Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses by Elizabeth Tucker, associate professor of English at Binghamton University. is the first book-length interpretive study of college ghostlore. Some of the best-known ghosts that she discusses are Emory University’s Dooley, who can disband classes by shooting professors with his water pistol; Mansfield Uni-versity’s Sara, who threw herself down a flight of stairs after being rejected by her boyfriend; and Huntingdon College’s Red Lady, who slit her wrists while dressed in a red robe. Gettysburg College students have collided with ghosts of soldiers, while students at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College have reported frightening glimpses of the Faceless Nun.
Tucker presents campus ghostlore from the mid-1960s to 2006, with special attention to stories told by twenty-first-century students through e-mail and instant messages. Her approach combines social, psychological, and cultural analysis, with close attention to students’ own explanations of the significance of spectral phenomena. As metaphors of disorder, insanity, and school spirit, college ghosts convey multiple meanings. Their colorful stories warn students about the dangers of overindulgence, as well as the pitfalls of potentially horrifying relationships.
[text from http://www.upress.state.ms.us]
For a spine-tingling journey through campus ghost lore, visit Special Collections located on the second floor of the Glenn G. Bartle Library and ask for SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FACULTY ARCHIVES BF 1478 .T83 2007.
Happy ghost hunting!