Sunday, October 11, 2009

Cabrini College - Radnor, PA

The  Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus established a charter for Cabrini College in 1957.  Named after the founder of their religious order,  Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.  The grounds were formerly an estate owned by John Dorrance. His daughter Mary, fell in love with the stable boy. The Dorrances did not permit their daughter to see the stable boy any longer who hung himself in Grace Hall, which used to be a stable. Out of sorrow, Mr. Dorrance’s daughter killed herself by jumping off of the balcony of the mansion.  It is said that she was carrying the unborn child of the stable boy.  Both were buried in what was then the peach orchard.

Cabrini College - The stables
Cabrini College - The stables


Occasionally the apparition of Mary is now often seen wondering the grounds wearing a blue dress.  She is most often seen near Woodcrest Hall which is where the peach orchard used to be.  In the winter time when there is snow on the ground, foot prints have been found in the snow that suddenly end near the mansion. 

Woodcrest Hall at Cabrini College is the area which most hauntings are said to occur
Woodcrest Hall at Cabrini College is the area which most hauntings are said to occur


Some say the rope which the stable boy used to kill himself still hangs from the rafters.  They say it has been seen to be swinging back and forth when there is no wind to make it move.





3 comments:

  1. I'm a cabrini alumna and this is the first time I've heard the story.

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  2. I am a cabrini alum. If you are interested in the real story go to an orientation night on campus or swing by around Halloween. We do some creepy ghost tales. Our haunted buildings are the mansion, grace hall, and woodcrest. They also say the front wall encompassing the grounds is haunted. There are many stories, but Xavier and Mary are the most popular...no there is no rope hanging from the rafters...and people see Xavier, not Mary.

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  3. My friend dated a girl who lived in the Mansion and this was the same room that Mary used to sleep. One night after studying with his girlfriend, he left her room and saw a large man in over rolls leaning on the mansion railing. My friend called out to him and he turned and vanished into clear air. The next morning he went to the cafeteria early and his job was to open the doors and get it ready for the morning rush.He looked down the rows of tables and saw a man sitting at one of the tables all by himself. As he got closer he noticed it was the same man in overalls as the night before and again the man vanished. After
    that incident my friend left school for 5 days and would never step foot in the mansion or cafeteria.
    At Woodcrest Hall the corner front room that faces the mansion was converted into a storage closet because the crucifix in that room would always turn upside down and it was thought Mary's was under that room. The bell tower if visited on a warm day is cold as 60 degrees for no reason. Most alum who had experiences at Cabrini are afraid to speak out.

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