Founded in 1891 on Lynchburg's Rivermont Avenue, this liberal arts campus carries three distinct ghost traditions — including the aftermath of a 1973 student murder.
2500 Rivermont Ave, Lynchburg, VA 24503
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Campus grounds are open to visitors; buildings require campus access
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved campus walkways; some garden paths on uneven ground
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1891 · Historic Women's College · 1973 Campus Murder · Campus Folk Legend
Randolph College — operating from 1891 to 2007 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College before going coeducational — occupies a 100-acre campus along Rivermont Avenue in Lynchburg. Founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, it was among the first women's colleges in the region to achieve full accreditation and built a distinguished academic record through the 20th century.
The most concrete dark chapter in the college's history is the 1973 murder of freshman Cynthia Hellman. Hellman was killed on campus; Standaly Hope Smith was convicted of the crime. According to the college's student newspaper, the Sundial, student legend holds that Hellman's ghost can be heard running and screaming near the location of her death. A separate report, circulated in campus lore, holds that a shadowy figure appeared in a memorial painting at the Maier Museum of Art on campus.
Two other traditions predate the Hellman case. Students long attributed the West Dating Parlor in one of the residence halls to a female apparition, sometimes connected to a WWII-era story of a student who died by suicide in the building. The garden known as Mary's Garden carries a student curse — those who stray from the designated path, the legend goes, will never graduate or marry. The origins of this curse are undocumented but appear in student memory at least as far back as the mid-20th century.
Local TV news station WSET documented paranormal reports at the college as part of a broader survey of Central Virginia campus hauntings.
Sources
The Cynthia Hellman legend is the most specific: the Randolph College Sundial reported that students describe sounds of running and screaming near where Hellman died in 1973, and one account holds that her image appeared in the background of a memorial painting at the Maier Museum of Art on campus. These claims circulate within the college community rather than in published paranormal literature.
The West Dating Parlor ghost — a female apparition of uncertain identity — appears in residence hall legend and is sometimes anchored to a story of a student death during the WWII era, though the specific case has not been independently documented.
Mary's Garden carries a more formalized curse: students who leave the designated garden path are said to be fated never to graduate or marry. The garden's formal planting and its integration into campus ritual make this one of the more durable folk traditions at the college.
Notable Entities
Walk the historic campus grounds including Mary's Garden, Smith Hall Theater exterior, and the Maier Museum of Art (which houses the painting associated with the Cynthia Hellman memorial legend). The West Dating Parlor is inside a campus residence hall.
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