The Ghosts of Kent State University and Kent, Ohio, Hauntings

The town of Kent, Ohio, has a long and rather infamous history. If you were to ask most people what they thought of when they heard of this town, they would immediately point out the tragedy of what happened at Kent State University. That day inspired dozens of books and songs, and some believe that the campus itself is still haunted today.

Kent State has several buildings on campus that are rumored to be haunted. Students on campus frequently whisper about the ghosts that roam the campus, while outsiders just wonder who the ghosts may have been.

Stuart Hall is one building that residents have long claimed is haunted. The dorm sat empty for a number of years, which only contributed to those stories. As the greenery began to overtake the building and the windows sat broken and gaping, it was easy to imagine the building was haunted. Students claimed to hear people talking inside, and to see a light burning on one of the upper floors. Now that the building is in use again, it will be interesting to see if those stories continue.

Stopher Hall is no longer standing, but it was one of the most haunted locations on campus. The building was torn down in 2004 but that hasn’t stopped the stories. A popular story claimed that a former student killed himself while living there. Many students who lived there fell ill and experienced some strange things. They often saw items move on their own, and some claimed to see his actual spirit. Some students claimed he hung himself in his dorm room, and you could see his body swinging. Oddly enough this only happened if you were outside and looked up to his former room. Stopher was also where the Kent students’ bodies were kept, immediately following the incident.

Over the years the story of the suicide in Stopher Hall and the subsequent haunting became embellished, and more details were given though never a name. The story said that the student climbed onto his desk chair and hanged himself from a fire-sprinkler pipe in his room. This led to Kent State changing their sprinklers. Students claimed to hear the sounds of the chair falling over, and seeing his body swinging.

Some students also claimed that the room was never used again, and was sealed off by the school. Their reason? The room was part of an open investigation. Of course this story makes little sense. The police would not investigate a clear case of suicide, and even if they did, the room would never be sealed forever.

Van Campen Hall on the Kent State campus is also rumored to be haunted. The most popular ghost story told involves the marble dropping. This is a sound that many students hear, which sounds like marbles dropping and rolling across the floor. Other students have reported the sounds of someone laughing inside their room.

Students also claim that Allyn Hall on the Kent State campus is haunted, this time by the ghost of a little girl. Sarah as residents know her occasionally asks for someone to play with her, but generally does mischievous things. She yanks on their sheets, giggles in the halls, and hides things. Sarah also heads over to the neighboring Clark Hall on occasion.

Engleman Hall has the ghost of a tragedy walking its halls. One night a female living in the building was attacked by a man who had been following her. After she spurned his advances, he sneaked into the building and raped her before killing her. Today she is seen wandering through the halls of the building.

The ghost of the building’s namesake haunts Koonce Hall. Joyce Koonce was known in life as a woman who said what was on her mind, and expressed her displeasure at those she thought were rude or disrespectful. Today she behaves the same way by picking out her favorites. She will open the elevators and doors for those she likes. Koonce died while rescuing a small child from drowning, and her spirit seems to haunt the tenth floor.

Moulton Hall is not haunted per say, but some claim to see a strange blue light inside. Over at the Music and Speech building, students claim the ghost of G. Harry Wright, one of the first music directors, haunts Room B-005. Students occasionally catch a whiff of his favorite cigar smoke.

There are also a few stories claiming that the students shot that day in 1970 haunt different areas on the campus. Their ghosts are rumored to haunt the place where they were killed, doomed to relive their last moments again and again. Others claim that their ghosts walked the halls of Stopher Hall. Still others believe that they haunt the dorm or apartment building where they lived before the events, but no one can decide exactly where those four students lived.

Once you step off campus and into the town of Kent, you will be treated to even more ghost stories. The Masonic Temple/Kent Home is one of the buildings locals claim is haunted. Kent’s wife Bessie was working in one of the rooms when something caused a fire to break out. No one is quite sure if the cause was a stove, lamp, or candle. Bessie couldn’t escape and was burned alive.

The University Plaza Theatre is also rumored to be haunted. Those working in the building have heard footsteps when the building is empty, and one manager claimed to see something even stranger. He occasionally saw a person’s head peeking over the top of a seat, but when he went to look, there was no one there.

Another haunted location in Kent is the Kent Free Library. Nellie Dingley who was the first librarian is rumored to haunt the building. Dingley died while serving as a nurse during WW II, but never forgot her true home.

The ghost stories surrounding Kent and Kent State are certainly interesting. The tragedy that occurred there on May 4, 1970 is something that people still talk about today. While not all the ghosts in this town are connected to that event, it is clear that some do.

Sources:

www.forgottenoh.com/KentState/kentstate.html

www.creakydoor.com/university.htm