The 10 Most Eerie Campus Legends That College Students Are Still Whispering About

Notre Dame’s Washington Hall is famously haunted by “The Gipper,” a 1920s star football player who died of pneumonia before the end of his senior season. During his time at Notre Dame, George Gipp was a notorious RA of sorts, known for partying and, occasionally, missing curfew.

As the legend goes, one night, his normally unlocked window was closed, and he was forced to spend the night outside, where he caught the deadly bout of pneumonia. Students have reported feeling phantom pats on the back and hearing music play through the halls late at night.

The Longstreet Theatre on the University of South Carolina campus was once the site of a Civil War hospital—complete with a morgue. In its 169 years as a performing arts venue, visitors have reported feeling random brushes of cold air, hearing doors slam and strange noises echoing in the halls.

Gettysburg College boasts two separate, famously haunted halls, the oldest of which is Penn Hall. Formerly a Civil War hospital, several students and administrators have reported stepping out of the elevator and into a functioning surgical unit, complete with groaning soldiers and blood-splattered walls.

In Stevens Hall, students have reported rooming with the “Blue Boy” for decades. The apparition wearing a blue jacket roams the halls and has given dozens, if not hundreds, of students a fright.

The Wedding Cake House at the University of Georgia has long been considered one of the campus's most haunted landmarks. The Alpha Gamma Delta sorority has called the historic home its residence since 1939, and with such a storied past, it's no surprise that ghostly legends have become part of its legacy.

According to campus lore, the house is haunted by the spirit of a former owner, Susie Carithers, a bride who believed she had been abandoned at the altar and, in her grief, took her own life. Over the years, students have claimed to spot a woman in white gazing down from the attic window. The most heartbreaking twist to the tale? Legend has it that her groom never intended to leave her at all—he was simply delayed.

Perhaps the most romantic of the tales we’ve compiled, The Sessions House on the Smith College campus is home to a pair of paranormal lovers. Lucy Hunt and British General John Burgoyne supposedly had rendezvous in a hidden staircase during the Revolutionary War, and continue to today.

The Whispering Woman is another popular campus legend. The friendly spirit has called students in the dead of night for decades, seeking company and idle conversation. Many have hung up on her. When that happens, she finds a new number to call.

The Annmary Brown Memorial on Brown’s campus is an actual mausoleum, the final resting place of General Rush Hawkins and his wife, Annmary. Staffers at the university have reported seeing Annmary’s paranormal form pacing inside the stone walls.

Ida Kidder is dedicated to her job, even in death. Oregon State’s first librarian lived on campus in famed Waldo Hall for over a decade before her passing. Students claim you can still hear her high heels walking across the upper floors, along with slamming doors and the occasional running faucet.

The site now known as the Ridges was formerly Athens Asylum, where patient Margaret Schilling tragically went missing in 1978. She was found weeks later lying on now permanently stained floorboards. The shadow of her hair and gown is rumored to still be visible even after years of cleaning. The historic Asylum is a famous spot for visitors seeking a fright, with frequent drops in temperature and apparitions reported.