THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia, is famously haunted by a spirit named Agnes, a 1920s student who reportedly took her own life. Legend says she hanged herself either from the balcony of the historic Pearce Auditorium or over a hidden swimming pool in the basement after suffering from a broken heart or sorority rejection. Today, her friendly ghost is known to pace the auditorium seats, flicker the theater lights, and occasionally manifest as a shadow hanging from the balcony.
Agnes is the ghost who is believed to haunt the 1878 women’s college called Brenau University. A former student in the early 1900s, Agnes is said to have hanged herself. Her reasons for her distressed differ depending on who tells the story. She may have been ostracized by sorority members or denied the lead in a dance performance. Her hanging site was either the balcony of Pearce Auditorium or at the swimming pool below the Pearce complex, which is walled up and some say never even existed. Some say her apparition can be seen hanging in the auditorium.