University of Georgia & Athens, Georgia Ghost Stories

Explore the eerie echoes of the past through ghost stories rooted in campus and Athens-area history. This guide connects chilling tales with primary sources, including archival documents, newspaper clippings, oral histories, and photographs.

Content Warning: This guide explores ghost stories that may include references to murder, suicide, and other disturbing historical events. These topics can be emotionally challenging or triggering for some readers. Please proceed with care.

Demosthenian Hall 

Between Demosthenian Hall and the UGA Chapel, a sundial marks the former location of the Toombs Oak tree. Robert Toombs, a famous UGA alumnus from the 19th century who served as a lawyer and congressman, is said to haunt Demosthenian Hall via a portion of the tree stump kept on the building’s first floor, according to an article from the Red and Black. 

The legend goes that Toombs was voted as class speaker but expelled for his gambling habit before he could give his speech at commencement. A skilled orator and member of the Demosthenian Literary Society, Toombs gave a rousing speech anyway under the oak tree outside the chapel while the legitimate commencement address happened inside. Years later, it’s said that lightning struck the tree at the moment of his death. 

Members of the Demosthenian Literary Society have claimed to have encountered the ghost of Toombs over the years through pacing noises and apparitions on the second floor. One student who fell asleep in the building late at night awoke to a specter of Toombs laughing menacingly at her from across the room. 

Waddell Hall

Waddel Hall, an unassuming white brick building on the main library quad, is the second-oldest building on the UGA campus and currently houses the university’s Office of Special Events. The building has served many purposes since it was completed in 1821, including as a dormitory, boarding house, gymnasium, snack bar and scientific equipment storage. 

In 1918, however, a grisly crime occurred within the building’s four walls that changed its legacy forever. A young soldier returned home from World War I to find his girlfriend had fallen for another man. His friends loaned the couple their room in Waddel Hall so he could try to save the relationship, but sometime in the early morning, gunshots rang out–the soldier had shot his former love and then himself. 

According to the Red and Black, visitors to Waddel Hall over the years report unexplainable sounds and eerie lights coming from the second floor of the building. Could it be the former lovers returning to continue their quarrel? 

Candler Hall

The home of the School of Public and International Affairs, was originally built to serve as a dormitory. In 1905, a student named Willie Lloyd died in his dorm room after accidentally shooting himself while absentmindedly spinning his pistol around his finger. The university’s chancellor at the time, Walter Hill, and a group of students escorted his remains to his family’s burial plot in Atlanta–but there are signs that his spirit never left Candler Hall. 

During the building’s dormitory days, students reported waking suddenly at night to the feeling of someone hovering over them. Faculty have reported hearing unusual noises, as if someone is pacing on the wood floors. The building’s elevator and automatic doors have been known to open and close by themselves, and some claim to have seen ghostly apparitions in the staircases.  

One faculty member even felt someone tap her shoulder as she walked through the first-floor lobby. When she turned to see who it was, she discovered the lobby was empty–and then felt another tap as she left the building.  

Are all of these mysterious occurrences the work of the restless spirit of Willie Lloyd? Or have more than one of the building’s former residents returned to occupy the building in the afterlife? 

Joe Brown Hall 

Joe Brown Hall, originally built in 1932 to serve as a men’s dormitory and later converted to an academic building, is known by students for its disorienting winding staircases and narrow hallways. Adding to the confusion is one particular staircase, which seemingly leads to nowhere–those who climb it reach nothing but a solid wall decorated with a photo of a hallway. 

The reason for this bizarre architectural feature has been investigated by popular paranormal shows and reported in the Red and Black. In the early 1970s, when the building was still a dormitory, a student mysteriously died in his dorm room over the Thanksgiving break. 

After janitors discovered the body, the entrance to the room at the top of the stairs was bricked over completely. Those who pass by the staircase today claim that the space has an eerie and unsettling aura, experiencing temperature fluctuations and other oddities. 

Lustrat House

Like many of the oldest campus buildings, the Lustrat House has served a variety of functions. Currently the office of Legal Affairs, the building initially served as a residence for professors. Towards the end of the 19^th century, it was home to Dr. Charles Morris, chair of the English Department. When the university decided to relocate the house in 1903, Dr. Morris attempted to assuage officials away from that plan. He refused to move with the home. After his death, the family of Professor Joseph Lustrat began to see Dr. Morris has surprisingly taken up residence, sitting in his favorite chair by the fire. 

Fine Arts Building

While there haven't been many recent reports, the Fine Arts Building at UGA is said to be haunted by the spirit of deceased actor James O'James. O'James is blamed when something goes wrong in production. He has also been blamed for other odd disturbances like objects being thrown in the halls and loud noises echoing throughout the building.

Alpha Gamma Delta House, 530 South Milledge Avenue

Built as a private home in 1896 and used as a sorority house since 1939, this exuberant wedding-cake like house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. William Winstead Thomas, a local engineer, built the house which was later bought by James Yancey Carithers as a wedding gift for his daughter, Susie. As legend tells, when Susie’s groom failed to show up for the ceremony on time, the distraught woman hung herself in the attic. The groom finally did show, having been delayed on the way to the nuptials, but Susie was dead. Her spirit has been seen throughout the house while girls living in her old room often become engaged, thus the suite’s name, “The Engagement Suite.” 

Classic Center, 300 North Thomas Street 

Classically, ghosts are supposed to rattle chains, and the spirit haunting Athens’ Classic Center continues this classic spectral occupation. Firemen working in this old firehouse regularly heard the rattle of the chains hanging in the basement. Even after the building was taken over by the Chamber of Commerce, employees would hear the rattle of chains and the chamber’s executive vice president ventured downstairs once to find the chain “swinging back and forth, not just a little motion, but very noticeably.”

Morton Theatre, 199 West Washington Street

Actors in the dressing room of this restored theatre have reported odd activity in the dressing room. The Morton Theatre was built by African-American businessman Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton starting in 1909. The theatre was one of the main anchors of “Hot Corner,” the intersection of Washington and Hull Streets, that was the center of African-American life in Athens. It opened as a vaudeville house for the black community and such names as Butterbeans and Susie, Louie Armstrong and Cab Calloway appeared there. The building has since been restored as a performing arts center for the community and is one of the few remaining black vaudeville houses in the nation.

Oconee Hill Cemetery, 297 Cemetery Street 

When the main city cemetery (now known as the Old Athens Cemetery) began sprawling close to the campus and the homes of the university president and professors, steps were taken to create a new cemetery nearby. Since its opening in 1855, the university has sprawled close to the cemetery with massive Sanford Stadium now looming across the street. The cemetery now hosts a number of prominent Georgians including two governors, eight university presidents and at least one ghost. The legend exists of a ghostly carriage appearing on the bridge between the old and newer portions of the cemetery.

Old Athens Cemetery, Jackson Street 

The original city cemetery before Oconee Hill Cemetery was created; the cemetery was created around 1810. The last burial occurred in 1898, not long after the university first tried to reclaim the land. This would be a struggle that would continue through the 1980s. The cemetery was deeded back to school in 2004 and in 2006 a preservation program was instituted under the university’s grounds department. Kathleen Wall mentions that the ghost of a young girl has been seen in the cemetery. The location was investigated by the Georgia Haunt Hunters team in 1998, and the team discovered some temperature fluctuations.

Phi Mu House, (Hamilton-Phinizy-Segrest House), 250 South Milledge Avenue 

The legend of the Phi Mu House, according to the sorority, concerns a young woman named Anna Powell. Her husband shot himself, either purposefully or accidentally at the bottom of the stairs. At times, it is said, a cross will appear on the floor where this horrific incident took place. Anna’s spirit has been encountered frequently by sisters in the house. Knocking and sobbing have been heard in the house, and one young woman had the door unlocked for her late one night by unseen hands. The house was constructed by Colonel Thomas Hamilton, reportedly Georgia’s first millionaire, and finished in 1858 by his widow, Sarah. It has served as a sorority house since 1964. 

Taylor-Grady House, 634 Prince Avenue

Built by Irish immigrant turned cotton merchant and planter, Robert Taylor, in 1844, the Taylor-Grady House was purchased by Major William S. Grady in 1863, at the height of the Civil War which he was fighting in. Major Grady was killed in the Battle of Petersburg, and his spirit is said to have returned to his family’s home. Henry Grady, the major’s son, was a staunch advocate for the “New South” as managing editor for the Atlanta Constitution and a famed orator. As the only existing of Grady’s homes, the Taylor-Grady House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

T.R.R. Cobb House, 175 Hill Street 

This noteworthy home with octagonal wings took the scenic route in its move from nearby Prince Avenue. It faced the wrecking ball in 1985, and was moved to Stone Mountain Park, just outside of Atlanta, to be restored as a part of the living history village there (which also has some notable haunted structures). After languishing 20 years, the home was returned to Athens and restored. A ghost story from this house was collected as part of the WPA Writers’ Project and recalls the spirit of “a gentleman wearing a gay dressing gown” who is seen descending the stairs and sitting in front of the fire in the drawing room.