College may be the prime example of “time flying when you’re having fun.” Eager freshmen become savvy graduating seniors in the blink of an eye. Near graduation, they wax nostalgic and lament the end of an era, wishing they could just stay on that campus forever. But for some, that wish comes true . . . and it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Betsy Aardsma famously haunts the halls of Penn State University after her untimely death in 1969. A seemingly ordinary session in the library turned disastrous when she was stabbed in the “stacks” and unceremoniously left on the floor to be discovered shortly after by a desk clerk. Two men fled the scene but were never identified. Students claim to see her roaming the aisles of Pattee Library, presumably in search of her killer(s) . . . or that thesis she never finished. The case remains unsolved to this day.
George Gipp, Notre Dame’s first All-American and second consensus All-American overall, is another infamous figure to meet his end at his alma mater, One night in 1920, the breakout football legend unsuccessfully trying to gain entry into his residence and then the University’s theater, Washington Hall. Left with nowhere to go, Gipp spent the night in the cold and came down with a fatal case of pneumonia. He passed away two weeks after his All-American election. He is said to haunt Washington Hall to this day: pacing the halls, slamming doors, and shoving unsuspecting students in the stairwells.
Diane Hoh’s Nightmare Hall thriller series transports readers to Salem University—an institution riddled with mystery, murder, and intrigue. Join Hoh’s troupe of collegiate heroines as they negotiate the balance between studying, partying, and avoiding falling prey to the next line of dangerous scandals over the course of 14 nail-biting novels. Will these girls make it to graduation? Or will their membership into Salem’s student body extend into the afterlife?
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