NATCHITOCHES - One of the enduring campus traditions at Northwestern State University is the story of Isabella, the campus ghost.

     Professor of English Julie Kane has linked the story of Isabella with Northwestern’s history in a ballad written for the University’s 125th anniversary celebration. Kane will read The Ballad of Isabella at the Homecoming luncheon, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center.

     “I was looking for a way to pull together 125 years of history,” said Kane, a nationally acclaimed poet, who has been a faculty member at Northwestern for 10 years. “I read the 125th anniversary book and Dr. Marietta LeBreton’s book on the history of Northwestern and spent some time in the Cammie Henry archives. As I did my research, I kept my focus on Isabella.”

     According to legend, Isabella lived before the Civil War. At one time she was in love with a young man who was killed in a duel of honor. She became a nun and lived in Bullard Mansion which was on the current site of Northwestern. Isabella was a recluse who only came out at night to talk to her lover. Following a violent storm, she stabbed herself through the heart with a knife, leaving a bloody handprint the wall. Tradition says that she leaves a bloody handprint on the wall or door of every building in which she resides.

     Isabella is said to inhabit the oldest building on Northwestern’s campus which is Nelson Hall, the home of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. The building, which is the former Women’s Gymnasium, was built in 1923.

     In 1904, she was moved from Bullard Mansion when it was torn down to East Hall. Isabella was moved in 1926 from the site of the demolished East Hall to the music education building. When that building was torn down in 1948, Isabella was escorted to Caldwell Hall where she stayed until the 1982 move to Nelson Hall after Caldwell Hall was destroyed in a fire. A ceremony was held in 2001 to welcome Isabella to the rehabilitated Nelson Hall.

     “In the ballad, I bring in how the campus and its mission has changed. Northwestern students adopted Isabella as a symbol of the university,” said Kane. “Isabella changes with the times. She doesn’t give up and keeps going. The legend originated with something sad, but the character has softened and I think she enjoys the campus atmosphere.”

     Kane said the story of Isabella and Northwestern are perfect for a ballad.

     “I teach a class on the forms of poetry. Each week we take up a different poetic form,” said Kane. The students study it and write a poem in that form. One week we covered the ballad, which is good for telling stories especially ones with dramatic history like the story of Isabella.”

     Tickets to the luncheon are $20 per person and can be purchased online at www.northwesternalumni.com/luncheon or by calling Connie White at the Alumni office at (318) 352-4270.  Tickets may also be purchased that day.