M.A. Kleen

From phantom organists and shadowy figures to Confederate soldiers and restless murder victims, some of the South’s most prestigious colleges are also home to chilling ghost stories. Explore the haunted halls, historic dormitories, and eerie legends surrounding universities across the region, where the past may not be entirely dead.

Bob Jones University – Greenville, South Carolina

Founded in 1927 by evangelist Bob Jones Sr., Bob Jones University is a private Protestant university with a student population of roughly 2,800. It has been located in Greenville, South Carolina, since 1947. Mack Library, Rodeheaver Auditorium, and the Museum & Gallery are all said to be haunted.

In Mack Library, the semi-transparent figure of an elderly man has been seen quietly reading in the main hall, though no one is sure who he is or where he came from. Like many theaters, Rodeheaver Auditorium is said to have its own phantom organist. This unidentified spirit reportedly plays sorrowful notes after the students have gone home for the night and the auditorium doors are locked. At the Museum & Gallery, the ghost of an adolescent girl in a long dress has been seen browsing the exhibits. Like the old man in the library, no one is quite sure who she is. Opened in 1951, the Gallery features a collection of fine religious art.

Athens State University – Athens, Alabama

Opened in 1822 as the Athens Female Academy, Athens State University went through several name changes before being purchased by the State of Alabama in 1974. Today, it is a two-year college with a student population of around 3,500. The university’s most famous ghost is Abigail, believed to be the spirit of Abigail Lylia Burns, an opera singer who once performed in McCandless Hall. According to legend, she died on her way home from a performance when her carriage overturned during a storm. She is said to still appear in the auditorium wearing a white gown and carrying flowers. Students report hearing her footsteps and catching the faint scent of her bouquet.

Constructed in 1842, Founders Hall is also believed to be haunted. During its days as a female dormitory, legend claims two young women tried to sneak out at night to meet their lovers. Carrying candles to light the way, one girl’s hair caught fire after a gust of wind blew sparks into it. She reportedly burned to death, and her ghost is said to still haunt the building. Her sorrowful specter sometimes appears in the windows, though more often she manifests through rattling doorknobs and chains, cold spots, and unexplained footsteps.

Florida State University – Tallahassee, Florida

Established in 1851 as the West Florida Seminary, Florida State University is a public research university with more than 40,000 students. Its main campus covers over 450 acres. During the Civil War, the school temporarily became the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute, and its cadets famously helped repel a Union attack on Tallahassee.

FSU is home to several enduring ghost stories. Cawthon Hall, a coed dormitory, is allegedly haunted by the spirit of the building’s namesake, Sarah Landrum Cawthon. Students nicknamed her “Tissie,” and she has reportedly been seen floating through the halls dressed in green. Another spirit is also said to haunt Cawthon Hall, that of a young woman struck by lightning while sunbathing on the roof. She is blamed for electrical disturbances and missing personal items.

A phantom flautist is believed to haunt Gilchrist Hall, while the Chi Omega sorority house is associated with the ghosts of two victims of serial killer Ted Bundy. The young women were brutally murdered there in January 1978. Despite the tragedy, the sorority continued to occupy the house, and reports of paranormal activity connected to the slain coeds persist to this day.

University of Texas at Austin – Austin, Texas

Established in 1883, the University of Texas at Austin is a public research university and the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. It has one of the largest single-campus enrollments in the nation, with more than 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty and staff.

One of UT’s most notorious landmarks is the Victorian Gothic-style Main Building, better known simply as the Tower. On August 1, 1966, former Marine Charles Whitman climbed to the observation deck with a rifle and killed 14 people before police stormed the tower and shot him dead. In addition to that tragedy, at least nine students are known to have jumped to their deaths from the tower over the years. Visitors and staff have reported dark shadows, specters, and flickering lights around the observation deck.

The ghost of pianist and professor Dalies Frantz is believed to haunt Jessen Auditorium, while an anonymous spirit is said to cause disturbances in the Scottish Rite Dormitory. Residents have reported coughing and other unexplained sounds in empty rooms, missing personal belongings, and strange electrical malfunctions. Some believe the activity is connected to a former resident who committed suicide there.

University of Montevallo – Montevallo, Alabama

Founded in 1896, the University of Montevallo is Alabama’s only public liberal arts college. Originally known as the Alabama Girls’ Industrial School, it officially became coeducational in 1956. Today, it is a small college with a student population of around 3,000.

The most terrifying specter at Montevallo is said to haunt Main Hall, the oldest and largest all-female dormitory on campus. It is believed to be the ghost of Condie Cunningham, who was badly burned in a cooking accident in 1908 and died after two agonizing days. Students report hearing her screams echo through the hall. According to Tom Ogden, author of Haunted Colleges and Universities, the girl’s image once appeared on a fourth-floor door, which the college removed after students began whispering about it.

Both Palmer Auditorium and Reynolds Studio Theatre are also believed to be haunted. Built around 1930, Palmer Auditorium is associated with the ghost of Walter “Trummy” Trumbauer, a former drama professor. Reynolds Studio Theatre has generated even more reports, including windows and doors opening and closing on their own, unexplained sounds, and sudden gusts of wind. Another popular campus phantom is the Lady of the Rock, who is said to appear weeping in a yellow dress while seated on a rock in the quad.

Berry College – Mount Berry, Georgia

Berry College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1902 by philanthropist Martha Berry. It is also a work college, where students can find employment in various offices and operations run by the school. Martha Berry left a lasting impression on the campus, and not just because she founded it. Some believe her spirit still lingers at her former mansion, Oak Hill.

Two other ghosts, a young child and a Lady in White believed to be Martha’s sister, Francis, are also said to haunt the home. The ghostly child reportedly moves toys and throws objects in the nursery.

Stretch Road, which connects the college’s two campuses, is haunted by the “Green Lady,” an apparition that materializes in an emerald haze. Her dress dates to the early 1900s, and sightings began in the 1980s. Some witnesses claim she has no eyes. Another unsettling apparition, that of a woman with no teeth, has reportedly been seen at the House o’ Dreams, Martha Berry’s former retreat.

University of Mississippi – University, Mississippi

The University of Mississippi was founded in 1848 and is the state’s largest university, with more than 18,000 students on its main campus. During the Civil War, nearly the entire student body enlisted in the Confederate army. The university became coeducational in 1882.

“Ole Miss” is home to several well-known ghost stories. Confederate soldiers have reportedly been seen in the Lyceum, the oldest surviving original building on campus. The structure served as a hospital after the Battle of Shiloh, and an estimated 250 soldiers died there.

Deaton Hall is said to be haunted by the spirit of former professor Eula Deaton. According to Tom Ogden, author of Haunted Colleges and Universities, she is considered a somewhat malevolent presence and was blamed for the deaths of two students in an elevator accident.

The Sigma Room in St. Anthony Hall is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a Delta Psi fraternity member who died in a car accident sometime in the 1940s or 1950s. Strange sounds, footsteps, and other unexplained activity have long been reported there.

Texas A&M University – College Station, Texas

Originally established in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, Texas A&M University is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System, the largest university in Texas, and one of the largest in the United States. It has more than 56,000 students and a campus spanning roughly 5,500 acres.

At least two hauntings are associated with the main campus. The most notable centers on the Animal Industries Building, which opened in 1931. A meat lab once occupied the basement, now used as a men’s restroom and fire escape. In 1959, laboratory foreman Roy Simms accidentally severed his femoral artery while cutting a slab of bacon. He reportedly died before reaching the elevator. Since then, students have claimed to hear footsteps, screams, and slamming doors in the hallways. Simms’s ghost has also been blamed for tampering with lab equipment.

Francis Hall, home to the School of Veterinary Medicine, is said to be haunted by a shadowy figure that stalks the halls. Janitors working the early morning shift have reported a variety of strange occurrences over the years. No one knows who or what the entity might be, though it appears to be mostly harmless.

Loyola University New Orleans – New Orleans, Louisiana

Established in 1904 and chartered as a university in 1912, Loyola University New Orleans is a private Roman Catholic institution. With just over 5,000 students, it is a relatively small school, though still one of the largest Jesuit universities in the United States.

One of Loyola’s most disturbing legends centers on Greenville Hall, located off Broadway Avenue just up the street from the main campus. Built in 1892, the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to local lore, a nun once broke her vows and became pregnant. Overcome with shame, she allegedly hanged herself from the cupola. Students and staff have reportedly heard footsteps climbing the stairs toward the top of the building.

Between 1916 and 1966, anatomy classes in Marquette Hall used human cadavers for instruction. The bodies were lifted by crane to the morgue and laboratories on the fourth floor. Legend holds that some of these restless spirits still wander the building in search of their violated remains.

The tenth floor of Buddig Hall is also rumored to be haunted. Students describe hearing strange noises, toilets flushing on their own, and doors mysteriously opening and closing. Finally, piano and organ music has reportedly drifted from Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall long after the building has been locked for the night.

University of Tampa – Tampa, Florida

Established in 1931, the University of Tampa is a private coeducational university with a student population of around 7,600. Located in downtown Tampa, it is one of only a dozen schools home to an anti-gravity monument erected by Roger Babson’s Gravity Research Foundation, an organization devoted to exploring ways to achieve gravitational shielding.

One of the most striking buildings on campus is Plant Hall. Built in 1891 in an eclectic Moorish Revival style, it originally served as the Tampa Bay Hotel. The university acquired the five-story, 511-room structure in 1933. Since then, students and staff have reported encounters with the ghost of a man in a brown three-piece suit near the grand staircase. The science wing is considered the most active area of the building. Witnesses describe seeing the apparition of an African American or Cuban man wearing boots and a straw hat, often accompanied by the sound of rattling cart wheels.

Another allegedly haunted campus building is the former Park Theatre, purchased by the university in 1962 and renamed the David Falk Theatre. According to legend, an actress named Bessie Snavely hanged herself either in her dressing room or in a stairwell. Her ghost is generally described as helpful, unless the color red is involved. Red costumes have reportedly been torn or damaged without explanation, and she has occasionally been seen watching rehearsals from the shadows.

Donate

---

Sources

Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of Southern Colleges and Universities. John F Blair, 2004.

Black, Shane. The Spirits of Athens: Haunting Tales of an Alabama Town. iUniverse, Inc., 2009.

Brown, Alan. Georgia Legends & Lore. The History Press, 2022.

Frethem, Deborah. Haunted Tampa: Spirits of the Bay. Haunted America, 2013.

Marquis, Campbell. Haunted Grove: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Mysteries at the University of Mississippi. By the author, 2026.

Norman, Michael. Haunted Homeland: A Definitive Collection of North American Ghost Stories. Tor Publishing Group, 2006.

Ogden, Tom. Haunted Colleges and Universities: Creepy Campuses, Scary Scholars, and Deadly Dorms. Globe Pequot Press, 2014.

Windham, Kathryn Tucker and Margaret Gillis Figh. 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. Strode Publishers, 1969.