Buzz
For most kids, the thought of going to school is less than appealing. Add in bland cafeteria meals and mandatory sports classes, and it’s no wonder students dread it. Yet some kids and teachers count themselves lucky. At least when they step into the bathroom between classes, they're not greeted by a chilling presence. There are no sudden temperature drops or eerie gusts of wind as the spirits of former students drift by in the hallways.
For those at the schools featured here, the situation isn’t as simple. While juggling difficult lessons, challenging students, homework, and teachers who simply 'don’t understand me,' they also have to watch out for otherworldly visitors lurking in the shadows.
10. Lee Williams High School
In 2013, Steve Elwood, the principal of Lee Williams High School in Kingman, Arizona, shared with the Los Angeles Times the many ghostly tales that have haunted the school. Locals are convinced that the campus is a hotbed of supernatural activity, with reports of apparitions of women dressed in old-fashioned prairie attire and men donning vintage outfits, often spotted during graduation ceremonies.
In addition to the common hauntings of flickering lights, eerie footsteps, and alarms sounding for no apparent reason, there were also sightings of a man wearing a long coat and bowler hat wandering the school halls, as well as a small girl’s voice heard at night, asking to play outside. Lee Williams High School is partially located on the site of the old Pioneer Cemetery. During construction of a new school building in 2013, workers unearthed eleven graves, seven coffins, and numerous artifacts from the past.
While some skeptics attribute the ghost stories to overactive imaginations, the school’s janitor firmly believed in their truth. He recounted hearing footsteps entering the bathrooms at night when no one else was around, along with voices echoing from empty classrooms.
9. Sophie B. Wright Middle School
Originally founded in 1912 as the first public all-girls school in New Orleans, Sophie B. Wright High School later became a middle school. During Hurricane Katrina, both teachers and students were evacuated, and the building was repurposed as living quarters for National Guard personnel.
Amidst the chaos, supernatural occurrences began to emerge. Sergeant Robin Hairston witnessed the apparition of a young girl in a doorway, while Specialist Rosales Leanor encountered a shadowy figure of a woman in the school restroom. A staff member, wishing to remain anonymous, opened a closet to find a ghostly girl giggling at him. Due to the increasing number of paranormal reports, a chaplain was called in to perform a cleansing of the building.
Following the cleansing, reports of paranormal activity sharply decreased, and the school is now more renowned for its academic achievements than its spectral residents.
8. Julia F. Callahan Elementary School
Founded by Julia F. Callahan in 1952, this school in Lynn, Massachusetts soon became known for something beyond its education. After Callahan's death, both staff and students became convinced that her spirit had never left the school grounds. From strange whistling sounds in the hallways to unexplained noises coming from the attic, her presence has become a regular part of the school’s environment.
Students have reported hearing doors slamming in the library, while others claim to have seen Callahan's ghost entering through an access door. In 2008, a fifth-grader named Rachael Felice, along with her friend Nicole, was in the basement bathroom when they distinctly heard the sound of high-heeled shoes clicking on the floor. The two were the only ones present in the bathroom at the time.
There is some debate over the details of Callahan’s death, with some suggesting that a falling bookcase crushed her. Other versions of the story claim she suffered a heart attack in her office or fell from the school roof. Principal Ed Turmenne chose not to comment on the validity of these rumors, but he did express a positive outlook on Julia's ghost, believing that her spirit was likely watching over the students in the school.
7. West High School
Even the most doubtful teacher couldn’t ignore the eerie events happening at West High School in Anchorage, Alaska, after multiple reports of a solitary woman in white roaming the school grounds.
The lady in white has been spotted standing silently behind the scenes at the auditorium or motionless between the seats in the large room. She is also said to dart through hallways or disappear into the basement corridors. On one occasion, a student stage manager saw a girl open the backstage door during a closed rehearsal and rushed to confront her. But by the time he reached her, she had vanished into thin air. Even a security guard claimed to have seen a white figure rush past him in a corridor behind the auditorium balcony.
Another spirit that seems unwilling to leave the premises is that of a janitor who passed away long ago. People have reported seeing a man sweeping the lobby when no one should be there, while others have heard footsteps echoing through empty hallways and witnessed lights flickering on and off by themselves.
6. Mgotjane Primary School
A female teacher at Mgotjane Primary School in Swaziland refused to return in 2013 after claiming that malevolent spirits attacked her. Another teacher also left his quarters on the school grounds after feeling threatened. Thulani Dlamini reported hearing one of his colleagues yelling that four short men were trying to strangle him. Moments later, the men entered Dlamini's room and, unable to strangle him, proceeded to kick him and attempt to push his face into the bed to suffocate him.
Students at the school had their own spine-chilling encounter. Three girls entered the bathroom, with two of them using the toilet while the third waited by the door. The two inside the stall were horrified when they heard a voice screaming at them from down the toilet, demanding to know why they were using it. The girl waiting outside the stall also heard the voice and asked who was in there with them. The voice grew louder and more frantic, until the terrified girls couldn’t take it any longer and fled back to class.
Parents and staff were highly skeptical, with some suggesting that the girls were simply fabricating stories. However, soon after, other girls in the junior classes reported experiencing the same unsettling phenomenon.
5. Yanagawa High School
What began as mass hysteria at Yanagawa High School in Japan turned into a terrifying spectacle in 2014, when 27 girls collapsed after witnessing a 'vengeful spirit.' The ordeal started with one girl screaming that she was paralyzed and unable to move. Soon, more girls began exhibiting the same symptoms, prompting other students to rush to the classroom. The chaos continued for hours, with many speculating that the girls had been possessed by the spirit of a headless ghost. The girls were heard shouting, 'Kill me' and 'Die,' before the school doors were finally shut.
It is believed by some that a headless girl, said to haunt the area around Mt. Hiko and the Aburagi Dam, somehow possessed one of the schoolgirls during an excursion. She brought the spirit back with her, which then proceeded to take control of the other students in class.
4. Cleveland High School
A woman, while taking a cell phone photo of her nephew at Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Texas, got far more than she expected when she examined the picture afterward. In the background, there were two figures who most certainly were not present at the time of the photo. The couple appeared to be wearing clothes from the 1970s, and they seemed somewhat translucent.
The man in the photo wore bell-bottom pants and a dark shirt under a light jacket, while the woman stood behind him. Her clothing was less visible than his. Marcella Davis, the woman who took the photo, didn’t notice the figures until her daughter pointed them out. When questioned if she had used an app to make the photo look creepy, she explained that she had no idea how such apps worked and assured that she hadn’t altered the image in any way.
3. Lambertville High School
New Jersey's Lambertville High School was once named the most haunted school on the East Coast, though the building has since been demolished. Some individuals reported seeing fiery eyes floating over the sports field, accompanied by a disembodied voice shouting. Others mentioned encountering the spirit of a former football player who tragically broke his neck during a game and passed away. Harold Dunn, the previous library director, stated that the red burning eyes would appear to anyone brave enough to visit the field at night, with the voice warning them ominously to run. Strange messages and images were also said to appear on the classroom chalkboards.
The school, which had been in operation since 1854, was demolished in 2012. The original building was largely destroyed by a fire in the early 1920s, with rumors suggesting that 150 students and some teachers lost their lives in the blaze. A memorial stone was later placed at the school in remembrance of this horrific event.
2. Deerpark CBS School
In 2017, Deerpark CBS in Cork, Ireland, made headlines a month before Halloween when surveillance cameras captured unnerving footage: lockers shaking, papers flying through the air, and doors slamming shut—all without any apparent human interference.
The school's deputy reviewed the footage and forwarded it to Principal Kevin Barry for his assessment. The deputy spoke with the media, expressing his confusion over what he had witnessed. If the event turned out to be a hoax, he noted, it would have been an extremely well-done hoax. Prior to the video gaining attention, there had been rumors circulating about paranormal occurrences at the school, including reports of sudden cold spots and disembodied cries echoing through the halls.
A month later, the school released another video (featured above) showing unsettling events: loud noises reverberating through an empty hall, a backpack flying off a row of lockers, and a chair mysteriously shifting on its own. The deputy principal denied any use of green screens or editing to create the videos, simply stating that the school lacked the resources to produce such effects.
1. Tonk Upper Primary Government School
In 2014, nearly 300 people gathered at an upper primary government school in the Tonk district of India to perform religious rites after three children fainted during school hours due to the sight of a ghost. The apparition was believed to be that of a young girl who attempted to push the children toward a toilet. This incident led 170 students to avoid attending school for an entire week.
During the religious ceremonies, it was reported that one of the villagers involved became possessed by the deity Tejaji. Tejaji allegedly warned the parents to conduct regular puja to protect the school from evil forces. The puja was to be carried out at the temple located on the school grounds. The deity explained that the reason for the evil presence in the school was the failure to perform puja for over two months before the unsettling event involving the three children.
