Harvard Yard

The historic heart of Harvard University, America's oldest institution of higher learning founded in 1636. The yard has witnessed nearly 400 years of academic history, including the Revolutionary War when it housed colonial troops.

Harvard Yard is the historic heart of America's oldest university, founded in 1636, and according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Class of 1821, it has always been full of ghosts. His words are inscribed on Meyer Gate: "Cambridge at any time is full of ghosts... of the men that wore before us the college honors and the laurels of the state—the long winding train reaching back into eternity." Nearly four centuries of scholars, soldiers, and statesmen have passed through these grounds, and some have never left.

Massachusetts Hall, the oldest surviving building on Harvard's campus, harbors the ghost of Holbrook Smith, supposedly a member of the Class of 1914—though no record of him can be found. Known to appear wholly human except for his ability to walk through walls, Smith enjoyed amiably chatting up Mass Hall's student residents until Dean William C. "Burriss" Young ordered him to leave.

At Widener Library, the spirit of Eleanor Elkins Widener wanders the sprawling catacombs of books, mourning her son Harry Elkins Widener, Class of 1907, who died aboard the Titanic. Eleanor donated the library in his memory, and students in the most delirious states of essay writing have reported seeing her protective presence in the stacks.

Memorial Hall, built to honor Harvard students who fought for the Union in the Civil War, boasts Hogwarts-esque architecture and dark academia vibes—ghosts included. A phantom student has been spotted returning to a classroom above the dining hall, supposedly to finish an exam he never completed. Legend holds he is just one of many former Confederate soldiers who return to haunt the building, feeling slighted by their exclusion from the memorial's dedication.

Wadsworth House served as George Washington's first headquarters during the Revolutionary War, and residual ghostly activity persists. Forty years ago, a cleaning lady vacuuming alone early one morning saw a grim character in a tricorn hat and cloak silently descend the stairs and exit through the door. Apparitions in colonial garb continue to appear.

The Harvard Lampoon Castle, the gothic headquarters of the famous humor magazine, harbors its own spirit. The ghost's presence makes walking the corridors "the creepiest building to be in when you're alone at night," according to former curator Joe Hickey.

Paranormal researcher Sam Baltrusis has documented these legends extensively in his book "Ghosts of Cambridge: Haunts of Harvard Square and Beyond." As he puts it, "A ghost is history demanding to be remembered." At Harvard, nearly four hundred years of history has left countless demands echoing through dormitories, libraries, and the ancient paths of the Yard.