Ghosts of Penn State
Thursday March 13, 2008 8:15 AM
Maybe every old university campus has a collection of ghost stories. The Paranormal Research Society is very proud to call Penn State University home and therefore, has a special relationship with the creepy tales of University Park campus.
Penn State University has long been the land of The Nittany Lion. Before the Nittany Lion, however, was "Old Coaly." Penn State bought this real-life mule for $190 in the 1850s after he proved his excellent work ethic while hauling stones that went to construct the original buildings at University Park campus. Impressed with the mule, Penn State made him an informal mascot for 30 years until he died on January 1st 1893. Students and staff adored him. After the mule's death, his remains were put on display in Old Main, a building that Coaly helped to build. In the early 1900s, the campus caught fire and Coaly was saved and subsequently moved into the basement of Watts Hall. Following the move, students and staff began to report that a mule was standing outside the storage door. Others only heard the braying of a mule. During the 1960s, Coaly's body was moved to the Agricultural building and the same types of reports continued in the new location. Today Coaly can be found in the HUB Robeson Center.
Schwab Auditorium — I think it's University Park's spookiest old building — has quite a few stories. There are three male entities associated with the building: Charles Schwab, George Atherton and a Revolutionary War soldier. A male entity supposedly watches the stage area from the balcony. Actors have reported to see him during rehearsals, as well as staff members and me. I think I caught him on camera two years ago. On the stage, a mist in the form of a person materialized beside a former performing arts director and walked through a wall. A revolutionary war soldier has appeared two times, once in the auditorium and a second time in the basement. George Atherton, Penn State's seventh president, is buried right outside of the building and his apparition has been reported inside as well. His wife, Frances Atherton, apparently haunts the building directly across the street from Schwab, called Old Botany. A clingy woman in life, she is seen looking out the window toward her husband's grave. There was once a rumor that her body was buried somewhere in Old Botany but the PRS was never able to find it. Students have heard footsteps and books moving when no one else was in the building.
Penn State's Pattee Library is home to campus's most well known ghost: Betsy Aardsma. In 1969, while researching for an English project, Aardsma was stabbed while in the stacks and died shortly after she was taken to Ritenour Health Center. Unfortunately she died before she could name her killer. Her case remains unsolved. In the stacks, students have reported a scream and sometimes even the figure of a young woman wandering the aisles and then disappearing.
In 1992, room 318 in Runkle Hall started showing symptoms of a haunting. Two different students that lived in the room at different times had similar claims: one said that her bed was "heaving" while the other described the bed as "breathing." As recently as 1998, activity began to occur in the same building but in room 313. Objects were thrown around the room, the television showed a liking for the Spanish channel and turned itself on and off. The door opened, closed and locked on its own. After using a Ouija board, the student in 313 found that she could only attain answers in Spanish.
Comments (1)
Okay I'm in performing arts at PSU and now Im officially terrified of Schwab Auditorium. Haven't had to do anything in there yet but that picture of the guy in the window is freaky. who would be up there in total darkness? I know how those tech rooms are and thats no place to be bumping around in the dark. Does Eisenhower Auditorium have ghost stories too? I hope not
Posted by Geo | March 13, 2008 10:55 AM
Posted on March 13, 2008 10:55