5 of the world’s most haunted universities

26 Oct 2017

From converted churches and re-purposed hospitals, to historic mansions and even castles, some universities are located in buildings that hold a rich and sometimes gruesome history within their walls.

In honour of Halloween next week, we’ve compiled a list of some of the world’s most haunted and spookiest universities across the world. Spooks and ghouls, rattling chains and civil war generals, these places will give you chills down your spine and make your hair stand on end.

So, if you’re scared of things that go bump in the night, then these places are may not be for you.

1. University of St Andrews – Scotland

St Andrews Cathedral…The Haunted Tower with its distinctive twin pointed turrets. pic.twitter.com/TpaDM4N7ww

— Morag (@witchfind666) October 13, 2016

Scotland’s oldest university has a rich and bloody history dating back almost six centuries. In medieval times St Andrews was the religious centre of Scotland and is believed to be one of the country’s most haunted locations.

Purportedly home to about half a dozen ghosts, probably the most famous ghoul is the White Lady – an apparition seen inside the university’s cathedral grounds, dressed in a long white dress with hair to her waist.

The story goes that in 1868 workmen repairing one of the university’s towers broke into a sealed chamber where they discovered a number of coffins, one of which lay open. In it was the preserved body of a young woman in a white dress and leather gloves.

2. Ateneo de Manila University – Philippines

Just a minute before the rain.

A post shared by Abigail Felix-Plaza (@theabigailfelix) on Oct 23, 2016 at 10:02pm PDT

This Manila based university was once run by Jesuit priests but was turned into a military camp during the Japanese occupation in World War II.

While its Loyola Heights campus is known for its sprawling grounds, wooded forests and beautiful surroundings, behind its peaceful exterior lies one terrifying ghost story after another.

The old Communication department building is known by students as the most haunted place on campus, with reports of a mother and child figure idling by the creaky wooden stairs or drifting the buildings dark, narrow corridors.

3. Gettysburg College – United States

On the Ghost Tour. Gettysburg College pic.twitter.com/FxSGoOc5E8

— O’RourkeMiddleSchool (@ORourkeMS) May 11, 2016

Places with a history of the macabre don’t come much more violent than this. Considered America’s most haunted college, Gettysburg College is on the site of the infamous and bloody civil war battle.

The College’s Pennsylvania Hall was used as a hospital by both Confederate and Union troops. The basement is supposedly haunted by war doctors drenched in blood, and the Lone Sentinel wanders the grounds, gun in hand.

Apparently there’s not a student on campus who doesn’t have their own story of a personal ghostly encounter.

4. University of York – England

York, United Kingdom. Source: Facebook

The City of York has gained a reputation as the most haunted city in Europe and it is often known somewhat affectionately as “the City of 1000 ghosts.”

Littered with atmospheric alleyways and historic landmarks, it’s easy to get a feel for this walled city’s otherworldly ambience.

Sightings include a troop of Roman legionnaires marching through a cellar and cries of murdered children buried beneath the Victorian ragged school.

5. University of Toronto – Canada

University of Toronto. Source: Facebook

According to its student publication, the UofT Magazine, the University of Toronto is littered with haunted halls and gruesome stories of murder, kidnapping and illicit love affairs.

Christie Mansion was once owned by a rich businessman who trapped his mistress in a windowless room behind his library – the now infamous Room 29.

Going mad from the solitude, the woman eventually hanged herself from the rafters suing her bedsheets. Decades later, rumours persist that a woman entering the room alone late at night will find that the door suddenly swings shut behind her and refuses to open.