Rumors of haunted tunnels beneath campus grounds, potential ghosts’ involvement in tormenting workers and students, and apparitions in some of the oldest buildings on campus have been circulating around Wichita State University for decades.

WSU’s campus is over a century old, so if you’ve sensed an unnatural being in your presence, you’re not the first. Henrion Hall, established in the 1920s, is perhaps the most likely place for encountering a ghost, according to campus ghost hunters.

“In the investigation that I’ve done so far … a lot of these buildings, (specifically) this one (Henrion Hall), is highly active, and there’s a lot of stories,” said Ann Keefer, special events manager at the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Monday marked WSU’s first official campus ghost hunt, carried out by the Ulrich Museum of Art. The tour offered only two 13-spot sessions at $13 a ticket.

The group was composed of first-time ghost hunters (me), as well as self-proclaimed psychics sharing insights into the spectral and others who have spent years seeking connections to the spirit world.

The group was led by amateur ghost-hunting-sister-duo Michelle Arbuckle and Marcia Loy, as well as Megan St. Clair.

St. Clair, an adjunct instructor at Wichita State and a member of the Wichita Paranormal Research Society, encountered her first apparition while working on her senior capstone in Henrion.

“I look up, and there is a man standing there in coveralls — like he was a worker,” St. Clair said. “He was just there for a second, then he was gone. And I then quickly packed up my stuff and ran out of here.”

During the search for ghosts, visitors were provided flash cameras, flashlights and electromagnetic field detectors to probe Henrion Hall and the Ulrich for access — rather than evidence — into the paranormal realm.

Upon entering the scarcely lit Ulrich at 8 p.m., it was revealed, perhaps most easily by the line of people awaiting an empty room possessed by tarot reader Jeannie Smith, that the scene had transformed into something closely resembling a metaphysical meeting ground.

Before the march to Henrion began, Keefer swiftly introduced the group’s guides and commanded resourceful guidance for rookie hunters.

As the group set out for its first stop, Keefer gave sage advice on how to approach the next hour.

“There’s going to be moments of silence, and it seems, like, ‘Oh my God, how long is this gonna last?’” Keefer said. “I mean, we’ve got to give them (ghosts) some time.”

Crammed in a sweltry boiler room in the basement of Henrion, attendees stood motionless in the darkness as they waited for a connection to the metaphysical.

During the effort, an attendee addressed a potential ghost in the room, “There was an electrical fire here in 2018 where a student burned — are you aware that that happened?”

“Are you the one that visited me in the (Henrion Hall’s) shower room?” another attendee asked.

After failing to reach any ghosts, an unknown voice asked, “Is anyone feeling anything?” and rhetorically answered, “I’m not. I’m feeling sweaty.”

In between the efforts to communicate with the spiritual, attendees shared tales of their own apparition encounters — some chilling, some friendly — followed by a consensus of affirmation, implying that this group was already well-seasoned in paranormal experiences.

The latter half of the event took place on the Ulrich’s second floor, where the previous group had witnessed the lights mysteriously turn on.

During a “ghost box” — or spirit box — session, our group listened closely to the spirit box device audibly emitting frequencies, trying to connect scratchy syllables into words.

“Do you have a particular employee you like to hang out with?” an Ulrich employee asked.

The frequency produced a clear “Yes.”

As the gathering concluded, the group dispersed into the unlit space — some admiring the museum’s art, while others pulled out their tools to reinvestigate.

Many snapped pictures and followed their electromagnetic field detectors, with the majority gathering around St. Clair’s pendulum as they sought to reattempt communication with spirits.

Although Keefer was unsure that the Ulrich would host another ghost-hunting session, she said staff were grateful to attendees and called for the contact information of anyone who experienced activity during the session.

Even though we didn’t meet any ghosts that night, I still felt a tangible connection. As it turns out, sitting on the floor with strangers in the dark, listening for ghosts, is a great way to spend your October night — the absence of cynicism only cleanses your spirit, rather than haunting it.