The Ghosts of Western Kentucky University and Bowling Green

The Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky is rumored to be haunted, but this town has more than just those ghosts. Take for example the Greenwood Mall in town. In 1996 police discovered a dead man sitting inside a pickup truck in the parking lot. The autopsy couldn't determine the cause of death and his identity was never uncovered. According to legend, workers who leave their car in the same spot overnight will find a dead man in their car, but he disappears before the authorities arrive.

Then there's the ghost story relating to a metal bridge somewhere in town, though oddly enough, no one seems to know the exact location and stories revolve around several such bridges. The legend says that a girl jumped or fell from the bridge and died. Now she watches over the bridge and helps those who find themselves stranded on it.

The most popular ghost stories told in Bowling Green seem to center around the Western Kentucky University Campus. The Academic Complex on campus is rumored to be haunted. The building once served as a hospital, but now has space for the radio station and other student activities. People have claimed to see things off to one side, only to turn and see nothing. Some claim that these stories are part of freshmen hazing, designed to spook the new students.

Ghost stories are also told of the Kentucky Museum and the Helm Library, which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a student who accidentally fell out of a window on the ninth floor and died. Then there are the student dorms and living spaces haunted such as the Barnes-Campbell Hall. A former student at Western Kentucky University died when he accidentally fell into an open elevator shaft. Students claim to hear weird things and have the showers turn off or on without anyone touching them. Another suicide at Rhodes Harlin Hall now haunts the building by scratching on the walls, doors and windows.

The picture of Mattie McClean hanging in McClean Hall supposedly changes expressions and Pearce Ford Tower has the ghost of a builder who died when an elevator fell on him. A student who killed herself in the basement of Potter Hall on campus now haunts the building, though it's now used for faculty and not as a dorm. The former dorm Schneider Hall is also haunted, with former residents reporting cold spots, strange noises and items that disappear.

You can also visit the Van Mete Auditorium on the Western Kentucky University Campus. Supposedly a man was on the catwalk, tripped and died when he hit the stage. A large dark spot now appears where he hit the floor, despite the floor being taken up and new flooring put down. Some have even seen the man walking around on the catwalk. Keep these stories in mind if you find yourself traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky...

Resources:

http://www.prairieghosts.com/hauntky.html

http://theshadowlands.net/places/kentucky.htm