Bryn Mawr Coed Roasted

Most colleges have their fair share of spooky stories. possibly sparked by the high emotions of the average college student. Some of the stories told on campuses are undoubtedly urban legends, but some have a real basis in historical fact. Such is the story of Lilliam Vickers whose spirit is said to haunt College Hall, her former dormitory.

Lillian apparently believed that she had leprosy and sought to effect her own cure by covering her entire body with alcohol. One way or another, she caught on fire and ran down the hall from the bathroom near her room, covered in flames. Though hall mates rushed to cover the burning girl in blankets to smother the flames, their efforts failed and Lillian died of her injuries a few hours later. It was December 21, 1901.

Though there was some speculation that Lillian's death was a suicide, but an article appearing in the New Oxford Item on 12/27/1901, denies the suicide claim.

The articles of the day showed her as being 19 but the 1900 census shows her as 21 years old, residing at Bryn Mawr, having been born in New Jersey. It appears that an older sister Florence may have been attending Bryn Mawr at the same time as she also appears on the census at age 26. Though their parents are not shown on the census, Lillian's father was born in Pa and her mother in Illinois. A little further research turns both girls up in the 1880 census in Illinois, living with their mother Anna C. Vickers and their maternal grandmother, Hannah Childs. There is no sign of their father, so there is a bit of a mystery there to solve.

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