Warriner Hall at Central Michigan University, a tall red-brick central tower with arched windows and a stone entrance, framed by young trees and lawn

Central Michigan University – Mount Pleasant, MI: Legends of the Dark and the Records Behind the Ghosts

Midwestern US Haunted Schools

Central Michigan University’s ghost stories have an annual stage: Legends of the Dark, a student-run haunted campus tour. The 2026 tour leaves from the Bovee University Center on Thursday, October 29, between 7 and 9 p.m., according to the university’s event listing. Behind the best-known tales are two real women, an employee who died in Warriner Hall in the 1930s and a freshman who died in Barnard Hall in 1951. This guide separates what the records say from what the tour tells.

What the record says

Warriner Hall stands on the site of Old Main, which burned on December 7, 1925, with its library of about 30,000 volumes, according to the Clarke Historical Library. The replacement, built partly from salvaged bricks, was renamed Warriner Hall in 1939, the Clarke blog says.

Central Michigan Life reported in 2025 that Theresa Elizabeth Schumacher, a 19-year-old cafeteria employee from Nottawa Township, died in an elevator accident in Warriner Hall in the 1930s. A 2009 article in the same paper, quoted on a photographer’s blog, gives the date as May 29, 1937. This post describes no details of the accident.

Barnard Hall opened in 1948 as a women’s residence hall, closed in 1993 and was demolished beginning in 1996, the Clarke’s demolished-buildings page says. Carolyn Corey, an Owosso freshman, died there on May 6, 1951. The 2025 article, citing its own archives, says she went to bed with stomach cramps and died in her sleep. The Morning Sun gave the same date in 2010.

Powers Hall opened in 1939 as a student union and men’s residence hall. According to the Clarke’s existing-buildings page, the Music Department moved in during 1961 and left in 1997.

The legends

Legends of the Dark. Central Michigan Life says the tour was started in 1995 by student Allison Batdorf. The 2024 stops included Warriner Hall and the sealed tunnel entrance known as the Pit.

Warriner Hall. In a 2013 account of the tour, a guide said lights flash on and off in a locked sixth-floor room that only custodial staff can enter. The 2025 article says the legend is that her ghost haunts the elevator and the building.

Barnard Hall and “Carolyn.” The Morning Sun in 2010 called Carolyn “CMU’s most famous ghost” before the halls came down. Residents are said to have heard faint crying on upper floors and found locked windows open (2025 article).

The piano garden at Powers Hall. A 2010 tour story says a music student who died while the department was in the building is buried beneath a piano-shaped garden, though some see the garden simply as a memorial.

What the record does not support

  • Any confirmed haunting. Central Michigan Life says officials have never confirmed paranormal activity and that many stories are “speculations or ‘urban legends’.”
  • Other Warriner versions. The 2025 article also tells a version in which the woman was an actress, which does not match its own account of the cafeteria employee. This post does not repeat it.
  • A suicide at Barnard Hall. The 2025 article says Barnard’s ghost is believed to be a woman who died by suicide after heartbreak, then cites the archive’s record of a death in her sleep. No source reviewed supports that claim. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
  • A music student of the 1930s. The 2025 article dates the piano-garden story to the 1930s, but Powers Hall was not a music building until 1961, and no name or record was found.
  • A firm start date for the tour. The 2024 article gives 1995, but CMU’s listing calls 2026 the tour’s 31st year, which points to 1996.
  • Tour patter as fact. The Morning Sun noted that a Sloan Hall brickwork cross shown on the tour “could just be part of the architecture.”

Visiting

The tour is the way to hear these stories. CMU’s Engage listing says it is hosted by the Office of Student Activities and Involvement, with tours leaving every 10 minutes from the Bovee University Center between 7 and 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, followed by cider and donuts. It points to a sign-up link for tour times. The listing gives no ticket price or age limit, so confirm both and the date before going.

Warriner and the other halls are working campus buildings, and residence halls are private living spaces, so do not enter them to look for ghosts. This guide attaches no ghost stories to the former Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School (opened 1893, closed 1934), which the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s timeline documents as boarding school history. The Tribe owns part of the former grounds and Mission Creek Cemetery.

FAQ

Is Central Michigan University haunted?

Nothing has been confirmed. The student newspaper calls many of the stories urban legends.

Who was Theresa Schumacher?

A 19-year-old cafeteria employee from Nottawa Township who died in an accident in Warriner Hall, according to Central Michigan Life. A 2009 article dated it May 29, 1937.

When is Legends of the Dark in 2026?

Thursday, October 29, 2026, from 7 to 9 p.m., with tours leaving the Bovee University Center every 10 minutes. Check CMU’s listing for sign-up details.

More haunted schools in Michigan

Michigan has no other posts here yet. For ideas on running your own tour, see How to Run a Campus Ghost Walk This Halloween.

Sources

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Top image: Warriner Hall at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, February 2008. Photo: Cjh1452000, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons