The Spooky Haunted History of Ohio State University

by Mel Dawn (Order your content here)

Ohio State University has been around since 1870, located in Columbus, Ohio. What’s surprising is that it’s been ranked the 13th most haunted place in the world. And “13” is certainly a privileged ranking to have for spooky happenings!

While many locations in the US have haunted happenings, it’s surprising that Ohio State University has more than one story. Over the past 151 years, Ohio State University has accumulated many intriguing stories about hauntings, ghosts, and the paranormal. These stories continue to be passed around even today.

Back in 2018, the Department of English's Student Communications Team started doing research on these stories, so that we know in fact that some of them may be true. (1.) They have accumulated over 15+ stories, and this is just a small handful. Just what are some of these spooky stories about?

Some stories are related to the paranormal and are focused more on anger than a ghost. At the Hopkins Hall, often angry messages will be found in the elevator, remnants of the past when a student got trapped there overnight.

There may even still be caretakers here, who let the students inside buildings, but then they suddenly disappear. These descriptions often lead to people who have been dead for years, but who still walk the campus, helping out.

Sometimes mischief is encouraged among the students. In 1958, students stole a body from a shed, and placed him upon a bench with a newspaper over his head. We are certain Eugene appreciated the fresh air, but unfortunately, the students were arrested. 

Many of the stories focus on the professors at the university, such as Dr. Orton who still haunts the tower by making noises and chilling the air, or Dr. Clark who committed suicide after a bad investment deal went wrong. Some ghosts even have family members joining them, such as Dr. Clark’s wife, whose ghost has been spotted on Mirror Lake many times.

Some stories even involve famous serial killers, such as Jeffrey Dahmer, who dropped out. Is it possible that some of his victims haunt the campus?

No matter what you believe, when we examine the stories there have been many interesting events happen in the past, which can lead to some interesting stories in the present involving ghosts, hauntings, and paranormal activity.

Source

1. https://english.osu.edu/news/campus-legends-horrors-and-lore