Chris Di Cesare: The Ghost Boy of Erie Hall
In the winter of 1985, residents of Geneseo’s Erie Hall room “C2D1” were treated to a three-month-long paranormal fright, the likes of which were never before seen on campus, leaving the residents permanently altered by the ordeal. I sat down with one of these residents, an alumni class of ‘87, Chris Di Cesare—the former Lamron Comic Editor from ‘85-‘86— who illuminated specific details of this encounter from February through April of his sophomore year. Strap in and prepare for one of Geneseo’s most talked about yet least-known stories—the haunting of Erie Hall.
According to Chris, the timeline of events starts with a destined encounter on campus in early February of 1985 between him and two guest speakers—Ed and Lorraine Warren—who came to campus to discuss their history with the paranormal, playing electronic voice phenomenons (EVP) alongside incites into their work.
After this lecture, Chris attended a meet-and-greet with the couple where Lorraine said to him, “I won’t shake your hand…because I don’t want to know my future,” before being “thrown off stage” by Ed Warren. Following this, roughly 11 days later, Chris began hearing a disembodied voice that beckoned to him from his dorm room, calling out his name, which progressed for a few days before materializing into a full-body apparition. This was a turn of events that made Chris believe he was going crazy, up until the phenomenon became patterned and spread to his roommate, who soon fled the room entirely, coming to the shocking conclusion that there was a “dead thing” in the room with them.
On Feb. 14, 1985, Chris and his next-door neighbor, J. Jeff Ungar—a person who acted as a saving grace and support for Chris—realized the gravity of what was occurring, deciding to test for themselves the validity of their claims by trying to photograph the apparition. Ungar convinced Chris to “call the ghost” by putting his arms out to “invite the ghost in,” causing the closet door to open, revealing what looked to be a face, stunning Chris to the point of temporary paralysis.
Seeing this reaction, Ungar took a photo of the closet but captured nothing, a feeble attempt that “must have infuriated the ghost because afterward, he came right at me [Chris], and went right through me…making me fall to the ground.” After this, Chris told Ungar to photograph the “dead thing hovering above my bed,” which caused Ungar to say, “If you can see it, take my camera, and get the picture,” revealing an image of a skeletal apparition on the side of Chris’s bed that Ungar was later able to “label all of the bones.” After this transpired, the pair began trying to collect more evidence and information about the specter, documenting encounters with the help of a psychology professor who loaned him a camera and through journal entries, some of which Chris shared with me.
These journal entries highlight the emotional distress the pair went through, written from the perspective of Ungar. These highlights include the ghost referred to as “Tommy,” a detailed explanation of the first encounters listed above, and Chris’s mental degradation due to the increasing paranormal activity. We see a side of Chris never seen during his interview: a softer, more fragile man who just wants out, but is reminded at every turn that this spirit is attached to him.
Chris also commented on his most frightening encounter: March 13, 1985, where “Tommy” physically wounded him in the shower, leaving three deep wounds—claw marks—in his back. This was his breaking point, and he called out to the being, saying, “Who are you? God? The Devil? Show yourself!” to which the being slashed him, sending him to the floor in pain, accepting his demise while reflecting on his life. According to him, Ungar found him on the floor and, with friends’ help, cleaned up Chris and helped compose him. This event was the climax of the encounter, leaving Chris feeling entirely hopeless, knowing this apparition has an overwhelming hatred of him, one which he believes is due to the being believing that he currently lives in the room—residing on Chris’s side just like he did when he went to Geneseo, but must have died, leaving his spirit lingering within the confines of the room.
According to Chris, after this event and his revelation, the occurrences began to lessen in severity and consistency, ultimately stopping in mid-April 1985 after a priest came to the dorm to bless it, seemingly exorcizing the spirit—at least for the rest of his stay in C2D1—and he still stays in contact with the priest to this day! Chris still believes “Tommy” lingers within the confines of Erie Hall, even now!
Throughout the interview, Chris explained how his friends—Ungar and others— got him through the issue. He only survived this occasion through these individuals, running on the cross-country team, creating funny comics, and finding safe spaces around campus—giving him a sense of normality in a situation that was anything but that.
Suppose you would like to look into this topic more. In that case, I highly recommend you look at his various media appearances—The SyFy Network (2012), Coast to Coast AM (2015), and the Travel Channel (2019)—alongside his two memoirs—“Surviving Evidence: Memoir of an Extreme Haunting Survivor and C2D1: An Examination of the Extreme Haunting and How the “Ghost Boy” of Geneseo Came to Be.
That said, I’ll leave you with Chris’s take on this macabre matter: “This is actually less of a ghost story and moreso a coming-of-age story… [it is about] how young people survive and adapt through crisis by relying on one another.”