Swope Hall - Buena Vista University

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A ghost named Mary is said to haunt this hall. Legend says her house once stood in the very spot where Swope Hall stands today. She died of lead poisoning, which caused her to become mentally unstable and leap from a 3rd-story window. Phenomema experienced here involve the opening and closing of doors, and electrical pranks.

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Geographic Information

Address:
Grand Ave
Storm Lake, IA 50588
United States

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GPS:
42.642046, -95.2095008
County:
Buena Vista County, Iowa
Nearest Towns:
Storm Lake, IA (0.1 mi.)
Lakeside, IA (2.3 mi.)
Alta, IA (4.7 mi.)
Truesdale, IA (6.2 mi.)
Nemaha, IA (10.7 mi.)
Schaller, IA (10.7 mi.)
Newell, IA (10.8 mi.)
Aurelia, IA (12.5 mi.)
Early, IA (12.8 mi.)
Rembrandt, IA (12.9 mi.)

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Comments (4)

  1. I actually used to go to BVU and I dated a girl that lived in Swope Hall. A few nights that spent the night in swope hall with her, we were cooking in and watching movies and hanging out with our friends there the piano in swope hall started to play on it own not any song in particular but the tone of the keys being pressed and sound coming out of and also the pacing of someone in the 3rd floor when the 3rd floor at that time was closed off to students at that time also the sound of doors opening and closing in the 3rd floor while everyone was asleep at 3am thank you for reading

  2. I currently go to BVU and lived in Swope for a whole scho year and the whole summer. It is well known on campus that Mary isn’t real. The doors opening and closing; sounds of pacing; and light tricks are true. But some dude about 10 years ago made up Mary Swope.

  3. I went to BVU about 12 years ago, and know the guy who made up the story of Mary Swope. It was a story made for a class about how misinformation is spread. The story is completely made up, but people still insist it is true! (I also lived on the third floor of Swope and can tell you that the slamming doors were due to horrible drafts and slanting floors in an old building)

  4. Went to BVU and looked up information about the story 10 years ago. There wasn’t a house there before Swope Hall. It was an empty patch of land- which is why the school was built there in the first place. Also I’ve met the people who made up the story. Its just that. Most of the other scary things that happened in swope were due to it being one of the older buildings on campus.

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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.