Penn State in University Park, PA: Haunted Halls and Ghostly Scholars

This week, we’re heading to Happy Valley—where the spirits are anything but cheerful. Penn State University in University Park, PA, may be a hub of science, history, and higher learning, but it’s also home to some truly chilling hauntings. We start with Coaly the ghostly mule, Penn State’s oldest (and most unexpected) ghost. From there, we head into Schwab Auditorium, where phantom figures flip seats and vanish into walls. Some of the ghosts are lucky in love. George Atherton, the university’s seventh president, is said to stroll the auditorium where he’s buried just outside. Meanwhile, his wife Frances Atherton reportedly watches over his grave from the windows of the Old Botany building… and doesn’t take kindly to after-hours visitors. And finally, we discuss one of Penn State’s most tragic legends: the unsolved murder of Betsy Aardsma in 1969. Her screams still echo through the stacks of the library, and some say her ghostly form appears without warning. Would you dare to roam these halls?