All right all of you Halloween lovers – this one is for you. With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to check out some of Penn State’s most haunted locations. After a little research and a few trips, I believe that I have found the four most haunted places on campus. Keep reading to hear about some of the most haunted places at Penn State that you need to visit!
Located right across from the Schwab Auditorium stands Old Botany, one of the oldest buildings on Penn State’s campus. This quaint little cottage lies just off the sidewalk on Pollock Road a few hundred feet down from the HUB. You’ve probably passed it a hundred times, but trust me, after reading this you stop to take a second look.
Legend has it that Frances Atherton, wife of the former president of the university George Atherton, lurks inside the building and sometimes even peers out the upstairs windows. People say they have seen Frances in the window staring at her husband’s grave which lies just across the street outside the Schwab auditorium. I went to visit myself and did a few laps around the house, and although I didn’t see any signs of Francis, I have to admit it was a little creepy.
Alright I have to admit I was a little reluctant to investigate this one considering I happen to live in the building, but after a little digging and a quick visit this might be one of the weirdest, creepiest, most haunted places at Penn State. Tener Hall is the northern most building in PSU’s East Halls, which is strictly for freshman students. Almost every time I mentioned I was living in this hall to upperclassmen, I would immediate get the response “YOU LIVE IN THE HAUNTED DORM!” Curious as to what happened here I started researching.
Back in 2007, freshman Taylor Thomasson was a freshman at Penn State university. On November 14th Thomasson fell from her 8th floor window critically injuring herself. Taylor passed away two days later and after an autopsy was performed, her death was ruled a suicide. Students who live on the 8th floor have said that sometimes they feel a bitter chill out of nowhere or that the doors rattle with no one else around.
My friends and I decided to take an elevator ride up to the 8th floor to check it out, and when we stepped out of the elevator we were surprised at the first sight we encountered. Aside from being dead silent, the walls were painted every shade of pastel you could imagine to add to the creepiness. The floor was distinctly colder than the floor I had just come from and it’s eerily silent. You just get a weird feeling up there that I can’t explain. So if you ever make a friend that lives in Tener, you should definitely visit the 8th floor and see for yourself.
I was surprised to learn about the hauntings of the Schwab Auditorium for the sole fact that I had been there so many times and had no clue that there was any ghost activity found there. The Schwab Auditorium across from Old Botany on Pollock Road is used for pretty much any large sized assembly, speaking engagement, play, etc. so there’s a good chance you’ve been there at least once or twice.
It’s a beautiful, old building that is said to be haunted by the ghost of Charles Schwab (no, not the banker) who was the head of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and donated the money for the auditorium to be built. People have seen Schwab sitting in the audience during plays and even lurking around backstage. There have also been reports of the ghost of a janitor named Steve moving objects around in the attic of the auditorium. Unfortunately, every time I visited the auditorium it was in use, but if you happen to catch it on day where there’s no events behind held, it’s definitely worth checking out.
It is said that the third floor is especially active, and that the common room TV changes to a Spanish channel. Apparently some Penn State students used a ouija board, and all of the spirit’s answers were in Spanish. There is unexplained banging and rearranged furniture that takes place in the study room, like other haunted places at Penn State. One student reportedly saw the ghost of an older lady in her rocking chair at the end of the hall one night.
Okay people I saved the best for last! Believe it or not if you venture downstairs to the basement level of the Pattee Stacks, located in the Pattee and Paterno Library near West Campus, and stand between Rows 50 and 51 of books, you are standing at the scene of a gruesome murder that still remains unsolved. Back in 1969, graduate student Betsy Aardamsa was stabbed to death in the basement level of the Pattee Stacks.
The story goes that Betsy was studying with a friend in the stacks when she ventured to Rows 50 and 51 of books to look for a specific title when a man confronted her and stabbed her in the heart. Apparently she died in 5 minutes and nobody ever saw the assailant flee the scene. Over thirty years later, the case remains unsolved and students often go down to the exact location in the stacks to check out the scene. Definitely the most famous of the haunted places at Penn State.
I decided to check it out and let me tell you it is SCARY. I was by myself just trekking through the library in between classes when I decided to check it out. So I went down to the basement level stack and found myself complete alone down there. Then I walked to Rows 50 and 51 and immediately felt this feeling of dread come over me. I stayed to look around for a few more minutes but eventually retreated back upstairs because I was definitely spooked.
The air down there is so heavy and it’s so silent you could actually hear a pin drop. If you’re brave enough I DEFINITELY recommend checking this one out considering what happened there years ago. There’s just a strange feeling that comes over you when you’re there that’s hard to describe – so I definitely recommend going on your own adventure to these haunted places at Penn State…IF YOU DARE!
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