Students have reported that they have had bad luck after spotting a black cat on campus at night.
The reports began on Oct. 13 and have continued to have been reported since then. Students who have reported seeing the cat have claimed it hangs out near the Center for Virtual Learning around 3:00 a.m. every night. The cat has only been seen by the CVL and there have been no reports of it being seen elsewhere.
Radiology sophomore Moira Maynes was the first student to report seeing the cat on campus.
“I was just leaving my friends dorm after watching some horror movies when I saw it,” Maynes said. “Its eyes were an eerie yellow, and it creeped me out. The next day, I woke up with food poisoning.”
Maynes’ food poisoning was so bad that she was required to stay in the hospital for 3 days. According to her toxicology report, the only food in her system was popcorn, and experts are unsure of how she contracted the food poisoning.
In addition to Maynes several others have experienced bad luck after encountering the cat. Pharmacy junior Seymour Wurms also claims to have had an unfortunate run in with the cat.
“I saw it, with its chilling eyes watching me from a distance,” Wurms said. “When I went to approach it, it made a devilish hiss. I couldn’t sleep the next two days because I saw it every time I closed my eyes, and I ended up failing my midterm.”
Automotive management freshman Carrie Meyers claimed to have seen the cat disappear after having an interaction with it one night. She said that the cat had watched her from a distance as she was heading to her dorm in Clark Hall. Meyers claimed that she kept direct eye contact with the cat, however, as she left the path between the Music Building and the CVL for the path towards the David Eisler Center, the cat seemingly disappeared.
CVL night custodian Benjamin Better has also reported several interactions with the cat, however his claims differ from the interactions students have claimed to have had with the cat.
“I call him Frank,” Better said. “I haven’t had any trouble with the little guy, and I try to leave some tuna out for him at night. His eyes are kind of an eerie yellow, but I think it gives him some character, you know?”
Better claims that he has not had any accidents or hints of bad luck since interacting with the cat. In fact, Better said that he won $20 off the lottery ticket he had purchased the afternoon after seeing the cat.
Currently, no one has claimed the cat, or have reported to have seen the cat in daylight hours. Students are however being asked to avoid the CVL between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. as a precaution until authorities can figure out whether the cat is causing direct harm to students.