The Ghostly Lovers of the Boathouse

The spooky story of how two lovers’ heated moment turned into an eternal affair at the Rollins boathouse.  

Everyone knows the haunting story of Annie Russell Theatre (or do you?): unoccupied chairs folding out, the statue of Annie Russell herself moving on its own, and even some sightings of a mysterious figure moving about the theatre. What most students are sure to not know, however, is the Boathouse Haunting. Built in 1988, the Alfond Boathouse was supposed to be home for Rollins water sports athletes, but what it actually became was far from that. Students and faculty alike were all eagerly awaiting the construction of the boathouse, some were a bit too eager. Looking for a secluded place for a steamy hookup, two students decided to add a little danger to their date by taking things to the construction site. Climbing their way past the yellow caution tape, they trespassed their way into the heart of the construction. It was a cloudy night with low visibility, making their rendezvous all the more steamy. Caught up in the heat of the moment, they stumbled their way onto the floor of the dock, failing to notice the unfinished edge less than a foot away. In what came to be a failing effort to be sexy, the couple began rolling around in a playful battle over who would end up on top. In a matter of seconds, one of them rolled right off the dock and into the lake, and the other quickly jumped in to the rescue. Somewhere through all the chaos, the couple became tangled up within the weeds growing on the bottom of the lake. It didn’t take long for panic to set in, and the couple struggled to keep the oxygen flowing through their lungs. Sinking into the dark abyss, still embraced in each others’ arms, the couple’s bodies were never discovered. Many say the ghosts of the two lovers still remain at the boathouse, haunting any of those who dare to trespass the dock late at night. Some have even heard the couple’s playful giggles, and others say they have seen their apparitions hiding around the boathouse. For those who are looking for a scare, it has been said that the best time to search for the ghastly couple is during the early morning, when the lake water is still and the watchful moon is out. Although everyone who has experienced the Boathouse hauntings have seen different things, they all have one thing in common: once you set your eyes on the dreadful couple, you are haunted forevermore.