By Olivia Dennis
TAMPA, Fla. — There was a chill in the air as the wind picked up, causing the palm branches to create an eerie swooshing sound. The light from the moon beamed down onto the minarets and caused them to cast their looming shadows across the brick streets. Not a soul wandered the campus, at least not living anyway.
The University of Tampa is said to be haunted. From Plant Hall to Falk Theatre and a few unexpected spots in between, the campus has had its fair share of rumored ghostly encounters throughout the years.
Plant Hall is the most notorious spot in terms of UTampa’s haunted campus. Rich with history, the building hasn’t always been home to students. Long before the building was known as Plant Hall, it was the Tampa Bay Hotel up until the 1930s, and rumor has it that some former guests and staff have yet to check out. Phantom footsteps and doors abruptly slamming are common experiences students claim to hear when no one else is around. But others have claimed to see full-body apparitions.
One of the more well-known entities residing in Plant Hall is known as the “Brown Man” or Henry B. Plant himself. Henry Plant is said to wear a brown suit, hence his nickname, and a wide-brimmed hat that sits just above his brow, allowing onlookers to see his glowing, red eyes. People say that if you ever have a run-in with Henry Plant, you should never acknowledge his presence. Avoid eye contact at all costs and move on.
A former student had the pleasure of meeting someone who they believed to be Henry Plant back in 2016.
“I had a class end late in Plant Hall. As I was leaving, I swear I saw a man in a suit standing down the hallway, but after a double take, no one was there,” the former student said. “He looked like he was from the ’20s, and after mentioning it, I remember hearing that he was one of the ghosts that haunts the building.”
Many students agree that a particular spot in Plant Hall gives them the chills: the small, spiral staircase towards the science wing of the building, which connects to a long, curved hallway lined with windows. People who have had experiences in this particular spot report a drop in temperature accompanied by the occasional tug at their legs, and others swear they’ve been shoved.
And right across from that same spiral staircase across from the Registrar’s Office is Fletcher Lounge. Some students who have performed in this room have been overcome with a strange feeling, while others have felt like they were being watched from the upper walkway.
The next spot on campus where you may bump into an unexpected guest is Falk Theatre, across the street from Plant Hall. Bessie Snavely, a former actress, is the spirit that is said to haunt the theater. It’s believed that Bessie tragically died after she hung herself in her dressing room on the third floor. Ever since, it’s been rumored that the occasional person will see Bessie herself, while others have reported feeling an oddly cold breeze in her dressing room.
Students who frequent the theater are all aware of the spirit that supposedly haunts the building. Andrew Miller, a student involved in UTampa’s theater, explained that the department has a couple of rituals and rules they follow to pay Bessie their respects.
“It’s a tradition in the theater department that whenever you have the show … the leading guy in the show or the romantic lead has the responsibility of buying Bessie a dozen red roses, and he needs to bring them up to the attic,” Miller said.
Once you ascend the latter to Falk’s attic, Miller said you will find a hidden door sectioned off and marked as Bessie’s new dressing room.
“So you leave the roses there, and you have a speech for her and tell her, ‘Thank you and good luck’ in order to have a good run. Then you go back down, and on the closing night, you take the flowers back and dispose of them,” Miller said.
Another rule that the girls in the theater department follow is that no one in the show can wear a bright red dress because the color belongs to Bessie.
While Falk Theatre and Plant Hall are the primary focus of haunted spots on campus, they are not the only ones. If you’re looking for a study spot, be wary of the Macdonald-Kelce Library. Unless, of course, you don’t mind a study buddy from the past.
Patrick O’Brien, a professor in UTampa’s history department, found himself two summers ago on the second floor of the campus library around 5 p.m. searching through the stacks for research books. He said the campus was nearly empty, minus a few summer courses being held and the librarians in the building.
“I was somewhat startled and almost actually jumped because on the other side of the bookshelf, someone moved. I was like ‘Oh man I didn’t think I saw anyone here.’ But I didn’t really think about it too much,” O’Brien said. “So I kind of continued on my way and then whoever that was on the other side of the bookshelves moved very very quickly, almost like they were running between the bookcases.”
O’Brien said his first thought was that it must be a student playing, and so he went back to the desk where he was working — only to hear the noise for a second time, the same quick movement down where the bookshelves were.
“So now I’m going to say something because this seems unnecessary. I got up from my desk to go over to where it was, and I was hearing it as I was walking over there. I expected to run into someone right at the end, and I kind of turn the corner slowly, cause I wanted to give them a dirty look, and no one was there,” O’Brien said. “It was totally empty, but there were two books down.”
He was confused. He said he was on the other side of the exact same row, and he knew that he didn’t hear any books fall down earlier. Once again, O’Brien returned to his desk, and the same thing happened for the third time.
“I packed up my stuff, and I left because it was a very eerie feeling … to have this presence, this movement, going between the bookshelves. I left there feeling a little uneasy, and I’ve got to tell you, every time I go back on the second floor of the library now, I do a little bit of looking around,” O’Brien said.
So there’s Plant Hall, Falk Theatre, and now the Macdonald Kelce Library, but the campus’ rumored hauntings don’t stop there. O’Brien said a student told him they saw someone or something out by the Ars Sonora bell tower.
“One of the people I’ve spoken to swears up and down that they had seen, in the early morning hours, someone run really quickly across that quad but then there was no one there by the end of it,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said he believes the area where the bell tower now stands used to be the baseball field during the time of the Tampa Bay Hotel. He wonders if it’s an impression left by one of the former players.
Another former student continued to back the rumored hauntings and said she believed she saw someone in the old art building.
Helen, a 2020 graduate, spent a lot of her time in the Saunders Art Center, which has since been demolished to make room for the gym expansion. She said the combination of stark hallways, tight turns, and industrial lighting made the building nothing short of creepy. One night, Helen found herself alone in the clay studio.
“I was listening to a podcast, just doing my thing, when I felt this bizarre discomfort. Not like I was being watched but like something in the dead silent building was suddenly aware of me,” Helen said.
Frozen in place, Helen saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She said it looked like a shadow of someone sitting beside the sink. The man appeared in his 20s or 30s and dressed like a modern student in a gray sweatshirt.
“I was fully convinced he was sitting there until I turned around and realized he wasn’t. When I tell you I packed up and literally backed out of the room and rushed out of the building,” Helen said. “I had to check all the dark corners of my car before I started driving home in case he followed me.”
Helen said that whether it was truly a paranormal experience or simply just due to one too many all-nighters, the experience left her with an uncomfortable feeling.
So whether you believe the rumors of the spirits that continue to linger at UTampa long after their time or are skeptical, be wary. The next time you think you’re alone on campus, maybe throw a quick glance over your shoulder just to make sure. If you do happen to see someone, double-check to make sure they’re of this world.
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Photo by Olivia Dennis