Haunted halls of USU buildings: The ghosts of Old Main and Ray B. West

Utah State University students got a taste of haunted history on Oct. 18. Sponsored by the Museum of Anthropology housed in Old Main, students were able to go on ghost tours and learn the stories of a few phantom inhabitants of some of USU’s oldest buildings.  

Tessa Goodsell, a tour guide, is an employee at the museum. As an avid ghost seeker, she shared how the tours began. 

“Our former employee Katie Snow came up with the idea and planned last year’s tour. She researched campus ghost stories primarily using the archives at USU’s library,” Goodsell wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman. “This year, the tours will be led by myself, a fellow museum employee named Becca Ashby, and a couple student volunteers.”  

That night, Aggies gathered in the museum, feeling excited at the prospect of hearing spooky stories.  

Kevin Pan, a first-year student studying aviation technology, had a few expectations. 

“I’m hoping for some good stories,” Pan said. “Maybe we’ll see something haunted, something unexpected.”  

Harley Thomas, a sophomore studying psychology and social work, was more interested in the stories than the specters themselves. 

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Thomas said. “But I find the stories surrounding them and the cultural impacts really cool.”  

Some people were there for a good supernatural time, like Korbin Kane, a sophomore in the aviation program. 

“I’m just looking for a good time to hang out with people, get to know one another,” Kane said.  “Maybe we’ll find out some haunted things that happened here.” 

As the tours commenced, Goodsell told ominous tales, one after another. 

One of those stories was the tale of the Woman in Blue, who haunts Old Main. Goodsell said she is a woman often described as wearing a blue or black flowing dress. She left a large sum of money to USU and sticks around to see how the money is spent. 

Goodsell loves all the ghostly stories; however, the Woman in Blue has special meaning for her.  

“I have a great-great aunt who loved USU and often wore a blue skirt suit. She left money to USU, too,” Goodsell said.

Goodsell said last year, a professional ghost hunter brought a spirit box to the tour, so she decided to consult it.

“I said, ‘Is this Aunt Amy?’ and [the box] said ‘Yes,’ so I said, ‘Well, I’m your great-great niece,’ and the box said ‘I know,’” Goodsell said.

Another story Goodsell told was the tale of the bell tower organist. As the legend goes, a student majoring in music was asked to play the organ for graduation. She practiced in the bell tower every day. However, after she practiced the night before, she was never seen again. People now say the night before graduation, organ music can be heard from the bell tower. 

Goodsell said many people claim to hear children playing in the Ray B. West building, and some report seeing a blue ball roll down the hallway. However, no one ever sees the children. 

Many more stories were told, and people whipped out their phones to check an app called Ghost Hunting Tools throughout the tour. The app claims to sense electromagnetic field disturbances and allows spirits to talk by choosing words to display on the screen. After hearing stories, students would shout out what words appeared on their phones. Some words were names, while others were actions or random adjectives.  

An app called “Ghost Hunting Tools” saying the word “jump” during a ghost tour on Oct. 18.

After the tour, the participants gathered again in Old Main to discuss folklore and ghost stories. The discussion was led by two experts.  

Ehsan Estiri is a temporary assistant professor specializing in cultural anthropology and religious studies, while Afsane Rezaei is an assistant English professor who researches the intersections of folklife, gender, religion and politics.  

In the discussion, Estiri and Rezaei explained the importance of recording folklore experiences and shared how ghost stories can change as they get passed down, along with how folklorists study stories like these.  

The ghost tours were certainly a spine-tingling experience, though no one reported seeing a ghost, much to Thomas’s delight.  

“If we found any ghosts, I‘d owe my roommate $5,” Thomas said.