Although ghostly stories of hauntings at other colleges may be more widely known, SUNY Oneonta has its share of legends and lore.
Portraits that stare back, objects that move by themselves and unexplained sounds suggest there may be more than meets the eye.
Check out these stories, and decide for yourself.
Many staff members, student workers and custodians believe The Alden Room - a small room on the third floor of Milne Library that contains college archives, photographs and scrapbooks - is haunted by its namesake, Jessica Alden. She was SUNY Oneonta's first librarian and worked at the college from 1912 until 1944.
Librarians have reported suddenly feeling cold, and one said she felt a pushing sensation on her back, as if someone or something wanted her to leave.
They also say they hear footsteps and other noises after the library is closed, see shadows flit across walls and watch as rocking chairs move by themselves.
“In the Alden Room, I had a feeling that I wasn’t fully alone,” said Sarah, who asked that her last name be left out. “The room felt a little heavy sometimes, but I thought I was just kind of spooking myself.”
Sarah's most memorable paranormal Alden Room experience occurred one spring.
After entering the room through the back door and flipping on the lights, as usual, she scanned the room and saw someone sitting in a chair.
"It was a woman who looked to be in her mid-30s and she was wearing a Victorian-era dress. She was seated in a blue chair that's always in the room ... I could see through her, and that scared the living daylights out of me. ...When I rubbed my eyes, she was gone."
Sarah began to research Alden who, according to her obituary, died unmarried at the age of 83 at the Oneonta Nursing Home after an "extended illness."
Seeing pictures of Jessica helped Sarah confirm what she had believed -
"The woman I saw was Jessica," she said.
Christine Edwards, former RD of the suite-style building, said several years ago she received repeated reports from residents of a certain room on the third floor. The girls in the suite were convinced there was a ghost in their room, as items in their suite were being moved around without explanation.
It was also not uncommon for them to hear doors open and close in their suite when no one was around.
"They were convinced," Edwards said. "I didn't really know how to comfort them, so I eventually said, 'Let's look up how to rid a space of ghosts,' and everything I saw said to just tell it to stop. That's what they did, and their experiences dwindled."
Years later, after Edwards had left the building, an RA in Blodgett asked her if she'd ever had students complain about "ghosts." Edwards asked the employee which room the complaints were coming from, and it was the same room where the apparent paranormal activity had been experienced before.
A portrait of the hall's namesake, Katharine H. Tobey, is located in the lobby of Tobey Hall, and students avoid it like the plague, according to RD Shannon Marlow. Katharine Tobey's eyes appear to follow students back and forth, regardless of where you stand.
Golding is also said to have paranormal activity. RD Mitchell Kenigsberg says he has not seen/heard anything personally, but his staff talks about it "all the time." RAs who have lived in one particular room have reported mirrors falling off the wall, fans tipping over and desks moving in the middle of the night.
Former RD Tom DeMeo said his residents and RAs often heard unexplained footsteps, whispering and even screaming in the hallways of Littell, particularly at night.
The old portraits in Morris Hall's lobby are creepy enough by themselves. But several employees said they've also had strange experiences while inside the old building, which houses Morris, Denison and Bacon.
Bill Simons, professor of history, said his office is on the second floor of Bacon.
"Sometimes when working late at night, I have heard nearby closing of doors and footsteps, but when I look out into the hall no one is around," Simons said. "The offices on the second floor in Bacon used to be dorm rooms decades ago; my office still has built-in closets draws, creating a vibe of residents past."
Jessica J. Soriano, a Student Manager in Morris, said she once witnessed lights turning off and on by themselves with no one around, but she chose not to investigate.
"I was too afraid to know the truth," Soriano said, "and decided it was much safer for me to walk away with this doubt and wonder for the rest of my life."
Members of SUNY Oneonta's OSnap! Snapchat team spent two hours in The Alden Room on the night before Halloween last year. We, too, had sensations of cold and heard a strange alarm-like noise in the ceiling that employees couldn't explain.
Was it the ghost of Jessica Alden? We'll let you decide.
© 2026 SUNY Oneonta
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