All Hallowed Halls: Meet the Ghosts of UND

If you’re anything like me, the Autumn season is filling you with all kinds of joy. Pumpkin Spice! Candy Corn! The souls of long passed Midwesterners reaching out from beyond to chill your bones! The World Series!

The University of North Dakota, Grand Forks’ venerable seat of learning, is home to thousands of bright young students and hard-working employees. It is also home to a number of individuals who have yet to move on. For whatever reason, they are not quite ready to walk that particular stage.

UND was founded in 1883, a whole six years before North Dakota itself. That’s a pretty fun fact! Supernatural sightings are not only fairly common, but well-documented by UND students and staff. The findings below are the result of my meeting with an anonymous employee of the Chester Fritz Library. In order to protect the innocent, let’s call him “Brian B.”

No, that’s too incriminating. Let’s just call him “B. Baier.” Okay, here we go:

– POLTERGUS
Built in 1908, Gustafson Hall was UND’s first frat house (PHI DELTA THETA, WOO!). Later, during World War I, the house became an Army headquarters, and eventually a makeshift infirmary when the influenza pandemic hit Grand Forks in 1918. Witnesses report hearing the footsteps of a benevolent spirit known as “Gus,” who also likes to move objects around occasionally.

– BETTER CALL STU
A number of occurrences have been reported at UND’s Burtness Theatre. Aside from the usual activity of lights operating by themselves, there have been several sightings of a spirit who roams the backstage area in different costumes. Others attest to the friendly presence of a former student and electrical technician named Stu, who apparently still likes to tinker in the theatre.

– SIGMA SIGHTINGS
After tragically passing on inside the house in 1979, a Sigma Nu student known as Kingsley has been seen and heard by many residents. Folks who have encountered Kingsley say he is mostly a good guy but has been known to mess with televisions and radios if directly provoked.

– THE WEST HALL WOMAN
Since the 1960s, the residents of the all-male West Hall house have occasionally seen something very rare indeed – a woman. Or rather, the floating visage of a young student who was caught outside during a blizzard in 1962, prior to construction of the tunnel connecting West Hall to the Wilkerson Dining Hall. Apparently, West Hall is also home to the ghost of a goat. Yes, a goat. I’m not sure what to make of that, but either way, it must have been a REALLY good party.

– THAT ONE ROOMMATE
One night in 1995, a student living in Tri Delta house witnessed a seemingly transparent woman sitting in her room, reflected in a mirror. The spirit, who some call “Diane,” has been experienced all over the house by people since the 1980s. There have even been attempts to “evict” her, but no such luck. I say good to you, Diane! Don’t let The Man push you around.

We’re definitely onto something here. I pulled out a map and drew lines connecting these locations, which revealed the shape of a squiggly sort of oval thing – exactly what most ghosts look like!

If you’re eager to get started on your own ghost hunting tour, I’ve compiled a few tips for you based on what I’ve seen from completely accurate and legitimate sources like paranormal investigation shows and horror movies:

– No equipment? No problem! You don’t actually need any of those fancy, expensive gadgets you see on TV. From what I’ve witnessed, all you really must do is wander around the allegedly haunted location in the dark and keep shouting “HELLO?!” until something happens. If nothing happens, well, then CLEARLY the place ISN’T haunted.

– There’s obviously nothing more attractive than a well-read individual, but if we’re exploring a potentially paranormal situation, please try to refrain from reading anything OUT LOUD. Everyone loves a good dusty tome or tattered scroll, but you just never know who or what you might be sending an invitation to. In some cases, even playing a recording of someone reading something has been problematic. So be careful, please.

– In general, remember to be respectful of EVERYONE, regardless of their current or afterlife journey. Please don’t mock, tease, goad, taunt, belittle, berate, nag, or shame any ghosts, ghouls, geists, spirits, specters, wisps, wights, or weirds.

Uh-oh, it looks like I, myself, was actually a ghost this whole time. Oh well. I WAS wondering why I kept seeing Haley Joel Osment everywhere.

For any future generations reading this, I will always be glad to schlep on back to the material plane for a seance. Just make an appointment with me through your Ouija Board.

Don’t worry, I’ll bring plenty of…Boos. 😉