Haunted Michigan: Siena Heights University in Adrian, MI

 

Siena Heights University - Photo from Abound

Estimated in 1919 as St. Joseph's College, Siena Heights University started life as a women's college. The Adrian Dominican Sisters who funded the school later changed its name to Siena Heights College to honor Saint Catherine of Siena. Men would later become students at the college. As its curriculum grew, it adopted its last name change in 1998 to Siena Heights University. It remains a Roman Catholic private university today and is quite small with a total enrollment of less than 2,500 students.

Often called The Heights by current and former students, this small Michigan university campus is also haunted. Based on what I found online, the haunting seems to surround one specific dorm room.

During the 1970s, two young women moved into a shared dorm room like many of their peers. Like other rooms in the dorm, it had one door that led to the bathroom and another that opened into the hallway. The girls quickly noticed that no matter what they did, the doors would open on their own. Even if they locked the door and double-checked the lock, it would still open when they were asleep.

Their room, Room 201, was right next to an old laundry chute. One used to send dirty laundry to the basement and save cleaners some time, the university closed it off years before the girls arrived. The two claimed that this wall always felt colder than any other spot in the room and that they could see eyes on the spot. Whether the lights were on or off, they would always see what looked like two eyes staring back at them, though it happened more often at night.

To bring an end to the stories, university officials used heavy covers on the windows, believing that the girls just saw reflections from outside. This didn't work – nor did moving heavy objects between the windows and wall. The university even painted the wall with several coats of paint, sanded the wall, used primer, and applied wallpaper, but the eyes kept coming back.

One site claims the residents decided to take care of the problem on their own. They made a funny picture on notebook paper and taped it over the spots. The next morning, the paper was now taped to the ceiling. After the two moved out, the eyes amped up their activity. The two who moved in after them once saw a rocking chair they placed in front of the spot shaking on its own. It become so violent that the chair eventually hit the wall with enough force to bring down a nearby mirror, which shattered when it hit the ground.

Though some students believe the paranormal activity comes from Adrian Dominican Sisters who passed on, others think it's a dark presence. Another rumor is that one of the Sisters committed suicide in the early days of the college, which might explain the darkness surrounding the campus.

This same nun might be the one who supposedly haunts the tunnels running under the campus. At least one student took a photo that seems to show a ghostly outline of a woman standing in the tunnel.

The Sacred Heart Hall Library on The Heights campus is also allegedly haunted. When workers arrive in the morning after leaving the library locked up, they often find books moved, always to the Q section. They will occasionally arrive to see chairs stacked up in front of the doors that weren't there the night before. Others reported seeing windows now open and light streaming through when the same windows were closed when they left.

While I'm not sure what to think about the haunted dorm room because there isn't much evidence, I heard from Adrian locals and students about the eerie feeling of the campus. You can visit for yourself and even take a campus tour.

Siena Heights University is at 1247 E. Siena Heights Dr. in Adrian, Michigan.