Kids are often afraid to go to school. Between bullies, tests, phys ed, pop quizzes, and paddling, it’s not hard to see why. Children in Memon Mohalla in Pakistan can now add fear of ghosts to that list.

Some planning gone seriously wrong resulted in construction of a primary school in a graveyard. How did someone not discover this problem before the bulldozers moved in? Residents managed to halt construction temporarily while they sued to have the school built elsewhere.

Officials apparently decided it would be easier to clear land in the cemetery than to evict people illegally occupying government land that would be sufficient for school space.

This wouldn’t be a first. Schools elsewhere have been built on graveyards, like a school in Toledo, Italy, and a school in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, among others. In Illinois, there are reports of multiple schools built over graveyards, and many of those schools are said to be haunted.

Well, I suppose despite the creepiness of having children occupy buildings construction over burial sites, there could be some benefits. Maybe really clever and not easily scared kids can figure out a way to get any ghosts present to help them get the answers to tests or hack into the computer system to change their grades. Productions of “Hamlet” could have real ghosts drafted into service. Pranksters could pull all kinds of stunts and blame them on the ghosts. Do you suppose they’ll have the school nurses trained on minor exorcisms?

- Julie

Sources:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/19840/memon-mohalla-haunted-by-%E2%80%98ghost%E2%80%99-school/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/world/europe/02toledo.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/school-threatens-to-disturb-chinese-burial-ground-for-second-time/article1590205/
http://theshadowlands.net/places/illinois.htm