Grab some salt, sage and an EMF detector and strap on your Ghostbusters gear because ISU’s campus is haunted.

These hair-raising hauntings are tales that Amanda Hall, former University Museum’s interpretation specialist, has been researching and recording to share at the Ghost Stories of Iowa State lecture.

Haunted buildings on campus include the Gold Star Hall, the Memorial Union Hotel, the cemetery, the Farm House, Fisher Theater and some residence halls.

Hall is also working on expanding her collection of stories to include the entire city of Ames, as well as the campus sororities and fraternities.

“Iowa State, because it’s a college, is a breeding ground for stories and I think that’s a way for people to connect to campus that you don’t often think about,” Hall said. “It’s kind of a subconscious way to connect to campus.”

Hall began researching things that go bump in the night to share while she gave moonlight tours. This later became known as “Haunted Iowa State”, which lasted from about 2005-2012.

“She’s kind of become a self-appointed purveyor and guardian of these ghost stories,” said David Faux, University Museum’s current interpretation specialist. “When she was here, that was something that she really channeled in the Haunted ISU event. It’s something she had a huge interest in.”

The Farm House, which Hall deems as the most haunted place on campus, is where she said she had two hair raising encounters.

“[During] one of the last tours, I was the last one in the Farm House and everyone else had left,” Hall said. “I was in the back of the house. In the front part of the house, I heard people having a meeting, like it was multiple voices talking. At first I thought I had a tour that I didn’t remember I had. I rushed up to the front and no one was there and the doors were locked.”

Hall’s second ghoulish experience also took place in the Farm House, during the last week that she was working for University Museums.

“The other experience that I had was after I had given a tour,” Hall said. “I start from top to bottom in terms of closing things down, so I had shut everything up from upstairs and I was walking down the main staircase and I know I saw the shadow of a person.

“I even went around the corner and said ‘I’m sorry, I thought everyone was out. I think I’ve locked you in’. I got halfway through my sentence and realized no one was there.”

Allison Sheridan, collections manager and communications coordinator for University Museums, also has seen the unexplainable while working at the Farm House Museum.

In the summer of 2005, Sheridan was filling in as a curator. The utensils on one of the tables are typically sewn down to keep them orderly, but at that time, they were not. One night while closing, Sheridan realized the pieces were not set up properly.

“All of the silverware was askew, Sheridan said. “It was almost as if someone had a little dinner party. I thought it was odd, so I put things back and kind of discounted it. I did my same procedure that night, came back the next morning and same thing. I thought maybe another staff member was playing a trick on me.”

The Farm House could be haunted by the ghost of Esther Wilson, wife of politician James Wilson, who lived in the house until she committed suicide. It is said that Esther Wilson was troubled after moving from “the city” to Iowa.

The Farm House isn’t the only home to spooky specters. Gold Star Hall is said to be haunted by the ghost of Hortense Elizabeth Wind, the only woman listed in the hall. It is said that if you are alone and it is quiet, you may be able to hear her lonely spirit whistling.

The Memorial Union Hotel has also had its share of apparitions and bone rattling scares.

Faux worked at the hotel desk during his undergrad days and said that there were several sightings by staff members, especially in a particular room where a man committed suicide.

Hall also said she had heard reports of shadows of feet under doorways of vacant rooms and a full apparition spotted by a staff member in another vacant room.

“As a student staff working at the Memorial Union, even though it’s well-lit, at three in the morning, and there’s other people there, you still get a little freaked out,” Faux said.

Fisher Theatre is also said to be visited by the ghost of one of the theater program’s founders, Frederica Shattuck.

According to urban legend, Shattuck’s ghost relocated from the Shattuck Theatre to Fisher Theater. It is said that her wheelchair, which she donated to the program, rolled centerstage one day during rehearsal as if ready to perform.

“Frederica is said to show up to rehearsals and performances sometimes,” Hall said. “Sometimes, there is a shadowy figure in one of the back seats and it’s said to be good luck if you see her.”

Barton Residence Hall is one of the many halls that is said to be haunted. It is believed that it is haunted by Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross. She is reported to be a friendly ghost who looks after the students living there.

“The dorms are a huge spot,” Hall said. “It’s a way to connect those older people to the younger people by telling stories, and ghost stories are a popular way to do that. There are mostly stories about people who have died in the dorms or people who the dorms are named after.”

Despite Iowa State’s ranking as No. 5 in the “Top Five Most Haunted Colleges in the Midwest” by Mysterious Heartland, Hall believes the hocus pocus happening at Iowa State is nothing compared to other colleges.

“As a very unofficial ranker, and somebody who does a lot of reading of ghost stories, I would say we rank pretty near the bottom,” Hall said. “We’re not the most haunted by any means.”