The Most Haunted College Campuses in the U.S.

By Kait Spong

When you typically think of your fears in relation to college, a lot may come to mind: your daunting calculus professor, the fifteen-page paper you’ve been putting off all semester, or maybe even how you will contribute to the working world upon your impending graduation. But have you ever considered the possibility of haunted college campus? The answer is most likely not, unless you’ve come toe-to-toe with your own spine-tingling spook; but hey, if your ex is somehow making it through college, then anything is possible, right?

Did your university make our list of the most cringe-worthy, haunted campuses in the U.S.? Find out below. It’s sure to be a scream!

3. Boston University (Boston, MA)

Do you like your college campus haunted by prestigious, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights? Then you might to consider Boston University when applying to colleges this upcoming year. Eugene O’Neill, known for penning some of the finest 20th century plays such as The Emperor Jones, The Hairy Ape, and The Iceman Cometh, was the first to introduce techniques of realism into American theatre alongside his contemporaries Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller.

But despite his success, O’Neill is plagued by a dark history. After a series of family misfortunes, O’Neill retreated to the fourth floor of Boston’s Shelton Hotel before his succumbed to bronchial pneumonia in 1953. In the following year, BU acquired the hotel and renamed it Shelton Hall (now, Kilachand Hall). O’Neill seemed to disregard the new ownership, however. To this day, he still haunts the building. The elevator still makes routinely unscheduled stops to the fourth floor, and the lights on this particular floor are also dimmer than those in the remainder of Kilachand Hall. But students don’t seem too bothered by the spirit, which they hope will serve as creative inspiration for their own writing.

Other supposed haunted buildings on campus include Myles Standish Hall, another hotel turned dormitory, that was a favorite of baseball player Babe Ruth. His spirit is said to frequent the building although he is often described as “fairly boring” in comparison to O’Neill’s spirit. But c’mon, don’t we all want a considerate roomie, especially one who doesn’t talk too much?

2. Penn State (University Park, PA)

Pennsylvania State University, more commonly referred to as Penn State, made our list due to its unique paranormal history. This northeastern university is home to its very own paranormal research society, which even got its own A&E TV show, Paranormal State.

Not only is Penn State’s spooky research unprecedented, setting the stage for a prestigious college’s involvement with the lesser studied sciences, but it is also known for having a unique, non-human ghostly presence on campus. Old Coaly, a pack mule who assisted in the construction of several campus buildings, is of the college’s most well-known (and unusual) haunts. Despite his bones being moved all over campus, Old Coaly shows favor to his original resting place, Watts Hall. Staff still hear his bray down the empty halls.

The Old Botany Building, which lives up to its name in being the oldest existing academic building on campus, also has its fair share of creepy accounts. Francis Atherton, the widow of former Penn State President, George Atherton, is reported to stare down from the attic windows, particularly fixated on the grave of her husband at Schwab Auditorium. The auditorium is also rumored to be haunted by President Atherton himself. Although the exact identity of the apparition still remains uncertain, students have taken the liberty to nickname the presence “Schwaboo.”

1. Ohio University (Athens, Ohio)

Ohio University charts the list again and again for the most haunted university in the United States, which seems to add up if you consider the college’s history. Just take a look at a campus map, which clearly shows Ohio University sitting in the middle of what appears to be a pentagram. All five points of the spooky symbol mark the spots of five local cemeteries surrounding the university.

If that isn’t hair-raising enough for you, things get creepier at Wilson Hall, the campus’ most haunted dorm. Not only was Wilson Hall built on an old Native American burial ground (and didn’t we learn how that turns out from the 1982 smash horror hit, Poltergeist?) but it was also the former site for the Athens Lunatic Asylum. It sounds like an episode of American Horror Story in the making! Obviously, TV execs thought the same because the campus was featured on Fox’s Scariest Places on Earth due to the mysterious happenings that have occurred in Wilson Hall’s Room 428, a room which has seen countless paranormal phenomena since the 1970s.

Wilson Hall isn’t the only haunted building on the Ohio University campus. Rumor has it that on Easter Sunday of 1993, Laura Bensek fell from the window of Room 404 in Ohio University’s Crawford Hall. The activity since the event has been pretty standard as far as hauntings are concerned: flickering lights, slamming doors, and a spotted apparition, who is thought to be Laura herself. The most disturbing reports are from residents having issues playing Bob Marley’s music on any of their devices, and while this may not seem frightening beyond the fact that you can’t “Stir It Up,” take a moment to consider that Laura was an avid Bob Marley fan.

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