Urbana High School

By Troy Taylor

According to students, and some staff members, of the Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois, something walks the hallways of the school that comes from another world. In fact, in a certain location in the building is a doorway that leads to the most haunted location in the building. Few supposedly know where to find this doorway....but nearly any student can tell you at least one ghost story about the "tower". This tower is an upper part of the building that has been closed off for some time. It once contained class rooms, but now is empty, save for the ghosts.

One legend about the ghost in the tower involves a teacher who fell in love with a student and then hanged herself. Another story involves a girl who was mixed up in a love triangle with a married teacher and still another tells of a boy who committed suicide there. No one really seems to be sure just how the stories got started, but whether or not the place is haunted, seems to be no mystery.

Staff members recall incidents in the past that have been linked to ghosts and the tower. On one occasion, staff members found the door to the tower unlocked.... and no one knew how it had gotten that way. The police were called and when officers got there, a loud tapping sound was heard from the tower. The police were so frightened that they made the principal go up the stairs first.

Other claims that strange lights have been seen in the tower at night and the fourth floor walls were plagued with a mysteriously peeling paint. The walls would be freshly painted and within months, all of the paint will have peeled off. There remains no explanation for this.

Urbana High School is located in the twin cities of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in the east central portion of the state. The high school can be found on Race Street in Urbana.