Secrets of Harvard Revealed: An Interview with Professor Zachary Nowak

Though he himself is agnostic on whether or not ghosts exist, resident skeleton and History Professor Dr. Zachary Nowak nevertheless led a Ghost and Skeleton tour showing off the spooky side of Harvard Yard. In doing so, Professor Nowak let some of Harvard’s literal and metaphoric skeletons out of the closet.

Flyby: What’s the most haunted place at Harvard?

Dr. Nowak: I think the Old Yard is the most haunted place, because it has the ghosts of all the enslaved people that worked here, it has the ghosts of Indian college students who died, and it has the ghosts I think of a lot of initially young boys who felt like they had to do something because their parents wanted them to do that. So not that those are all equal in their sadness, but I think there’s a lot of spirits hanging around in the yard…Also the Secret Court students who could never walk, and who Harvard has heretofore not given posthumous degrees. The administration says that there’s no precedent for it, but actually they gave posthumous degrees to a number of WWI Harvard students who went and died in the war.

F: Which is spookier, the loss of Harvard time, or murderous Professor Webster who killed his creditor?

DN: As a professor who doesn’t fully appreciate Harvard Time, I would say Webster is spookier.

F: Would you ever kill a student à la Webster if they were really annoying in section?

DN: Given the academic job market, the possibility of a new professor feeling destitute and needing to borrow money is very high, however my likelihood of killing and dismembering a student is zero.

F: Any advice for freshmen who think that their dorm might be haunted?

DN: Yes! There is a guy who just came out with a book called Ghosts of Cambridge, and I think I would contact him and ask him if he knew about that particular ghost that is haunting that dorm.

From the gallons of blood ingrained in the mortar of Sever Hall to the horror movie-esque bowels of Harvard’s steam tunnels, beware as you walk the Yard this Halloween. Also, don’t talk to any students who introduce themselves as Holbrook Smith and look like they’ve stepped right out of 1914.