Program

Legends & Lore®

Subject

Legend

Location

Yeater Hall, Warrensburg, MO 64093, USA

Lat/Long

38.756503, -93.7411049

Grant Recipient

McClure Archives and University Museum @ UCM

Since opening its doors in 1941, generations of female college students have passed through Yeater Hall, an all-women’s dormitory on the campus of University of Central Missouri. Marketed to prospective residents as a “home away from home”, the large red bricked dorm offered a lounge with fireplace on each floor and even a rooftop deck for sunbathing, as photos from the McClure Archives demonstrate. Little did anyone know it would soon gain the reputation as one of the most haunted places in central Missouri.

The impetus behind Yeater Hall was Laura J. Yeater, a well regarded professor at University of Central Missouri who championed the idea of an all-female residence hall. Her dream became reality when the first cornerstone was laid on November 18, 1940. Students were welcomed a year later. Almost immediately reports of unusual activities emerged. One such report described sightings of a woman on the third floor in historical dress, checking rooms. A similar figure has been witnessed in windows, sometimes accompanied by sudden cold and creepy sensations.

In the decades which followed, students continued to report strange noises, footsteps, furniture rearranging itself, curtains closing on their own and lights flashing on and off. This continued until Yeater Hall closed its doors in 2015. The cost of refitting the aging building to make it fully accessible and adding modern amenities like air-conditioning has so far prohibited further development.

As of 2021, Yeater Hall remains an empty but beloved building on campus where ghosts and spirits continue to roam.