Queens University History
This prestigious Charlotte university first began as an all-girls school in 1857. It was originally called the Charlotte Female Institute. For thirty-four years it remained under that name. Then, in 1891, it was renamed the Seminary for Girls.
This name did not stay for long, however. In 1896 the school was renamed the Presbyterian Female College. During this time the school grew in popularity, and it became quite clear that a larger facility was needed.
In 1912, the school relocated three miles away, to what is now its current location in the Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte. The school was renamed Queens College with the move.
During the 1940s Queens College began to consider admitting men to the school. After World War II, men were allowed to attend classes on campus, but they were not allowed to live on site.
The school did not become fully co-ed until 1987. Men were finally allowed to live at the school. In 2002, the school made its final name change and became Queens University.
Queen's University Ghosts
The Tale of Albright Hall
The college has long been known as one of Charlotte’s most haunted places. One particular spirit that haunts campus is named Albright Hall, and her story is quite tragic.
It was the early 1800s, and Albright moved on campus to attend the school. As time progressed she made many friends in her classes and formed many close relationships. Albright was shocked to discover that she had feelings for a friend that was more than platonic.
She confessed her feelings for her friend, and the feelings were reciprocated. They began a romantic affair in secret. One day, Albright’s parents came to visit and discovered their relationship. During that time it was a huge scandal.
Albright felt shame to the extreme. She slit her wrists, then crawled into bed, letting herself bleed onto her bedding. The last of her strength was used to write her lover’s name, “Julie” in blood on the wall beside her.
Since then, students often report seeing Albright wander the dorm hallways in the middle of the night. Blood is usually seen dripping from her wrists as she walks.
Others have claimed that they hear mysterious bumps and bangs at night as if someone unseen were walking around. A couple of students have even said that they have woken up to find the name “Julie” written on their walls.
The Ghost in the Courtyard
Legend has it that a young man who once attended the school was very unhappy. One night he went to the main courtyard and hung himself.
People walking around campus have seen an apparition of a young man, hanging in the courtyard. The apparition is usually so clear that many students have called the police, believing someone was committing suicide in real-time. But upon investigation by the police, nobody can ever be found.
The Girl in the Closet
Belk Residence Hall is also considered haunted. There once was a freshman girl living on campus. The hour was late, but the girl had stayed up to study. She took a brief break to walk down the hall to the dorm bathrooms.
When she got to the bathroom she heard the sounds of children playing and whispering through the vents. The sounds were muffled, as though the children were several floors away. Thinking she was stressed from studying too much, the girl decided to go to bed.
Not long after she lay down, however, the girl’s desk began to shake. Thinking there had to be some logical explanation, the girl dug through her desk, assuming she would find something to explain why her desk was rattling. She couldn’t find anything.
The girl crawled back into bed. Within an hour her desk was shaking again. Thoroughly frightened, the girl decides she must report what is happening to her RA. She gets out of bed, but by the time she reached her door, her lamp flew across the room, nearly colliding with her face.
Worried she would get glass all over her feet, the girl reached for her slippers and pried them on. As she does so, she hears a clicking noise behind her and turns to see an unseen force has locked her dorm room shut.
Realizing the invisible entity will not let her out, the girl turns back toward her bed, where a phone sits on the nightstand. Calling for help was her only option left. The moment she reached her phone, she turned to find a dead girl staring at her from inside her closet.
A Paranormal Warning
One of the earliest hauntings began in 1913. A female employee was working late at Burwell Hall one random evening. She was hunched over her desk when she saw a female figure walk past her open doorway.
Certain that she had been in the hall alone, she went to investigate. She got to the doorway, and the lady turned back to look at her. The woman warned her that she should not work in the building past 10 PM. Without another word, the lady turned and disappeared down the hallway.
Only when the employee went to lock up for the evening, did she look at a portrait that hung on one of the hallway walls. It was of Mrs. Burwell, the lady whom the hall was named after.
The employee looked closer at the portrait and realized it was the same lady who had warned her not an hour before. But Mrs. Burwell had been dead for several years by that point…
There are many spots on campus ripe with supernatural activity. Recently, students have started saying that Wallace Hall is now beginning to experience activity. They believe some kind of poltergeist has shown up and is playing tricks on students who live there.
But spiritual activity is not just limited to buildings at Queens University. It is said that wandering the campus at night may bring you face to face with a ghost. Civil War soldiers often trample through the grounds at night.