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Drew University's Mead Hall ranks #4 in New Jersey's haunted index

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, Mead Hall at Drew University in Madison ranks #4 in HauntBound's 2026 index of New Jersey's most haunted places. The index ranks 162 New Jersey sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Drew University's Mead Hall ranks #4. The Savannah plantation owner William Gibbons built the Greek Revival mansion in 1833 as a Northern country house; Methodist interests later renamed it Mead Hall for Roxanna Mead Drew, wife of benefactor Daniel Drew. Seven separate published accounts describe activity there, the most of any New Jersey site in the index, the earliest dated to 1983, when The Drew Acorn published an account headlined "Guess Who's Sleeping in Your Attic?" During an August 1989 fire, a firefighter reported a woman in a long white dress on the second floor who vanished when a second firefighter entered the room, and campus tradition credits door slamming and a self-tilting portrait in the foyer to Roxanna Mead Drew herself.

Statewide, The Southern Mansion in Cape May ranks #1; Leeds Point (Jersey Devil Birthplace) in Galloway, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #2.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Drew University's Mead Hall, 36 Madison Ave., Madison, is a working campus building visible on a self-guided walk; the university's Special Collections and Archives office hosts an annual autumn ghost tour each October.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/new-jersey/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/new-jersey/Venue contact: drew.eduA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Drew University's Mead Hall ranks #4 in New Jersey's haunted index

Mead Hall at Drew University in Madison ranks #4 among New Jersey's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. Its seven published accounts are the most of any New Jersey site, dating to a 1983 Drew Acorn article. During a 1989 fire, a firefighter reported a woman in white on the second floor who vanished when a second firefighter entered the room. The 1833 mansion is open for a self-guided campus walk, and the university hosts an annual ghost tour each October.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/new-jersey/