THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Wiestling Hall at Penn State Mont Alto is famously considered the oldest and most haunted building in the entire Penn State university system. The historic 1807 manor is allegedly haunted by its former owner, Colonel George Wiestling, whose uniform-clad ghost was reportedly captured in the background of a 1907 campus photograph. Additionally, staff and students frequently attribute unexplained footsteps, slamming doors, and sudden loud noises to the restless spirit of Sarah Hurley Matheny, an 1800s crime-of-passion victim who was murdered nearby.
The land used to belong to Col. George Wiestling, a veteran of the Civil War who died in 1891. In 1903, the university was founded, but Wiestling is said to remain. A famous photograph taken in 1907 (one of the earliest ghost photos thought to be legitimate) shows a figure standing in front of what is now Wiestling Hall. Another ghost beside Wiestling is said to be here.