THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville is a major hotspot in regional campus folklore, famously featured in the Haunted Arkansas documentary series. The campus’s primary hauntings include:The Ghost of Caraway Hall: The university's most famous legend centers on "Gracie," a 1950s student who reportedly hanged herself from a window above the residence hall's front door. University officials eventually bricked up the window, but residents still report phantom late-night footsteps, eerie noises, and full-bodied sightings of her on the stairwells.The Tucker Coliseum Apparition: Despite the arena being modern, it is allegedly haunted by James Paul Lovelady, an ATU basketball star who died in a 1961 car accident. Staff members have documented hearing a phantom basketball bouncing in the empty, locked stadium, finding sports trophies mysteriously disassembled and stacked, and hearing an eerie hissing from vacant seats.The Witherspoon Hall Phantoms: Named after a beloved faculty member, Dr. Jean Witherspoon, this building is known for auditory activity. Students frequently report hearing pianos playing on their own in locked, empty practice rooms, and professors have claimed to see the spectral form of Dr. Witherspoon watching over their classes.The Ancient Burial Ground & Tunnels: Local campus lore claims sections of the university were built atop a historic Native American burial ground, which students blame for the heavy residual energy and shadow figures seen moving through the restricted steam tunnel system beneath the campus
Arkansas Tech University, several locations are rumored to be haunted. One is Caraway Hall, where students describe noises in the attic, footsteps on the stairs and whispers in the hallways. There are two legends to explain the hauntings. One is that it is build on top of a Cherokee burial site, and another is that a female student committed suicide here. Another haunted site on campus is Tucker Coliseum, where a star basketball player was killed in a car accident in 1981. His ghost is said to pull down an auditorium seat and leave basketballs scattered all over the court. And Witherspoon Hall is said to be haunted by a ghost of a former student who plays a piano in the practice room.