Valley has a special love for Halloween, so it’s only natural that we want to celebrate early. For the 13 days leading up to Halloween, we’ll be reveling in all of the creepy, spooky and sometimes stylish fun. Join in with our countdown of the 13 Days of Halloween.
First, a Freaky Prophecy
If you’re a freshmen living in Brumbaugh, you might want to find another place to sleep on Halloween. Psychic Jeanne Dixon predicted that a mass murder would occur in the tallest female dorm on the East Coast on Halloween night.
Coincidently, this happens to be our very own Brumbaugh Hall. This particular urban legend may be a little far fetched, considering the prediction was made over a decade ago, but if your looking for real haunted stories this Halloween season, you don’t need to look much farther than Penn State’s campus.
Unsolved Murder in the Stacks
Over 12 different buildings on campus have been reported having abnormal occurrences. The most famous of these buildings is the Pattee/Paterno Library. In 1869, student Betsy Aardsma was stabbed and murdered in the basement stacks of the Pattee library. This mysterious crime has never been solved, and it has been said that the ghost of Aardsma is still present in the stacks. There have been reports of the ghost showing itself in frightening ways such as moving objects, and in one case, grabbing a student’s neck…
Atherton Appearances
The Atherton family was instrumental in improving the Penn State community, so much so that roads, buildings, residence halls and apartment complexes are named after them. George Atherton was even buried on Campus, and perhaps the couple became so attached to this institution that they just couldn’t leave.
It has been said that Mr. Atherton is lingers in the Schwab Auditorium, which is located right behind his gravesite on Pollock Road. It has also been reported that his wife, Frances Atherton, has been seen sitting in the Old Botany Building, looking out of the second floor window towards the Schwab Auditorium where her husband was laid to rest.
Ghost of Tener Hall
Don’t believe these stories?
Sophomore Criminology major, Nicole Atlak, didn’t either, until she had a creepy experience of her own. “As a freshman I heard about the ghost of Tener Hall, a girl who jumped off the roof and has haunted the building ever since,” says sophomore Criminology major Nicole Atlak.
Brushing the story off as another typical horror story to scare freshman, Atlak was frightened when she noticed a vase of roses and a picture of the girl placed beside a bench outside the Commons.
“The flowers were there for over a month and never died,” Atlak says. “There was a pretty bad snow storm and throughout the storm and afterwards, the flowers remained the same. It was very bizarre.” Have the chills yet?
Photos by Nina Abbott
