History & local legend
In December 2006, a false fire alarm brought Penn Museum security chief Brian McDevitt to the surveillance recordings from the Etruscan corridor. On the tape, he saw what looked like a man wearing a cap, trench coat and scarf among the archaeological displays.
McDevitt later misplaced that first recording, but said other nights’ footage showed a less distinct shape in the same hallway. Event planner Bethany Schell also watched several tapes and described one image that seemed to turn toward the camera. Jessica Pressler collected their accounts for Philadelphia Magazine in June 2007.
Some museum colleagues suggested that the figure was Keith DeVries, an archaeologist who had died in July 2006. He had helped plan the Greek Gallery and kept his museum office after retiring from teaching. They imagined him returning to unfinished research, continuing a routine that had already kept him at the museum well beyond retirement.
