Revisiting the ghosts of Roosevelt High School

It occurred to me the other day that I have been doing Weird Fresno for over seven years now and in that time I have written hundreds of stories about the weird and unusual in the Fresno area. Looking back at some of the early stories made me want to revisit them and share them with anyone new to the site. Looking through some I did in the first year I came across one of my favorite (and most popular stories). The ghosts of Roosevelt High School.

When I first wrote about Roosevelt High I had only heard of two locations that were haunted, the boys restroom in the East Hall and the school’s auditorium. Since I’ve written that article I’ve received nearly forty comments (as I write this) of people who have witnessed things in these locations as well as others I didn’t know about at the time. Now if these stories are true or not, it’s not my place to say. I’m just here to share what I’ve heard and add to the legend of Roosevelt High.

East Hall at Roosevelt High School - photo courtesy of Historic Fresno

With the boys restroom in the East Hall no one knows who it really is but it’s been rumored for years that it is the ghost of a student who committed suicide there. I’ve looked for any news article to add some validity to this but have been unable to find anything to substantiate it. That being said something has been felt there over the years and the stories cannot be discounted. One night a janitor was working late and heard coughing coming from the restroom. Thinking it was a student who had somehow snuck in and was hiding, he went to investigate the noise. Upon entering the bathroom it was completely empty and there was no way that anyone could have left it without him seeing them exit the restroom from where he standing in the hallway that he was cleaning.

For a while the restroom was closed and used for storage but was finally reopened in the 2007-2008 school year. Cold chills are sometimes felt when the door is opened even though the air is warmer everywhere else. Many students said they have felt a presence in the area and some have even heard noises as if someone was in there with them even though they were all alone.

Some of the other stories talk about how a girl supposedly jumped from the bell tower to her death and haunts the location to this day. Other stories say that she hung herself there. If either are true it’s hard to say. Another story was told to me by a student that heard from the kitchen staff that a spirit supposedly haunts the kitchen area but nothing specific was really said to them.

As I said, whether there is any truth to the above stories it’s hard to say. But the next one does have itself grounded in a true story, albeit a sad one.

Roosevelt High School Auditorium - photo courtesy of Historic Fresno

The school’s auditorium is said to be haunted by a student who was performing on stage, collapsed due to a heart attack and died. The spirit was called “Lester” and was said to roam the auditorium and sometimes play pranks on people by letting his presence be known. That was all I had heard and from the comments it seemed there was nothing more to the story. That changed a few months after I wrote the original article when a cousin of Lester’s, or Leslie as he was actually known as, contacted me to tell me the story was true.

It was October 10, 1960 and Leslie Chambers was six days away from his sixteenth birthday. It was a school assembly day and Leslie was performing a cheer on the stage of the auditorium in front of all the assembled students and faculty when he collapsed mid-performance and died on the spot. The doctors later found out he had a congenital heart defect and that was what led to his death. The school was obviously grief stricken and a memorial was quickly formed near one of the trees where Leslie and his girlfriend shared lunch each day.

It was a sad story to say the least and his cousin had contacted me so Leslie's story could be shared. I found interesting in that right after I posted that story I received some comments saying that the students in the auditorium still remember “Lester” and never forgot about him and they still consider him one of their own. One student said they were told by faculty that things would always wind up missing and they said he supposedly played pranks on students (the commentor doubted this as they felt the teacher was just messing with them but still wanted to share it). But what was said next brought a smile to my face (and maybe a tear to my eye). The students have always included him in every production done there since his death by listing his name in the cast/crew sign in sheet and it is a tradition that has been passed down over the years from student to student, class to class. Seems Leslie Chambers memory continues on, even over fifty years later.

Leslie Chambers
October 16, 1944 - October 10, 1960

As I post this it will be October 13, 2015, three days before Leslie would have turned 71. I hope someone from Roosevelt sees this before Friday October 16 and gets the word out to the RSA at Roosevelt and they wish Leslie a happy birthday. I know it would make him happy.

Update to the Roosevelt High hauntings

Leslie Chambers, who's death at Roosevelt

High School has spurred a ghost story that's

lasted over 40 years.

I've written over dozens of articles on haunted locations throughout the Fresno area and beyond. But that's what they have always been, stories. You are never really sure of the truth behind the names and events that are said to have occurred that created the haunt.

One of the more popular articles that I've done is the one on the ghosts of Roosevelt High School, especially the story of "Lester". For those who aren't familiar with the story, it's said that in 1977 a student named Lester was performing on the stage in the auditorium and collapsed there and died from either dehydration or possibly a heart attack. Ever since then people have felt his presence in the auditorium in one way or another.

Being the skeptic I am, I wasn't quite sure on the truth to this story. So imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail the other day from someone saying they were Lester's cousin and was then able to verify what happened. Turns out the story is true in most regards as a student did die due to a congenital heart defect while performing on stage. His name was Leslie Chambers and was born on October 16, 1944. On October 10, 1960 (just 6 days before his 16th birthday) while performing a cheer on stage as part of a school assembly, Leslie collapsed mid-performance and died. At that time his mother and grandmother were out shopping for his birthday and were quickly notified by the school. He was well loved by both his family and classmates and after his death the school created a memorial on one of the trees at the school where Leslie and his girlfriend met for lunch each day.

Now I don't know if Leslie haunts the stage where he died, and now that this story has both a name and face to go with it I certainly hope not as the story seems more personal now. But this is one of those times that the legend has some truth in it. Now it's possible that someone just made up the entire story of "Lester" haunting the auditorium and used the known death of a student to give it an apparent kernel of truth, but that's uncertain.

What I do hope is that the students at Roosevelt (current and future) that hear the story of Lester read this and find out the truth about Leslie Chambers and don't remember him for being a ghost that haunts the auditorium, but of a young life cut short.

The ghosts of Fresno's Roosevelt High School

The main entrance of Roosevelt High School

Ask anyone who has attended Roosevelt High School in Fresno if it's haunted and more likely than not the answer will be yes. The school is rumored to have two spirits haunting it, and they have been there for several decades.


The East Hall of Roosevelt High School, where the spirit of a student is said
to roam the old boys restroom.

The first one is regarding the story of a boy who committed suicide in the boys restroom in the East Hall. No one knows why he took his life, but the restroom was reportedly locked for many years because of this. People have reported hearing them when they are by themselves. A janitor who was working late one night said he heard someone coughing in the old restroom. When he went to check to see if anyone was there, no one could be found. Others have said they feel an unnatural cold sensation in the room. The restroom was used for storage for many years, but finally reopened in the 2007 - 2008 school year.

The auditorium of Roosevelt High School where the spirit of a student is
still seen on stage.

The other ghost can be found in the school's auditorium. The story goes that sometime in 1977, a student named Lester was performing on stage and suddenly died. Speculation said it was either dehydration or possibly a heart attack. Whatever the cause of his untimely death may be, for some reason Lester has not left the auditorium. People have reported seeing him mostly on the stage, though others have felt a presence back stage and even the seating area.

If you look at the thread I started on Fresno Famous, there are plenty of stories about Roosevelt's ghosts. Something has to be walking that auditorium late at night and roaming the boys restroom in the East Hall if people keep reporting it. Yet no one knows why these spirits continue to haunt the places where they have died.