After a month or so into school, the only things that people can think about are midterms and the upcoming holidays. Up next is the day where people go door-to-door to get some free candy. I mean who doesn’t like Halloween? Scary movies, haunted houses, and free candy sounds pretty great to me. To celebrate, let’s look at the top 20 haunted universities around the world!
1. Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts
In the same city where the infamous Witch Hunt occurred, of course the University located there is haunted too! There have been several claims of paranormal activity; however, Bowditch Hall’s Room 222 is said to be the most haunted part of the University. With beds shaking in the middle of the night, loud banging from the walls, and the murder of three people in the 1970s, the claim does not seem to be wrong.
2. University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario
The oldest university in Ontario must be a little haunted… alright very haunted. There were two stonemasons who assisted in building the school, then one killed the other and hid the body elsewhere. Two years later, a fire occurred and the victim’s emblem was found (many say his spirit haunts the grounds at night). The creepiest “curse” set on the school was done by Robertson Davies who joked about how he would haunt the school one day. Well, reports claim the presence of spirits in the building he was the master of. These are only two of the many reports said by their staff and students.
3. Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado
At this University, several places are haunted by ghosts. First, there is Ammons Hall which is believed to be haunted by a woman who is said to have drowned in the pool (when it was a recreation centre). Then, at Johnson Hall, reports say that when no one else is in the building, they would hear singing and dancing footsteps. Many believe that a dancer is haunting its hallways. Colorado State’s creepiest sightings might be in their Centennial Hall, where footsteps have been heard and a large dark figure was seen. Eugene Groves (the building designer, who was later put into an insane asylum) or a former student are believed to be the ghosts of this hall.
4. St. Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
A faceless nun haunts this small school. But no matter what the size, a ghost is still a ghost, and this one is just as creepy as the others. Incidents with this ghost have involved students and other nuns. The faceless nun has conversations with others but when people recall the memory, they never see her face. It seems like this small school in this small town has the scariest looking ghost.
5. Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Of course, this is in the same place of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Many places throughout the school are believed to be haunted by soldiers and victims of this war. For instance, one certain female ghost is luring men to complete a suicide pact, which her partner did not. She is only one of the many ghosts who give bad luck to the students.
6. St. Francis University in Antigosh, Nova Scotia
The Blue Nun is a ghost who roams the grounds of this school. She is said to knock books and students over shelves and stairs, respectively. The life of The Blue Nun is a tragic one, to say the least. She fell in love with a priest and felt so guilty about it that she leapt out of a balcony and died. Then, the priest she fell in love with hung himself afterwards. A seriously tragic love story has led to seriously haunted grounds at the school.
7. Ohio University in Athens, Ohio
Honestly, after countless research, this is the one university that is said to be the most haunted in America – I do not disagree. There is a room in Wilson Hall which is actually locked because of the amount of paranormal activity reported from this room. Legend says, a man died of mysterious causes in that room, and afterward, the people who stayed there would always experience paranormal activity. From flying objects, strange voices, and faces appearing on the door . . . please keep this room locked forever.
8. University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia
Edgar Allen Poe’s Alma Mater would be strange if it wasn’t haunted. This school even has its own “haunted tours” because of how many ghosts are in the area. The library contains two spirits which are said to be taking care of their books, which even after the American Civil War are still in pristine condition. Then, a legend said in these tours speaks of how a former professor’s daughter fell in love and later died of a broken heart, leaving her spirit behind.
9. University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan
A long time ago, eighty-eight people from the school (students, teachers, and staff members) contracted typhoid. After some time, nine people passed away because of it. People have said that they see ghosts in the lecture theatre. The same place where a funeral was held for a teacher who died during the typhoid epidemic.
10. Fordham university in New York City, Bronx, New York
Parts of The Exorcist were filmed in this university; if that isn’t a sign that this place is haunted, who knows what is? Anyways, at Hughes Hall, where scenes were filmed, a little boy is seen roaming the halls, and doors open and close themselves. Then, the university’s cemetery is equally as creepy as it sounds. Bodies were reburied to a new location on campus; however, two bodies could not be found, and their spirits may still haunt the grounds.
11. Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
In the late 1800s, the school had just become co-ed. A young, unwed, woman had discovered that she was pregnant. Since, the stigma around unwed pregnant woman was more than negative, the young woman hung herself after discovering the news. Her ghost is said to roam the hallways, making a few noises, and quietly closing doors. Okay, she was polite; but still, it’s creepy.
12. Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
This Ivy League school is haunted too, even the smart kids can’t get away from ghosts. There is one painting of Amy Lowell (a poet) which is said to smell like the cigarettes she smoked, and others even see apparitions of the poet. There’s another haunted portrait at the school of Harry Elkins Widener. This was taken down from a room and afterwards, parts of the ceiling fell. Once the portrait was put back up, it all stopped. With a school as old as Harvard, no wonder a few spirits stayed back.
13. New York University in New York City, New York
In the city that never sleeps, the ghosts don’t either. In 1835, NYU was chosen to be built above a former graveyard, which had an estimated 20,000 bodies buried there. Over 75 years later, a fire erupted killing 146 people. Their spirits are believed to be haunting the grounds. Years of bad luck and dead bodies has caused countless ghost stories and legends from NYU.
14. University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
It is said that this school’s Dalton Hall is haunted by a ghost who died in January of 1931 because he froze to death. The former residence building has had trails of water leading to his old room and apparitions of the student covered in snow then melting away (see what I did there?).
15. Oxford University in Oxford, England
This is a school where it had nearly thirty stories to read before I chose the few to show how it is one of the most haunted universities. Here are a few of the creepiest ones: the singing phantom nuns who are heard annually on May 1st, the beheaded bishop who takes off his head near witnesses (just like Harry Potter’s Nearly Headless Nick), and the headless ghost of King Charles I.
16. Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia
In the school’s auditorium, there is a ghost who is named “Agnes”. Her tragic story is one that is meant to be played out in a theatre such as the one she resides in. The woman fell in love with one of her professors. The man married another woman, and so, she hung herself and has been haunting the auditorium ever since.
17. University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines
This school in the Philippines is said to be haunted by apparitions of a dead priest. People claimed to have seen him walking around at night and another priest decided to speak upon this. He says that the only reason why people would see these apparitions is because of other evil spirits visiting the place. With other reports and claims of paranormal activity at the school, that priest doesn’t seem to be wrong about the other evil spirits.
18. Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois
This was named the creepiest University in Illinois, and the stories prove it. There was a time when students were using a ouija board (seriously, why?) and when they set it down on the couch it set fire; the firefighters said the cause of the fire was the couch. Many speculate that it was a ghost of a boy that roams the halls. Then, another group of boys used a ouija board in the school cemetery (yes, please use a ouija board because that has worked well before). One boy in the group was acting strangely, and the monks claimed him as possessed. The boy ran away and returned as if nothing happened. These are only a few incidents; however, I think ouija boards should not be allowed at this school anymore.
19. Ball State University in Municie, Indiana
Many buildings in this school are believed to be haunted by ghosts. Firstly, there is the library which is said to be haunted by construction workers who died while building the place. Witnesses claim to feel watched and think they see someone walk through the shelves. Then, the theatre is haunted by a man who hung himself after his young daughter died. Sounds of skipping (like a little girl’s) would be heard from where the man would have lived at the time. Then, the pizzeria is said to be haunted by a man who accidentally killed himself after a butcher knife slipped from his hand.
20. Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky
Get all ideas of Dracula’s spirit come to life at one of the most haunted universities. This school has actually been cursed for nearly two centuries by a former professor. Constantine Rafinesque, a professor of modern languages began to teach at the school in 1819. The professor was fired in 1926, leaving a curse behind. “Damn thee and thy school as I place a curse upon you,” were the words he said before leaving. One year later, the state stopped funding the school, the school’s president resigned, then died, and there was a large fire. Strangely, the only things that the fire did not consume were Rafinesque’s papers . . .
Which of these haunted universities would you want to visit or even attend? Feel free to comment below and share the article!
Featured photo source: collegemagazine.com and huffingtonpost.com
