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The legends of William & Mary start the moment you step on campus. Between stops at the Rec and the delis, your first tour might include whispers of ghosts, secret tunnels or rock ’n’ roll cameos. Passed down from one class to the next, these stories evolve with every telling — some lighthearted, some eerie and some as old as the university itself. Welcome to the unofficial history of W&M.
Myth: Ghosts haunt several buildings on campus.
Status: We’re not going to say this is false, but when you have a history spanning three centuries and a campus tinged with stories of piracy and war, you’re bound to have more than a few creepy stories. We’ve heard there are Revolutionary War ghosts in the Wren Building, a theatre ghost in the costume shop making sure students (don’t) break a leg, a ghost in the attic of Barrett Hall and more. Some of our students have even taken up ghost hunting as a hobby.
Myth: If you cross the Crim Dell bridge with someone, you’ll end up married to them. If you cross with someone and then change your mind, you must throw that partner off the bridge to break the curse.
Status: Unverifiable, but nobody’s taking any chances. It’s W&M’s most famous myth, sending some hearts aflutter and some screaming in terror. With over 5,000 current alumni couples, including many who crossed the Crim Dell bridge together, you could say it’s the campus that brings people together.
Myth: Members of the group Steely Dan attended William & Mary, left in disgust, then recorded the song “My Old School” (lyrics: “Oh, no, William and Mary won’t do …”).
Status: False. The first time you heard jazz-rock legends Steely Dan sing William & Mary’s name in their 1973 tune “My Old School,” you felt a surge of pride. Between the W&M shout-out and the reference to Annandale, a Northern Virginia suburb, it’s easy to assume there’s a connection between Steely Dan and William & Mary.
Unfortunately, the song has nothing to do with the university. An early-1980s Flat Hat investigation reportedly found that Steely Dan writers Walter Becker and Donald Fagen selected W&M simply because it fit the cadence of the song, and the Annandale in question is in New York.
Myth: If you live with your first-year roommate all four years, you get invited to dine with the university president.
Status: True. For those who find roommate bliss, rewards await. Former W&M President Timothy J. Sullivan ’66 began a tradition of hosting a luncheon for long-term roommates, and President Katherine A. Rowe continues the tradition with a reception in the Wren Building’s Great Hall.
Myth: Miles of catacombs run beneath W&M’s Old Campus.
Status: True … sort of. What’s down there? Treasure? Psych 101 notes? Old W&M swag? It’s not that fun. The tunnels are designed for steam and maintenance pipes. As a side note, there is a crypt beneath the Wren Building, but there’s no indication it has any connection to the tunnels.
Myth: Dillard Field used to be a mental hospital.
Status: False, but close. Eastern State Hospital built the Dillard Complex in 1949 to house nursing students who were doing rotations at the nearby psychiatric hospital. During the 1965-66 academic year, William & Mary began leasing the buildings to meet the needs of a growing student population. Dillard itself was never part of the hospital. In 1980, W&M finally purchased the buildings, which are now Dillard Field next to Plumeri Park, W&M’s baseball field.
Myth: If you touch the statue of Lord Botetourt in front of the Wren Building, you’ll get a good grade on your next test.
Status: Certainly at a school as achievement-driven as William & Mary, students would want any advantage they could get — and rubbing the boots of Botetourt would certainly qualify. If there was any truth to the rumor, there’d be lines down Duke of Gloucester Street during exam week.
