Recounting the hauntings of Vassar College

[CW: This article makes mention of murder, suicide and general violence]

Valedictorian-Salutatorian Murder-Suicide

The first Vassar ghost story I ever heard was one of its most famous: The Valedictorian-Salutatorian Murder-Suicide in Main House. Upon searching through old The Miscellany News articles cataloging the College’s ghosts, I found several variants of this story. The story goes that the valedictorian and salutatorian were roommates in Main House room 423, and the salutatorian pushed her friend out the window to take the coveted title for herself. Overwhelmed with guilt, she jumped out too (or hung herself, depending on the version). Another account says that they were not roommates, but next-door neighbors, and the salutatorian was jealous that the valedictorian had gotten the best room. Thais Soloman, Class of 1995, was the last person to live in the room and was allegedly driven out by the haunting. The room is no longer a dorm, officially for fire safety, because it can only be accessed by a single staircase. There are, however, other towers in Main that only have one staircase, so Soloman maintained that the real reason was the College trying to cover up the haunting.

Florence Cushing

One of Cushing House’s ghosts is none other than Florence Cushing, Class of 1874, herself. She inhabits the east wing of the building, sometimes wandering the hallways. She has reportedly been seen in the windows of several rooms, and one student claimed that every night as she went to sleep, she could feel a ghostly presence in the room. Florence’s favorite pastime is said to be slamming doors. While many credit this to drafts, others maintain that it is Florence.

Gertrude Angeline Bronson

On Halloween day, 1975, The Miscellany News proclaimed “Identity of Vassar Ghost Revealed; Bewitching Cover-up Since 1895.” At long last, the name of the ghost who tormented the residents of Main 318 was revealed: Gertrude Angeline Bronson. The residents of this room had long reported shadows lurking in the corners, returning to their room to find furniture moved around, doors slamming and opening when nobody was there.

The article claims that the College went to great lengths to cover up the presence of this ghost. Vassar was already short of housing and did not want to give up a room. Furthermore, the article claims that Dean Drouilhet, who had worked at the College for well over a half-century, did not want a ghost stealing her title of oldest person on campus. The College was so determined to cover this story up that The Miscellany News reporter on the story received an anonymous message offering a Joss single in exchange for ceasing the investigation.

When the story came to public attention, the initials “G. A. Bronson ’95” were found scrawled on the window. Digging through old Vassarions, The Miscellany News found her to be Gertrude Angeline Bronson, from the Class of 1895. They found quotes from her mentioning drunkenness, insanity and suicide, which reporters concluded was the reason for her death a year after graduation. The article alleges that the administration’s cover-up began then, listing the cause of death as typhoid fever, and continued till that moment.

Professor Olive Lammert

Olive Lammert graduated from Vassar in 1915, and then went on to be a chemistry professor. She died in 1932, allegedly by suicide. A half-century later, her spirit still dwelled in Sanders Chemistry (now Sanders Classroom). The iconic VSA President Jane Bishop ’72 (affectionately known to the student body as Il Doge) communicated with Olive Lammert via an Ouija board. When asked why she still haunted Sanders, Lammert replied, “Chemistry Bug Still,” and when asked why she killed herself, the simple reply was “Sadness.” The haunting seems to center on a memorial plaque with Lammert’s name on it, which migrated to the Mudd Building and then the Bridge with the Chemistry Department. The plaque was eventually retired because, no matter how it was hung, it would always fall—no doubt Olive finds the Bridge too modern.

The Ghost of Matthew Vassar

Matthew Vassar, the College’s famous and beloved founder, died in the College’s library (at the time housed in Main) in 1868 while reading his farewell speech to the Board of Trustees. Questions surround the mysterious circumstances of his death. Some rumors allege he was murdered by the Board of Trustees, who were seeking control over the College. They even finished reading off his speech after he died—no doubt with a few changes. His coffin was allegedly buried in catacombs beneath Main House, where it is said to remain to this day, though a headstone was erected elsewhere.

In 1914, The Poughkeepsie Enterprise published a piece claiming that a farmhouse on New Hackensack Road had three families move in and out in the space of four months, thanks to an apparition who frequently appeared to them—an apparition that they believed to be Matthew Vassar. The College later admitted that Matthew Vassar had once owned the farmhouse in question, though he had never lived in it. Even the New York Times published an article about it, according to the Vassar Encyclopedia.

It has also been said that Matthew Vassar’s ghost still haunts the lower levels of Main to this day, lurking in offices, wandering the corridors at night, visiting both the spot of his death in the long ago-relocated library and his body buried below. Perhaps the trip to the farmhouse was just a brief need for a change of scenery. A 2009 Miscellany News humor article claimed that Matthew’s spirit appeared to give a pep talk in the form of poetry to hundreds of students on a night during study week.

Matthew Vassar allegedly had his own run-ins with ghosts before becoming one himself. While rescuing one of his cows that had run off, he wrote in his autobiography that he was confronted by a headless figure. He also wrote about a recurring dream about a “Ghostly Apparition” which would appear to him with a finger outstretched.

Betsey Coffin Bates

One of Vassar’s best-known ghost stories is about the Betsey Coffin Bates Hidden Room. As the name implies, nobody is sure where this secret and mysterious room is, or even if the mythical chamber actually exists. Different stories place it in the basements of Joss, Main, Raymond, Ely and the Library.

Betsey Bates was a professor at the college in the 1880s—the first woman to chair a department, or so the story goes. Beloved by her students, when she died, some of them built the room in her honor. Hidden well, the room lay dormant for many years. This mysterious chamber was said to have been discovered in 1930, when a professor noticed a strange noise emanating from beneath her office. Upon further investigation, she discovered a hidden room in the basement containing a number of strange artifacts. But most noticeable of all was the chill that ran down your spine upon entering. One could feel the presence of the spirit who haunted it, believed to be Betsey Coffin Bates herself.

The Friendly Ghost of Pratt House

Not all of Vassar’s spirits have ill will towards the living. Pratt House is also inhabited by a ghost who has a reputation unlike the rest. Said to live in the kitchen, this ghost will quietly help students from time to time. It is said that many students who spend a significant amount of time in Pratt will form friendships with this ghost.

While this ghost has an impeccable reputation in their treatment of Vassar students, the same cannot be said of those who do not belong to the Vassar community. The Pratt ghost lived and died in a time when Vassar had a closed campus, and people could not freely enter. The ghost has refused to change their ways, and now will terrorize anyone not officially affiliated with Vassar. At one point, Pratt served as a guest house, but this stopped because of the ghost’s haunting. Students report that late at night they will hear mysterious voices, floorboards will creak without explanation and they will feel hands brush their arms only to turn around and see no one.

Rebecca, the ghost of Avery Hall

The most complete catalog of ghosts I found in The Miscellany News archives mentions Rebecca, the ghost of Avery Hall. If you are not a drama major, you may be thinking that Vassar does not have a building by that name, but think again. Vogelstein was once called Avery, and has gone through half a dozen names during its various uses. Students would often report hearing keys and seeing lights only to find they were alone. Rebecca will often steal things from students, but if you ask her nicely, she will return them. While generally considered a nuisance, a student falling from scaffolding once was saved by ghostly hands.

“Down With the Patriarchy”: The Haunting of Strong House

One article from the archives mentions a headless ghost in Strong House, but does not go into much detail. The other is Kathy, a lesbian from the 1970s. According to a 2018 humor article, she terrorized residents by dragging them out of bed, pulling fire alarms, blaring music and screaming about how society would be better without men. Vassar hired a Catholic exorcist to remove Kathy, but there was no success.

The Miscellany News