly ghost lore. One version of the story, and certainly the most simple one, claims that Lillian set herself on fire and perished in the infirmary, but the more in-depth campfire version of the yarn would certainly make for a better story around a crackling fire.

It is said that Lillian, whilst bathing in kerosene in an attempt to treat her condition, knocked a lantern over and set herself on fire. In her agony she ran from the bathroom, a fiery apparition screaming through the building, but also fully aware that her sisters were also nearby. To avoid the flames catching onto anything else on the floor, she plunged to her death from a balcony at Merion Hall, and died in the arms of one Carey Thomas, the then president of the college.

Interestingly, the spirit of Carey Thomas is also said to haunt the grounds. When she died, her ashes were scattered about the surrounding area, but her spectre certainly seems more at ease in comparison to Lillian Vickers, forever destined to haunt the corridors as a ghost in fiery limbo.

Image Credit: Flickr user givepeasachance