HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
The University of Oklahoma's 1928 campus hospital where a boy died in the 1930s — reported phantom rolling sounds, a self-operating elevator, and motion-sensor lights in empty corridors have made it the most discussed haunted building on campus.
660 Parrington Oval, Norman, OK 73019
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
University grounds are publicly accessible; no fee to view the building exterior.
Access
Wheelchair OK
University campus with paved paths and sidewalks; exterior viewing is fully accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1928 · Opened 1928 as Hygeia Hall — University of Oklahoma's campus hospital · Included operating suite and isolation wards · Repurposed and renamed Ellison Hall after infirmary functions relocated · Documented by OU Daily and KGOU as the most-discussed haunted building on campus
Ellison Hall was constructed in 1928 and opened as Hygeia Hall, the University of Oklahoma's dedicated campus infirmary. The facility included an operating suite, isolation wards, and standard patient care rooms, providing medical services to a student population at a time when downtown Norman's medical facilities were limited. The building's design reflects the institutional architecture typical of 1920s university construction on the OU campus.
The infirmary served the campus community for several decades before the university's medical infrastructure expanded. Hygeia Hall was subsequently renamed Ellison Hall and repurposed for academic and administrative uses. The building occupies a position on Parrington Oval, one of the formal historic quadrangles of the OU campus, giving it architectural prominence in the campus landscape.
The building's history as a site of illness and, according to campus legend, death in the 1930s, has made it a fixture of OU haunted-campus lore for generations of students. The OU Daily and the NPR affiliate KGOU have both covered the building's reputation as the most haunted location on the Norman campus, framing it within the broader context of university ghost traditions.
Sources
The Ellison Hall legend centers on the death of a young boy who reportedly died at the campus hospital in the 1930s. Accounts of the circumstances differ: some versions describe the boy as a student who collapsed while roller-skating, others identify the event as an asthma attack, and some accounts add that he was struck by a car on Elm Avenue before being brought to Hygeia Hall. The discrepancy across sources is consistent with oral tradition transmitted across generations of students rather than a single documented record.
The physical phenomena associated with the building are specific and consistently reported. The OU Daily documented accounts of phantom rolling sounds in the corridors — interpreted by witnesses as the sound of roller skates — heard in parts of the building that are now offices or storage. Motion-sensor lights in empty corridors have been reported to activate without apparent cause. The building's elevator, according to multiple accounts, has been observed traveling between floors and opening its doors without any passenger pressing a call button.
The KGOU NPR affiliate covered Ellison Hall as the most prominently haunted building on the OU campus in a 2014 feature, gathering witness accounts from students and staff. The OU Daily has returned to the subject multiple times across its publication history, treating the building's reputation as an established element of campus identity rather than casual rumor.
Notable Entities
Ellison Hall sits on Parrington Oval, one of the University of Oklahoma's historic campus quadrangles. The building's exterior reflects its 1928 design as a campus hospital. The OU Daily and KGOU have both covered the building's haunted reputation — background worth reading before a visit.
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