I don't believe in ghosts, not even now around Halloween.
But working at the Ravens' Under Armour Performance Center has definitely made a believer out of former 23-year Baltimore City Police officer Melvin Cross.
"Yeah, there's something in here," said Cross, a member of the team's security team. "Definitely. Without a doubt."
I first heard about the Ravens' resident ghost(s) around the 2015 NFL Draft in May when a video was making its rounds. The video was captured on one of the building's security cameras on April 3, 2015 at 3:11 a.m. I figured now, Halloween Day, would be the time to share.
Mobile app users, tap "View in Browser" at the top of the page to view the spooky video.
Kinda creepy, right?
"People say it's the wind. How can that be the wind? How can that be the wind?!" Cross emphatically said. "Look at it. The plant doesn't move!"
Cross also points out that it's a heavy door (I tested it myself and, yes, it's pretty solid. It would take a very strong wind). The security staff even went back to the weather report from that night and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Ellison James was working the night shift that evening. He heard a bunch of racket going on upstairs, but didn't go up and investigate. It was hardly the first time he'd heard weird noises in the darkness.
The next day, Cross and James pulled up the video and found the footage of the door mysteriously opening. James went up – more self-assured in the daylight – and tried to find some explanation.
"Somebody has to physically push that thing for it to open," James said. "I'm telling you, there's something in that building. That place is spooked."
This is nothing new, however.*So don't go blaming the Ravens' 1-6 start on evil spirits. *
James has been working the graveyard security shift for 11 years and says he's heard, seen and even felt some supernatural stuff the entire time. He usually hears noises between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. He was eager to share his scariest story.
"It was like 2-something in the morning," James said. "I looked down the hall and I saw a silhouette walk across that hallway. I ran to the corner. By the time I got there, it made that left going towards the gym."
James has felt a rub across his face while sitting in the security office. It felt like an actual hand. He's seen other shadowy figures walk by the office, through the main lobby.
Cross recalls once taking a shower in the locker room and the temperature suddenly dropping. He also remembers hearing a bunch of chatter one night coming from the conference room that's essentially just above his head on the next floor.
"It was like a conference, just talking, talking fast," he said. "You couldn't understand it. You could hear them talking, like a lot of people talking."
Cross doesn't work the night shift anymore. He denies it's because of the noises, but I'm not convinced.
Receptionist Toni Lekas tells a story about answering the security office phone, but the call was oddly coming from the same extension she was picking up. A little weirded out, she tripped, as if something had been put in front of her. It happened a second time just after.
"I think the ghost was messing with me," Lekas said. "I'm telling you, that's the only way that could have happened. There was a ghost sitting in there."
The staff members aren't the only ones with their suspicions. Former safety Ed Reed also claimed there was a ghost in the Under Armour Performance Center. Check out the video below (fast forward to the 2:20 mark).
So should the Ravens be worried? Should they get a medium or exorcist at 1 Winning Drive?
James doesn't think so, and he probably knows best.
"You could, but they seem to be friendly," he said. "It doesn't bother me at all. I just talk to it. I'll be like, 'I'm not playing with you tonight.'"
