Bethel College has an incredible amount of domesticated squirrels, a massive wheat stalk fountain, an ancient administration building that’s sinking into the ground and…a graveyard? Yes, Bethel college has a graveyard, or more specifically, the art room does.
“No one believes me when I say we have bodies in the kiln yard,” said junior art major, Rachel Geyer, from Kalona, Iowa.
Geyer is not lying. There are bodies behind the art room. Twenty or so discarded and abandoned statues from past 3D arts classes live eternally in their own private hell. They’re stashed in between the air conditioning units and buried among the dead leaves, collecting dust and forgotten by their creators. Art students have sworn that they’ve seen them move out of the corners of their eyes, only to find that they are perfectly still when they look back.
“The amount of times those heads scared me isn’t all that impressive. Maybe once or twice?” Geyer said.
Aside from being wildly creepy late at night as their dead eyes follow you and their headless bodies lie suspended in their disproportionate state, these statues do have some positive uses.
Most recently, the on-campus literary magazine YAWP! somehow acquired express (and difficult to obtain) permission to use a few of the discarded heads as promotional material for their submission deadline. Though the deadline is long past, the statues remain in the library, Haury Hub, the FAC, and a few other locations, passively watching students as they carry about their day.
Perhaps they appreciate the change in scenery… These heads can also be used as a threat— gift for close friends and enemies. They’re cheap and homemade so they're really from the heart.
“Sometimes I ask David for a ceramic head or two… they make great white elephant gifts,” Geyer said.
However, it should be noted that the bodies are never to be taken without the absolute approval of the art department. This is, of course, for the safety of the students. Additionally, the pieces are undoubtedly of historical significance to the students who made them, making their disappearance a true shame should it ever be discovered.
“The kiln yard of the art department is one of the most undervalued areas on campus. Where else can you make pottery and appreciate the work of local artists for free?” said Geyer.
If you ever find yourself alone and in the vicinity of the art department “graveyard,” do not let the headless bodies or bodiless heads (fondly nicknamed Edwardo by many art students) fool you with their stoic behavior. It is widely believed that Bethel’s campus hosts many haunted locations; the art department graveyard is not one to rule out.
