Urban legends and hauntings have a home even at Ball State University. The Anthropology Club has offered haunted tours of Ball State in the past years to give students a chance to discover some ghosts.-á
Elliot Hall is said to have an eerie past that started with its christening in 1937. The building was named after Frank C. Ball's son, Frank Elliot Ball. Frank E. Ball died in a plane crash, and the building is an exact replica of his dorm at Princeton University.
According to some reports, students who live on the third floor might wake up to strange noises in the middle of the night. Campus legend has it that on Jan. 26, 1947, William Carl Schaumburg hung himself from the rafters of the fourth floor after returning from World War II. His disfigured face and depression from a recent break up with his girlfriend are said to have led to his suicide. Many students have claimed that they have heard a table being drug across the floor or what could be feet dragging across the floor. Elliot Hall's haunting has sparked a yearly haunted house tradition that began in 1975.
In 2005, paranormal investigator Jeff Davis conducted research at Ball State and said Ball State had more paranormal activity than any college campus he has visited.
Davis hosted the University Program Board's Ghost Hunters presentation, an event which showcased Davis' experiences investigating ghosts as well as evidence of hauntings that he has collected throughout his 10 years of investigation.
Elliot Hall is not the only campus building that has claims of paranormal activity.
Shively Hall reportedly experiences mysteriously locking doors. Knotts/Edwards Hall has had problems with the elevator going to the ninth floor for no reason.
The tunnels that run under the dorms have their own history, too. According to reports, the tunnels were used to transport food in the earlier days of the university but were closed after being haunted by a serial rapist. The tunnels were also said to not be physically safe to use anymore.
Ball State's Beneficence statue has a few myths, too. It is said that when a pure virgin graduates from Ball State, Benny will cry tears of blood. If students kiss their true love with their eyes under Benny, she will flap her wings. If the love is not meant to be, she remains still. There is no way of telling if her wings really flap, however, because students eyes must be shut for this to happen.
Frog Baby sits in the middle of a pond, but has not always resided there. The university packed the little girl up because students rubbing her nose had damaged it. Legend has it that if a student rubs Frog Baby's nose before an exam, he or she will have good luck passing. In 1993, the university constructed a fountain and restored Frog Baby. The fountain has not stopped students from pressing their luck and getting their feet wet. In the winter, Frog Baby can be seen wearing hats and scarves that students put on her to keep her warm.
The architecture of campus buildings also have there own little legends. The Whitinger Business Building is said to resemble a giant calculator when seen from the right angle. Bracken Library looks like a stack of books. The building that looks like a baby grand piano could only be the music building. The architecture building has a resemblance to a drafting table. Although nobody can confirm these buildings' shapes were created on purpose, some wonder if it is just the imagination of college students who have spent too much time studying.
With so many myths and legends throughout Ball State's campus, next time students walk through the quad and hear footsteps behind them or they walk through a cold spot in Elliot Hall, don't worry - It is probably just a student who never left campus.
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