With Halloween just around the corner, you might feel inclined to dive into the spooky atmosphere by exploring haunted areas around Fort Collins.
You may have heard of the plethora of paranormal stories that run rampant around Fort Collins — even Yelp ranked Fort Collins as the third most-haunted city in America in 2019.
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Lori Juszak, the owner of Fort Collins Tours, said that one of Fort Collins’ most infamous paranormal tales is of the Strauss cabin and the Hell Tree, which she said are absolutely myths, further stating that there is no evidence people were hanged from the Hell Tree back in the day.
Plenty of areas around Fort Collins have had reports of paranormal happenings, but what about here at Colorado State University?
Here are two of the most haunted buildings on the CSU campus.
Ammons Hall
Located right here on campus, Ammons Hall is reported to be haunted, with numerous apparitions over the years and many sightings by both students and staff.
The Women’s Building, later changed to Ammons Hall, opened during the fall semester of 1921 and was originally an area for women to use as an athletic and recreational facility.
Given its extensive history and presence on campus, the building is bound to garner some paranormal happenings.
Ammons Hall has had a reputation of paranormal activities, said Claudia Chesneau, an administrative assistant at CSU.
“(Ammons Hall) used to be the women’s recreation center and had a swimming pool that they later filled in, but people find wet footprints, lights are randomly turned on and off (and) people hear giggling,” Chesneau said.
It is also rumored that one of the ghosts is a female student who drowned in the Ammons Hall pool, which led to the pool being closed and taken out of service.
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Student Services Building
The Student Services Building has had a long history of paranormal activity, just like Ammons Hall.
The building was constructed in 1948 and was originally known as Braiden Hall, a men’s dorm.
The long-standing rumor surrounding the Student Services Building is that the architect faced severe mental struggles during the construction of the building, which would explain the peculiar layout.
While the history of the Student Services Building is scary itself, the architecture is scary on its own.
Chesneau elaborated on the wild and labyrinth-like interior.
“There are stairways that go nowhere, you know, it’s just a really weird building,” Chesneau said. “I never go down into the basement area, and I have not explored it very well just because it’s a maze just to get to the bathroom.”
Chesneau also mentioned one of her previous coworkers’ experience in the building.
“I know that she was working late — it was, I think, in the fall, so it got dark early, and she heard party noises (from above her), so she got a little freaked out,” Chesneau said. “She had her husband come pick her up, and they walked around the building just to see if there was indeed something going on, but the building was completely dark, but on the inside, you can hear music playing and people walking around,” Chesneau said. “So that’s the story she told me.”
If you want to immerse yourself in a true Halloween experience, why not explore some of CSU’s oldest buildings? Who knows? You might have your own paranormal experience yourself.
Reach Christian Arndt at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
