Rumor around Park University is that during World War II, two female students hanged themselves in Herr House. Footsteps coming from empty rooms and other strange occurrences have led students to believe the ladies’ spirits linger here. And the Jenkin and Barbara David Theater is said to be haunted by namesake Jenkin David, whose ghost wears a gray suit.

Cottey College, founded by Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard in 1884, has a piano-playing ghost. The spirit is thought to be that of Vera Neitzert, a student from 1920 who perished when her clothes caught fire while she was cooking candy. Her ghost has been seen in Main Hall and the former Rosemary Hall. Another Cottey spirit who may be the piano player is Madame Blitz, a turn-of-the-century music department head who drank carbolic acid and died in her home across the street.

Southwest Missouri State University’s Freudenberger House, or Freddy House, built in 1959 and named for a Latin professor who taught for 45 years, has a female ghost affectionately referred to as the Dorm Mom. She’s most often spotted on Floor 5.

Drury University began in 1873, and was built on land that was both Indian burial grounds and a Civil War battle area. One ghost here is that of a little girl who lived here before Smith Hall was built. She perished in a fire when she re-entered her burning home for her teddy bear, and her ghost, dressed in pink, has been seen searching for her bear. She is also blamed for opening doors, taking drawers out of dressers, ringing phones that are not hooked up, and playing with students’ teddy bears. There’s also a ghost at Clara Thompson Hall who plays pianos, and another who flickers the lights at Wilhoit Theatre.