Megan Pociask
Staff Writer

As Halloween is just around the corner, it’s only natural to revisit legends of the hauntings that supposedly occur here at UNCG.

The infamous Mary Foust Residence Hall is probably the most notably haunted residence hall on campus. It’s alleged that Mary Foust, who died during childbirth in 1925 and was the daughter of the university’s second president, walks throughout the second floor of the hall. This in turn causes students to hear strange, unprovoked noises, including, “unexpected crying.” To add to the suspicion, Mary Foust’s portrait, which used to hang over the hall’s fireplace disappeared at some point, “without a trace.”

Former students have also reported hearing footsteps pacing in the middle of the night just above the third floor of Mary Foust, which would be in the attic. When police were called on, no cause of these noises could be identified. 

Another well-known haunting amongst UNCG’s campus, is the ghost of the Aycock auditorium. As the story goes, an older woman committed suicide in her mansion, which happened to be on the property where Aycock exists now. 

According to a blog reporting on the apparent haunting, when her house was eventually torn down, the old woman’s spirit adopted Aycock Auditorium as her new home. After multiple accounts of her taunting ventures, including one experienced by then drama professor Raymond Taylor, students finally named the spirit, Jane Aycock. 

Despite the fact that some believe the spirit of Jane Aycock is the elderly woman who had committed suicide, other students believe that she is actually the daughter of former governor, Charles Brantley Aycock. 

Then, there’s Annabelle. 

It is suspected that the spirit was named after Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem, ‘Annabelle Lee’. Annabelle is also known as the “Woman in Blue” or simply, “the blue ghost.” Apparently, Annabelle roams throughout and haunts Spencer Residence Hall. Sometime during the 1970’s staff members working in Spencer claim to have witnessed a “blue haze” near the laundry room, as well as having seen objects inexplicably thrown across the room. 

Though there’s no official documentation of the occurrence, it’s said that the cleverly named “Woman in Blue” hung herself in Spencer Residence Hall’s bell towers. It is also believed by some that in the 1980s, an apparition, possibly Annabelle, awoke two staff members while they were staying in Spencer Hall during break.

Whether or not these reports are results of odd lighting, shadows, or what some think are actual ghosts, one can’t deny the long history of UNCG and the exciting legends that remind students of it’s rich past. 

If you have a campus haunting that we’ve missed, feel free to reach out to us on our Facebook, our on Instagram at @carolinianuncg. And have a Happy Halloween from The Carolinian! 

Categories: Features

Tags: Features, Ghouls, UNCG