Old Main at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, a red brick building with a white columned entrance under a pediment and green lawn in front

Concordia College – Moorhead, MN: Dolly Larson and the Theatre’s Al Gersbach

Midwestern US Haunted Schools

Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, has a small set of campus ghost stories that the college’s own archive and news office have written down. The most traceable is a theatre tradition about a name that appeared on a program. A second involves a real student whose story calls for care. This short guide separates record from folklore.

What the record says

The Concordia Memory Project’s exhibit, The Ghosts of Concordia, says only four stories are still told and that only one ghost has a definite tie to the school: Dolorita, called Dolly, Larson. The exhibit’s Fjelstad page says she was a junior and business education major in 1953, born in New Richmond, Wisconsin, who moved to Canby, Minnesota, in 1932. Yearbooks show her in Lutheran organizations, a sorority and the band. The exhibit cites her obituary in the Canby News of January 30, 1953.

The exhibit describes her death as a suicide. It says no note or reason is recorded and that accounts disagree about where it happened. This post gives no further detail. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Fjelstad Hall was built in 1938 and partly renovated in 1984, according to the college’s residence hall page, which says it is named for Helga Fjelstad, who directed food service and the women’s residence hall for 33 years.

The legends

Al Gersbach. The college’s 2017 Haunted Halls article says that in 1976 the theatre department received printed programs with an unfamiliar name, Al Gersbach. The printers denied adding it, so it stayed. Lights were later found out of focus, and if his name is left off a program the show may go badly. His name has appeared on every theatre program since. The exhibit’s theatre page spells it “Gershbach” and tells of a paper fluttering from the catwalk after an administrator thanked him on stage.

Dolly. In the stories, a benevolent spirit moves jewelry, opens doors, changes radio volume and calls students by name. Orbs are said to appear near an attic chapel the exhibit says has been closed to students since the early 1950s.

What the record does not support

  • A traceable origin for Al. The exhibit says he has no known tie to the school. The news page says the name came back from the print shop in 1976, while the exhibit says staff found it handwritten in the crew list.
  • A known room for Dolly. The exhibit says the 1984 remodel makes the location of her room unknown, and it may no longer exist.
  • Other student ghosts. The exhibit says the Hoyum Hall story is an almost perfect replica of Dolly’s and that the Old Main story is vague and embellished. Neither is repeated here.
  • Documented hauntings. The exhibit says Dolly’s life and death are linked to campus records. The ghost stories have no such record.

Visiting

Concordia is a working campus, and residence halls such as Fjelstad are not open to the public. The Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre does host public productions, and the theatre ticket page lists the box office and general admission seating. The admission office offers campus tours on most weekdays.

Moorhead State, which became Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2000, has its own campus legend, and Weld Hall is a candidate for a later Minnesota roundup.

FAQ

Who was Dolly Larson?

A Concordia junior from Canby, Minnesota, according to the college’s exhibit. Her 1953 obituary is cited.

Who is Al Gersbach?

A name said to have appeared on a theatre program in 1976. The exhibit says he has no known tie to the school.

More haunted schools in Minnesota

Read about the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Saint John’s University in Collegeville and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, or use the campus ghost walk guide.

Sources

Shop the gear

Heads up: NicheStuff is our own shop, so we earn from purchases made through these links. Prices and availability are set on the store and can change.

Top image: Old Main at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, May 2009. Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri, CC BY 3.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons