The Curse of the Whale Bone

Every university has its share of weird superstitions, from rubbing John Harvard's feet, Penn State Ninny lion curse, to the University of Toronto's “King College Circle.” Yet somehow StFX has made things ten times weirder. Being located in a province with strong ties to the sea, whaling, and maritime history, students have often brought in a treasure trove of goods—sometimes for the worst.

Let me be your guide as we dive into a story as old as the ancient bricks of MacIssac Hall. Long before StFX stood as it does today, the shores of Nova Scotia were home to whalers who braved the restless Atlantic. One stormy night, as legend tells, a monstrous whale larger than any seen before washed up on the rocks near Antigonish, its body battered but its massive jawbone intact. The fishermen who found it dared not touch it, for the beast bore strange markings along its ribs as if carved by unseen hands. Among the trembles of his colleagues, one read aloud “BurMac4Evr.” The bone was taken to the university as a curiosity, a relic of the sea's power. But elders warned that the whale did not die naturally–that it had been cursed by the deep. Ever since its towering jawbone has stood on campus (except for that one incident, then later returned in 2017), a silent guardian of those who respect it and a harbinger of misfortune for those who do not.

Yet the tale doesn't stop here. Years later on the shores of Antigonish, a group of daring first year students, defiant of superstition laughed in the face of the infamous whalebone curse. On a crisp autumn night under the glow of the campus lamp posts, they linked arms and boldly marched through the towering jawbone, swearing that the legend was nothing but a myth. But as weeks passed their luck turned sour, failed exams, lost papers, and inexplicable misfortunes plagued them. One even swore that he was haunted by the ghostly moan of the ill-fated whale in his residence building.

Alas nobody believed him, not even his roommate. Another student pleaded to her CAs and even though they were obliged to listen they dismissed her nonsense and reported her to Res-Life. In an attempt to ease their worries, the students went to the Keating Centre to watch a hockey game. All was well until their classmates enthusiastically yelled what was called the “WHALEBONE CHANT.” Panicked and out of options the students flew out the doors and sought the wisdom of the oldest professor they could think of–Ed Carty. “Yes!” they exclaimed. “Surely he’ll know what to do.” He chuckled and said "Quaedam maledictiones non puniunt nisi ludibrio" (translated by more fortunate souls “Some curses don't punish until they are mocked”). If only they hadn't flunked his Latin midterm. “Curse you whalebone!” they said shaking their tiny first year fists. From that day forward students whisper the warning: walk through the whalebone and StFX may never let you leave.