The Smell of Birthday Cake in an Empty Dormitory

The Smell of Birthday Cake in an Empty Dormitory

A cold, sealed dormitory smelled like a warm birthday cake at 6:14 a.m. on August 12, 2019 - a scent that returned twice more before a facilities director walked into an empty building six years after it closed. Why would the air outside a boarded-up, gas-shut dormitory carry the exact smell of someone baking on the birthday of a student who died there sixteen years earlier?

In this episode, we tell the documented sequence of anomalies tied to Aldermoor Hall: repeated olfactory reports, missing archive files, and odd maintenance records, all circling the question of what, if anything, connects them to Aaron Fitch’s death.

Person: Aaron Fitch
Date: August 14 (birthday), January 9, 2003 (death)
Location: Aldermoor Hall, Ardenmoor College north campus
Event: Repeated birthday-cake smell reported August 12-14, 2019
Status: Aldermoor Hall demolished spring 2021

- At 6:14 a.m. on August 12, 2019, runner Earl Powell stopped near the north utility door because the air smelled like birthday cake.
- Aldermoor Hall had been sealed and empty for six years with boarded windows and gas lines shut off since 2013.
- The birthday-cake scent was reported three times over three days and prompted Earl to call the college’s non-emergency line on August 14 at 7:52 a.m.
- Facilities director Jean Sawyer entered the six-year-old building after the call and found a dust patch indicating repeated standing in the same spot.
- The archive index lists a folder for Aldermoor Hall’s 2003 operational records with a location number, but the physical file is missing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.