Is Birmingham Really Haunted?

Aydan Thomas (supplied)

Aydan Thomas (supplied)

Stephanie Cuba and Aydan Thomas

Birmingham Community Charter High School wasn’t always filled with students. It first started out as a World War II hospital in 1943. The hospital had 1777 beds, of which 800 were devoted to debarkation activities.  Many of the soldiers did not survive and are said to have died from gangrene. Gangrene is the death of tissue that often occurs in the extremities or skin from loss of blood supply and if left untreated, it could end up deadly. No one knows the clear history of how all the soldiers died, but there were some who died of the disease. Where you’re standing right now could have been where not only one, but probably ten patients had died. Many had died just because of the experience from the hospital, though that was not the last chapter of the ghosts that may be roaming around our school. The former hospital, our school, was just full of wounded soldiers and doctors and nurses, but it was also filled with prisoners for a short amount of time.  The Prisoner of War Branch Camp was established in July, 1943 which only added to the death count at this location.

We questioned some people around campus and asked “Is Birmingham Community Charter High School haunted?” Some said,“Yes, because I have heard things in the hallways and as the lights were flickering, we heard noises down at the end of the hall.” While some remained superstitious, others said no, because they didn’t believe nor have experienced any paranormal activity, even though they have heard stories of these events happening.

From the people we interviewed, most of the answers were no. There was some skepticism in their tone. The only reason they were saying no was because they hadn’t witnessed anything up in the top layer of the school. Since the school was a hospital before during World War II, they had to take precautions. They made sure these buildings were built with extra thick walls to help withstand bomb blasts, and it also had underground tunnels that would lead them to further protection. In 1953, when Birmingham became a school, many students would use the tunnels to get from class to class even though it was not allowed, but you know how students are. When students went down into the tunnels, they had many stories to tell. The stories range from strange noises to actually seeing some people down there asking for help. Some would see men in uniforms bleeding out and begging students to save them, but most would run away. The stories seems ridiculous to hear and believe that it actually happened, but if you ask anyone, they would immediately shut the idea down. Those are the people that don’t dare to go investigate, but the ones that did, know what’s actually happening. The tunnels may have the spirits of the dead wandering around or it may be just people’s imagination.

With the amount of deaths and stories told of experiences, it is hard for the school to not have any paranormal activity. Some have experienced and believe it, while others deny it. So now that you’ve heard more information on the subject, tell us, do you think Birmingham is haunted?