The Wheezer

Raj's Photoblog

The tale began when a Gannon fraternity held a Halloween costume party in their West Seventh Street house in 1961. One brother noticed a man in a dark cowboy outfit (another version has him dressed like a preacher) and a wide brimmed black hat. Not knowing who the person was, he followed him when he went up the stairs.

The figure wheeled around, looked at the student, and disappeared into thin air. Later, hearing banging noises from upstairs, several of the brothers went up to investigate. It was the cowboy/preacher again. This time he rasped “Get out!” at the men. They told him he was trespassing, and he replied “No, it is you,” and vanished again. His hoarse voice earned him the nickname of the Wheezer.

On Christmas Eve that same year, a sleeping brother was awakened in his second floor bedroom in the house's master suite by the Wheezer. The student leaped from his bed and got some help. When they returned, the spook was gone. The balcony doors were wide open. But underneath it, the fresh snow showed no signs of footprints. Hmmm...

Years later, a lone brother in the house heard footsteps and loud breathing upstairs. He went to check on who could have come in past him, but no one was there. However, a window that had been stuck for years was now wide open.

Then he heard the same sounds from the floor below. Suspicious, he crept silently down the stairs. The breathing came from the master suite. As he got to the room, a voice said “It is you who trespasses.” He threw open the door. The lights were on, but again no one was there.

The Erie fraternity has since moved, but reportedly the ghost hasn't. The Wheezer is still haunting his old home and doesn't intend to share his house with anyone. They're all trespassers to him and always will be.