Aerial view of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota campus in Winona, with tan brick buildings among trees below a wooded bluff

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota – Winona, MN: The Heffron Hall Ghost and the Real 1915 Shooting

Midwestern US Haunted Schools

The “Ghost of Heffron Hall” at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona is one of the state’s best known campus legends, and the university itself says it was invented. A real shooting did happen on campus in 1915, and the bishop it targeted survived. A student newspaper’s 1967 Halloween issue is what turned it into a ghost story. This guide separates the documented history from the folklore and explains how to visit respectfully.

What the record says

Bishop Patrick Heffron founded Saint Mary’s College in 1912, according to Wikipedia’s article on him and on the university. On the morning of August 27, 1915, a priest, Father Louis Lesches, shot at Heffron while the bishop said Mass in his private chapel on the second floor of St. Mary’s Hall. Patrick Marek’s series in the Winona Post, drawing on 1915 newspapers and the Diocese of Winona’s history, says the bishop was wounded, chased the gunman out and walked to his residence.

Heffron recovered. Lesches was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state hospital in St. Peter, where Marek says he died in 1943. Heffron died of cancer in 1927, at 68. Marek also reports that a priest, Father Edward W. Lynch, was found dead in his bed on the third floor of St. Mary’s Hall on May 15, 1931, and treats it as the second event behind the legend. The circumstances are not given here.

Heffron Hall is a different building. The university describes it as the second major building in its early history and says it is connected to St. Mary’s Hall, the main academic building. Sources differ on when it was built: Wikipedia says 1920, while MPR quotes a list saying 1921. Either way, it came after the shooting.

The legends

The bishop’s ghost. In the legend, Heffron walks the third and fourth floors of Heffron Hall, causing drafts. A dark, cowled figure is the recurring image.

Student accounts. Marek’s 2004 installment collects stories from alumni who lived in Heffron in 2001 and 2002: a cold room, a television switching on, tapping in the hall between 1 and 3 a.m., and a door opening by itself. A professor recalled seeing, as a student in 1973, a dark figure behind frosted glass in the St. Mary’s Hall breezeway. She later learned it was in front of the room where the shooting took place.

The frightened freshman. Upperclassmen reportedly tell new students about a classmate found with white hair and a look of horror. Marek presents it as embellishment.

A national label. Marek writes that USA Today called Heffron Hall “Minnesota’s most legendary haunted place.” The original article was not found, so treat that claim as unconfirmed.

What the record does not support

  • A ghost since 1915. The university’s spokeswoman told MPR in 2010: “Officially, there isn’t a ghost. It was made up as hype for the college paper back in the ’60s.”
  • A ghost from the start. Marek’s Halloween Postcard says the 1967 student paper, The Nexus, ran a special Halloween issue titled “Now It Can Be Told.” Its faculty moderator, Dr. Robert Kairis, later called it the darkest period of his life. The late archivist Brother Paul Ostendorf is quoted as saying that, historically, the ghost “was created in 1967.”
  • A murdered bishop. A Huffington Post line quoted by MPR called Heffron the hall’s “slain namesake.” He survived the shooting and died in 1927.
  • A haunting where it happened. The shooting and the 1931 death were in St. Mary’s Hall, while the ghost is placed in Heffron Hall, which was not yet built in 1915.
  • A simple villain. Marek recalls Ostendorf objecting that each retelling mocks a man who was mentally ill. The record shows a court ruling and nearly 28 years in a hospital.

Visiting

Saint Mary’s is a working university, and campus buildings are not open to the public except where stated. Heffron Hall and the other residence halls are student residences, so do not enter them. The easiest way onto campus is a visit through the university. The visit page says admission counselors lead tours of the 420-acre Winona campus on weekdays and select Saturdays, and a 360-degree virtual tour is available. No ghost tour was found. Confirm details with the university before traveling.

FAQ

Is Heffron Hall haunted?

Nothing has been confirmed. The university says the ghost was invented for a 1967 student newspaper issue, though students still report experiences.

Was Bishop Heffron killed?

No. He was shot in 1915 and survived. He died of cancer in 1927.

Can visitors go inside Heffron Hall?

No. It is a student residence. Visits are arranged through the admissions office.

More haunted schools in Minnesota

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

Sources

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Top image: Campus of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, Minnesota, June 2023. Photo: Wikideas1, CC0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons