History & local legend
Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster has several building-specific ghost traditions. One centers on Diagnothian Hall, constructed in 1856 and used to care for soldiers during the Civil War. A 2023 collection in The College Reporter recounts an unnamed music professor’s experiences there.
The professor was working alone late one evening, listening to a recording about a wartime nurse, when he heard moaning and rattling beyond his office wall. It sounded as though someone was in pain. He went to investigate and found nobody. Three or four years later, while listening to music associated with the Gettysburg battlefield, he reportedly heard similar sounds again.
Old Main has a separate tradition: its bell is said to ring unexpectedly during the night. The newspaper traces that report to an October 1990 campus publication.
