Drury University was founded in 1873, so it’s no surprise that the campus is rich with history and eerie energy. However, some places on campus have the tendency to make you feel especially strange.

The Philosopher’s Table

The Philosopher’s Table is a well-known structure on campus, located near Clara Thompson. The piece consists of a wooden table, surrounded by stools with the names of philosophers inscribed into them. Some of these philosophers include Jane Austen, Aristotle, Jesus of Nazareth and Albert Einstein.

The Philosopher’s Table (Photo vis Delilah Gadd)

According to the Drury Art Collections website, “philosophers were chosen for their conversational possibilities.” The table was rebuilt in 2009 by an Alpha class (similar to CORE or FUSE101) with help from various faculty members.

Menhir and bunny statue

On the edge of Drury’s campus, next to the Curry Sports Complex and adjacent to the U-Suites parking lot is a peculiar and eerie spot. In this quiet area, trees are planted in a perfect semi-circle and mirrored by cylindrical stools.

Towering over the spot is a giant slab known as Menhir, or the Brian Stone. This is a 7-ton marble stone that came from Missouri’s Phoenix Quarry and was cut to form the State Capitol Building.

Right next to this arrangement is a sculpture that some describe as having a “threatening aura.” This sculpture consists of two metal slabs with rabbits carved into them. A closer look reveals that the slabs are, in fact, stamped with various red and white rabbits. There is no record of this piece of art anywhere.

Menhir (Photo via artcollections.drury.edu)

The oddities of nature

The head groundskeeper, Joe Fearn, knows many places that encompass the campus’ strange environment. Some of the things he pointed out included the largest and oldest tree on campus, which would take five or more people to wrap their arms around, the nest of red-tail hawks on a light pole at Curry Sports Complex and the incident that led to the writing of this article in the first place, the beaver grave.

It is here that a beaver, who unfortunately became roadkill, was buried and given a funeral by Drury’s grounds crew. The little guy was reclaimed by the ground near Burnham hall, where the grounds crew has begun planting new trees. Fearn writes about the uplifting experience in his blog, found here.

Is campus haunted?

When asked on Twitter, many students asked The Mirror to investigate Clara Thompson. Is it haunted? According to university archivist Bill Garvin, likely not.

Clara Thompson is a building full of character. During the day, the halls are filled with the sound of music. At night, however, things take a turn. Each creak and groan of the decades-old building can make any student jump. The eerie sound of piano still echoed through the halls. Was it someone practicing late at night, or something more supernatural? It was too spooky to find out.

Written by Delilah Gadd.