
Most haunted colleges and campuses in the world
Colleges and universities are places where we learn, grow and explore new things and experiences. But there is something more that these educational institutions have in common: especially some of the older schools around the world. These institutions are said to be places that are haunted by the dead and other strange and paranormal phenomena. Let’s take a look at the world’s most haunted colleges and campuses!
Haunted colleges and campuses
Stories of ghosts and ghostly apparitions, reports of unexplained noises, cold spots and other eerie occurrences: they are much more common in old schools than you might think. These phenomena are part of the living legends of generations of students and faculty that have once roamed the campuses of schools, colleges and universities that are said to be haunted. Let’s begin where these living legends started and see where the veil of life separates from the veil of death.

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The ghosts of Oxford University
Oxford University in England is one of the oldest universities in the world. And possibly also the most haunted. Oxford University is one of the most respected institutions of higher education in the world. With a history that goes back to the 11th century, one could expect Oxford to be a place ripe with controversy and supernatural stories alike.

Perhaps the most famous ghost of Oxford University is that of the Bodleian Library. Here students and staff report having seen the shadowy figure of the 17th-century archbishop of Canterbury William Laud. He was beheaded in 1645 for treason. His ghost crosses the library aisles with his head tucked under his arm. Suddenly, late-night study sessions in the world-famous library seem a lot less appealing! He s not the only apparition seen at Oxford University. Colonel Francis Windebank was executed by firing squad during the English Civil War. His ghost haunts the grounds of one of England’s oldest colleges at Oxford, named Merton. He reenacts his last moments, complete with the cracking of ghostly guns.
The Haunted Dormitories of Edinburgh University
Scotland also has many ghost stories to tell. Here, another shrapnel of history-laden academic brickwork – Edinburgh University – has plenty of paranormal history. Especially the alleys of its Pollock Halls of Residence. Its residents have reported objects that suddenly move on their own, doors that slam shut without reason, and the feeling of being watched. It is said that some students have even seen the ghost of a little girl, dressed in Victorian apparel, wandering old Cadmus Hall in the dead of night.

Dr. Robert Knox was a surgeon and anatomist, who practiced in the 19th century. The notorious Burke and Hare sold him the corpses of their murder victims to dissect. Robert Knox is reported to haunt the university’s medical school. Students who work late in the anatomy labs sometimes hear an accent saying: ‘Pinch the nose, cut the throat’. It chills them to the bone!
Ghostly Encounters at the University of Toronto
Jumping back across the Atlantic to North America, the University of Toronto in Canada has its own ghostly students. The University College is said to be haunted by the ghost of a stonemason called Ivan Reznikoff. He was killed during the construction of the building in the 1850’s.

Legend has it that Reznikoff had caught wind of his fiancée’s affair with a fellow worker. Reznikoff challenged this man, Paul Diabolos to a fist fight. Diabolos got the better of Reznikoff, gave him a blow to the head. Reznikoff died and Diabolos hid his body under some rubble in the building’s unfinished yard. He then hurriedly set about completing the structure to cover up his crime. It is said that the site of Reznikoff’s burial begins to tremble when his spirit arises to haunt those who pass by. Students and staff even claim to have heard footsteps and a shadow sweeping from right to left, hinting at where his body lies buried.
The Spirits of Ohio State University
Over in the US, Ohio State University in Athens in Ohio, is often regarded as one of the most haunted campuses in America. Wilson Hall has been labelled as a paranormal hotspot. Room 428 padlocked because of its intense supernatural flux!

It is said that one student practicing astral projection in that room died. Since her death, objects have flown across the room, weird lights have appeared, and students have felt overwhelming terror. The campuses are also part of theRidges: formerly a mental asylum that now houses university facilities. It has been rumored that the hallways are haunted by the lost spirits of mental patients who can be heard and seen walking in the hallways.
Ghosts of the Old South at the University of Alabama
The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa has its own ghost haunting the campus. In the 1920’s, Evelyn Byrd hanged herself in her dorm room. She was overcome by heartbreak after her father forbade her to marry the man she loved. Evelyn’s ghost allegedly still roams the Gorgas House, the oldest building on the campus. She’s often spotted by visitors wandering the hallway and gardens. Sometimes people smell lavender perfume.

There is another well-known haunting at the Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion, which is also owned by the university. The ghost of the mansion’s original owner, the late Robert Jemison Jr. is reported to still haunt his house. People say they’ve seen him watching them from a window.
The Haunted Halls of Heidelberg University
Back in Europe, the German town of Heidelberg is the home of Heidelberg University. This is one of the oldest universities in the world. The university was officially founded in 1386: it’s not surprising that it has picked up a few ghost stories along the way.
By far the most common legend, especially among students, concerns a monk who haunts the university’s old chapel. Many say they have seen an indistinct young monk, clad in a dark robes, gliding through the chapel and vanishing into the walls. The ghost of the ‘walled-up monk’ is allegedly the spirit of a monk bricked up in a wall of the chapel centuries ago. Being walled-up was a punishment for breaking vows.

Another haunted hotspot of Heidelberg University is the student prison. From the 16th to the 19th century this prison housed those students who dared to outrage the authorities. The rattling of chains and muffled voices above the heads of visitors have led many to believe this place to be haunted, perhaps by those countless students who once lived to regret the consequences of their unruliness.
Spectral Students at the University of St. Andrews
We go back to the British Isles, to the University of St Andrews in Scotland. The university was founded in 1413. It is haunted by a ghost in the form of the White Lady of St. Andrews Cathedral.
The ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, overlooking the university, are reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a young woman dressed in white. It is said that she died of a broken heart when her lover was killed in battle. She is said to regularly appear near the old ruins at night to undergraduates walking the grounds.

Back on campus, St. Salvator’s Hall is reportedly haunted by the ghost of Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton was a Protestant martyr who was burnt at the stake in front of the building in 1528. Many students claim to have seen a burning figure near the spot where Hamilton was executed. According to legend, anyone walking over the initials ‘PH’ set into the cobblestones will be obliterated from exams.
The Ghosts of Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania sits on what was the site of the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. Many consider this to be the most haunted university in the USA.
One of the most haunted places in the city, but also the most significant at Gettysburg, is Pennsylvania Hall. This location was used as a field hospital during the battle. Staff and students have encountered ghostly soldiers wandering the corridors and military moans echoing from the walls late at night. The college’s Glatfelter Hall is believed to be haunted, too, with the ghost of a young woman having been seen on the fourth floor. This once housed a female seminary. The apparition of an elderly woman has also been seen in a corridor, and the sound of a piano (from an empty room) playing, but stopping when anyone enters.
The Spirits of Vassar College
Ghost stories follow students to various campuses, including at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. The most persistent story there is that of Elizabeth Hale Swift, a young student who died of typhoid fever in her Main Building dorm room in 1869. Residents of the Main Building have reported strange things happening: furniture moving on its own, lights turning on and off, and the sensation of an unseen presence in their rooms. Some have seen an apparition of a young woman in 19th-century dress in the halls.

A notorious Vassar ghost haunts Davison House. The spirit is that of a student who supposedly killed himself in the building in the 1920’s. Students in the building have reported hearing footsteps, or seeing the doors open and shut on their own.
The Enduring Appeal of Campus Ghosts
These stories find homes at universities, from the oldest in Oxford to the more modern of North America and farther afield. Ghosts serve many functions: they lend mystery and drama to college life, they connect students to the past and sometimes – perhaps – convey lessons to the present. Likely, these stories are the result of urban legends, overactive imaginations fed by 3 a.m. night-that-lasts-forever study sessions and campus lore. But, they remain a common part of the campus landscape, and many people continue to report these unexplained experiences. Regardless of your stance on ghosts, the traditions behind these stories deepen the character of campus life.

With old buildings, sad secrets and nervous students in their roster, campus ghost stories aren’t going anywhere. The next time you’re walking across a lighted quad late at night or are studying late into the early morning hours in a library built 100 years ago, keep looking over your shoulder. You might see a spectral student (or ambitious professor) from long ago lurking in the shadows!
Exploring the ghostly tales of the most haunted colleges and campuses in the world can be an intriguing subject for students, and professional case study writing services can provide in-depth analyses of these spooky stories.
Cover photo: Rhyman007 via Getty Images Signature
Sources: britannica.com, darkoxfordshire.co.uk, ed.ac.uk, jemisonmansion.com, uni-heidelberg.de/en, historicenvironment.scot and christianheritageedinburgh.org.uk