DePauw University – Greencastle, IN: The Ossian Book, Governor Whitcomb and East College

Midwestern US Haunted Schools

DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, has one ghost story that centers on a book. In the archives of the Roy O. West Library, a copy of “The Poems of Ossian, the Son of Fingal” is said to be guarded by the spirit of Indiana Governor James Whitcomb, who is supposed to appear if a student takes it away. The story is a campus favorite, and the university’s own archivist has said he cannot trace it before the 1990s.

What the record says

James Whitcomb was Indiana’s governor from 1843 to 1848 and a U.S. senator from 1848 until his death on October 4, 1852, according to the DePauw finding aid for his library records. The same finding aid says he gave his library to Indiana Asbury University, now DePauw, around 1852. DePauw’s retired archivist says in Old Gold that many of the books were lost in the 1879 fire that destroyed the university’s first building. The finding aid also lists “articles on book hauntings.”

Archives and Special Collections lists the Whitcomb library among its holdings.

The legends

The usual version, told in student papers in 2012, 2017 and 2022, goes like this. A student takes “Ossian” from the library to read. In the night, the ghost of Whitcomb appears and demands to know who stole it. The student returns the book first thing in the morning.

In January 2009 the Banner Graphic reported that Hoosier State Paranormal investigated the room with the book, with the archivist’s permission, and reported recording two electronic voice phenomena.

Separate stories attach to East College. The 2017 and 2022 student articles report a janitor who in 1981 saw a young girl on its steps in the rain and then found her gone, and footsteps heard on its stairs.

What the record does not support

  • Any version of the Ossian story before the 1990s. Archivist Wesley Wilson told the Banner Graphic in 2009 that he had never found anything to document the story before then. In 2012 he told The DePauw that the story “makes it kind of fun and interesting.”
  • The details that vary. The 2009 article has a boy and an “early 1800s” donation, which predates Whitcomb’s 1852 gift. The 2022 article says a student “in the early 1900s,” and two student articles add that Whitcomb left instructions that his books never leave the library. The finding aid mentions none of this.
  • The East College girl. The student articles do not name her or date her death, and no record was found. A rumor in them about a former president’s daughter in the bell tower has no named source either, so it is not repeated here.
  • A girl who drowned at the Edna Collins Bridge. Putnam County historian Larry Tippin told the Banner Graphic in 2025 that no such drowning appears in the primary sources. The covered bridge was named for a living resident, 71 years old when it was built in 1922.

Visiting

The library is at 405 South Indiana Street in Greencastle. The Whitcomb library is part of Archives and Special Collections, which lists archives@depauw.edu and (765) 658-4406 but no public hours, so contact the office before visiting, and treat the book as a rare volume, not an attraction. East College is a working campus building. For a tour of your own, see How to Run a Campus Ghost Walk This Halloween.

FAQ

Is the DePauw library haunted?

The story is campus folklore. The archivist has said he cannot document it before the 1990s.

Can you see the haunted book?

Only through Archives and Special Collections. Contact the office before visiting.

More haunted schools in the Midwest

Read about Indiana University Bloomington. In Illinois, see Eastern Illinois University, Millikin University, Lourdes High School and Lewis and Clark Community College.

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.