By Anika Exum
We all know our campus is beautiful. The scenic gorges, the hills, and the beautifully designed buildings are known to cause some jaw drops when first seen. But what about those creepy feelings you get at night when walking back from the library at 1 a.m. or those weird stories your tour guide told you during your campus tour as a pre-frosh? Having had the sesquicentennial last year, we all know exactly how old this campus is, and that there are bound to be some shockingly spooky stories within the walls of all of every hall. So, in honor of Halloweekend, we’re bringing you the 13 spookiest Cornell spots that are sure to give you the heebie jeebies.
1. Willard Straight Hall
Home to the student union and irresistible FREE popcorn, you’re bound visit this place multiple times a semester. On the other hand, upon entrance to WSH, there are things like the gothic theme, the dimly lit walkways, the staircase that seems to never end, and the cramped bathrooms, that make you want to turn around and walk right back out. Interestingly enough, word is, that this place may be haunted, and this Saturday is your chance to experience the eerie history of WSH’s past with Cornell Community Center Programs’ haunted house event, “The SINclair Manor”.
2. Milstein Hall
As beautiful and modern as this building is, there are loads of stories about archies entering it during their freshman years and never coming out. If you’re lucky enough, you might be able to spot the rare shadow of an overworked archie finishing assignments in the studio of Milstein during the early hours of the morning.
3. Comstock Hall
Home to the Entomology Department, hang at here and you’ll also be hanging with the creepy-crawlies (dead and preserved ones of course…)
4. Low Rise 6
Coined as a “dorm you’ll never see on the campus tour” by The New York Times, Low Rise 6 has been cited to have cracked ceilings, clumps of hair mysteriously appearing around the communal tubs, and heaters with a mind of its own. Not only have there been bat sightings, but rooms are also crawling with freshmen… Ew.
5. Sage Chapel
Although it’s one of the most beautiful structures on campus, Sage Chapel is where Cornell founders, Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, and other chapel and university benefactors, have been laid to rest.
6. Vacant Collegetown Buildings
Whether houses or commercial buildings, take one look at the prices of renting any of these spaces and one might just run for the hills.
7. Balch Hall
Aside from being the beautiful, vine-covered entryway to North Campus, Balch is one huge, dark maze that’s bound to give those unfamiliar with the building, major anxiety. It’s ancient and super creaky elevator also gives off major “Tower of Terror” feels.
8. Fuertes Observatory
Built in 1917, this old-style observatory sits by itself on up the street from Helen Newman Hall. As breathtaking as the view may be from inside, its isolation from everything else makes us wonder what exactly goes on when no one is there.
9. The Ithaca City Cemetery
Sitting right below Stewart Ave. and across from Llenroc, is the Ithaca City Cemetery. A huge “rest in peace” goes out those buried there… But a cemetery just isn’t a site I’d be eager to see on my walk to or from Collegetown!
10. The Olin Stacks
Filled with aisles of dusty books that our tech-focused generation has barely laid hands on, the stacks are quiet except for the scribbling of pencils and clicking on keyboards from students huddled their nooks. Hours spent in this place is sure to make some fatigued students take the fetal position.
11. McGraw Tower
Unless you’re afraid of heights or loud noises, the clock tower is probably one of most iconic Cornell sites to you. Nonetheless, we’re all still wondering who exactly placed that pumpkin on the very top of the tower 18 years ago and just how he or she managed to do it. Hmm…
12. Uris Hall
Rumor has it that in the depths of Uris sit jars full of human organs. How very mad-scientist of the social sciences building.
13. The Plant Sciences Building
Not only is this building home to more dead bugs and the weirdest plants you may ever find, some students have experienced a mysterious smell of ether all throughout the halls. Plus, those tunnels underneath? Terrifying!
This post is sponsored by Cornell Community Center Programs (CCP) in honor of their annual haunted house event in Cornell’s Willard Straight Hall. This year’s is called “The SINclair Manor” and will reveal a mysterious past of the family and their home. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/726105750866896/ for more details!
