Haunted Universities: Ghost Stories, Haunted Buildings, and Campus Legends

With its stoic red brick and brilliant white stone exterior, and its twin towers topped with pineapple-spired domes, the unceremoniously-named The English Building, located on the University of Illinois campus, looks as if it's capable of taking on any new challenge since its 1905 dedication.

And, according to University history, it has. The building has served as a woman's dormitory, the home economics department, and the English department. The other purpose of the building is, apparently, is to serve as the eternal dormitory of at least one ghost.

The campus legends that circulate about The English Building include one female spirit who died in the there when it was used as woman's dorm.

The cause and place of her death are a matter of debate. Some say that the woman discovered that she was pregnant, a tabboo for a single girl at the time. After this stunning revelation she drowned herself and her unborn child in the swimming pool. (The English Building, way ahead of its time, actually had an indoor pool located on the lower level.)

In another story, she killed herself in her room after a love affair went sour.

Over the years, people have reported seeing the filmy figure of a woman wandering the halls. Her figure has been reported in the area that is now used as offices for the department's graduate teaching assistants.

Students and visitors have seen lights flicker for no reason and have heard doors slam when there was no one in the building.

Schwaboo.

Brumbaugh Poltergeist.

The wandering spirit of George Atherton.

They're names that send chills up the spines of Penn State students almost as much as phrases like, "mid-term" and "the last beer."

You can read about the haunted legends of Haunted Valley... The Ghosts of Penn State.

It's the first book dedicated exclusively to ghost stories and legends of Penn State and its branch campuses.

There are rumors on the campus of Mississippi State University's campus that Mitchell Memorial Library was once used as a secret witches' cult.

In the 1960s, so the story goes, students would sneak into the building and hold séances and other occult rituals. Other rumors indicate the Ouija board was used during ceremonies to contact the dead.

It must have worked. Now the building is reportedly haunted.

While this may sound like another campus legend, the student newspaper confirms some elements. Students and even professors have admitted seeing the satanic references--the pentagram and other six-pointed stars were scrawled on the walls of the library's third floor. (It had been abandoned at the time.)

No students were ever caught.

So they may still be on the prowl...

If Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, is the most haunted university, Wilson Hall might be the most haunted building in the most haunted university.

And if that's the case, Room 428 is the most haunted room, in the most haunted building in the most haunted university.

They say if you check out the the room you can find a face deeply etched into the wood grain, the face is one of a lost soul.

Whether this spirit is also reponsible for the other paranormal activity is a matter of great debate. RA's have said they've witnessed objects, like glasses and mugs, being moved and thrown. Some other items, like towel racks, were taken apart.

Apparitions have been seen.

To make matters even creepier, the fourth floor is supposedly the site of the ghost of a suicide victim.

You could say that Wilson Hall is covered--floor to ceiling--paranormally speaking.

Kentucky is known for its blue grass... and its blue ghosts.

In Richmond, KY, home of Eastern Kentucky University, students, residents, guests, and even a few faculty members (if you talk to them alone) say that the school has its share of ghosts.

The most famous is the Blue Lady.

People have seen a blue fog form on and around the Keene Johnson Building. Most folks see it appear initially around the bell tower of the stately building.

The fog--or whatever it is--suddenly becomes the ghost of a woman, attired in a immaculate ball gown.

Is it just a warped meterological event? Or is there something more paranormal to it?

Minnesota is known for the cold. Both the temperature and the temperament is cold in the great northern state.

But the coldly rational citizens, students, and faculty of St. Olaf College could not stop tales of ghosts and haunted halls from circulating through the country. In fact, St. Olaf was one of the most researched college hauntings with writers documenting these paranormal encounters.

The campus, and its Gothic-inspired architecture, sure looks haunted.

According to reports, here are the most likely places to spot a ghost at St. Olaf:

• Hilleboe Hall
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• Kelsey Theater


• Melby Hall


• Thorson Hall

If you want to read more, check out books on Minnesota hauntings. It's usually at the top of the list.