Rice University US Post Office

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, a delivery driver noticed something odd on the post office’s intercom: ‘Attention all employees—your packages are trying to escape!’ Since then, whenever someone mentions the Rice University US Post Office, people chuckle and wonder if today might be the day the mail decides to stage an en masse breakout. Ever since that fateful morning, employees keep their doors locked tighter than ever before. But one old postal worker swears he saw a letter whispering to another, ‘Today’s the day we finally get out!’ And every now and then, when it’s especially quiet inside, you can almost hear the rustling sound of envelopes escaping through the ventilation system. A regular visitor once quipped: 'Maybe they just want to see the world outside!'

2. At dawn one foggy morning, a mail carrier heard an eerie whisper over the post office PA system: 'Morning, Rice U. folks—today's letters are delivered with love.' The mail carrier, startled but curious, looked around and saw no one. Over the next few days, whenever he arrived early, he’d hear that same cheery voice on the intercom. Finally, a neighbor confessed she’d been playing a prank using her kid’s toy radio. The whole office laughed it off as just another Rice University oddity.

3. One day after work, a neighbor dropped by the post office to check if any packages had arrived. As he waited in line, he overheard an unusual conversation between two postal workers. Finally, one of them pulled out a package addressed to ‘Professor Rice, Rice University’ and asked jokingly, ‘Who’s Professor Rice around here?’ The other worker laughed and replied, ‘Probably that nice old man who always comes for his mail!’ The neighbor, standing nearby, couldn’t help but smile—apparently, even post offices have their own charming urban legends.

4. At dusk one autumn evening, a postal worker counted letters in the dimly lit post office when he swore he saw a shadowy figure slipping through the stacks of mail. Curious, he followed the silhouette into an empty sorting room, where a regular package seemed to be moving on its own. Turned out it was just the wind playing tricks—until a delivery driver walked in and asked if anyone needed help finding their Halloween costume.