It’s been available since last spring, but when’s a better time to take the Mystery of CSU History tour than Halloween night? This tour’s got everything: ghosts, Buffalo Bill, a clinically insane architect, Abe Lincoln and much, much more.

“[This tour] features the history of CSU, with legends and ghost stories along the way,” said Jennifer Lobermeier, tour guide and RamTrax’ Assistant to the Executive Director.

RamTrax Director Stacy Grant said, “This started as a JTC Capstone course project. Students did a lot of the research and put it all together.”

Another predecessor to the tour was James E. Hansen III, “a historian who’s done some ad hoc tours. We consulted with him,” Grant said.

While the Halloween tour might be at capacity with students and youthful thrillseekers, the matinee tours are markedly different.

At 2 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon during a special tour, the crowd is dominated by the emeritus professors. They’re not old at heart, though.

“I’m here for the free food,” one woman says; something many a college student can understand.

The tour begins in the Danforth Chapel. The ashes of its architect, James Hunter, are ensconced in the building.

“I’m not sure if he haunts it or not,” Lobermeier said.

If he does, he keeps quiet about it, but there are rowdier ghosts to meet along the way, and a rich history extending all the way to 1870 that predates even the university.

The tour then makes its way around the Oval, expounding on the history and mystery of CSU. Of particular interest is Student Services. Designed by architect Eugene Groves, who was committed to an insane asylum prior to its completion (he planned to murder his wife), the building’s layout makes no sense, originally lacked stairs and, according to Lobermeier, “The staff know better than to stay there after 5 p.m. You can go in there, but I don’t know if you’ll come out.”

Scarier still, CSU only received $100 to permit the train to pass right through campus.

Also on the tour are Johnson Hall and the Ammons building — formerly the site of a swimming pool and the current haunting ground of two possible ghosts — , claimed by Lobermeier to be, “The most haunted building on campus.”

So grab a friend, and prepare for some spooky stuff accompanied by a tour guide discussing the names of various buildings on campus, including Lory, Yates and Aylesworth, like they used to be people.

Also included is a presentation on the history of CSU, starting with its humble beginnings rooted in the Morrill Act in 1870, featuring the aforementioned free food.

More information can be found at www.RamTrax.Colostate.edu.