Old Morrison is Transylvania University’s historic administration building, and legends say it’s haunted by the ghost of Constantine Rafinesque.
Rafinesque was an eccentric botany professor at the university in 1819 who was fired after rumors of an affair with the college president’s wife. Legend has it that he cursed the campus upon his departure and that Rafinesque is buried in a tomb inside of Old Morrison.
Haunted Lineage note: The haunting is attributed to Constantine Rafinesque, an eccentric botany professor in 1819, not the university’s founder. The original myth about a founder’s curse appears to be inaccurate. The tomb in Old Morrison is part of the legend, but its connection to Rafinesque is questionable.
Rafinesque died in Philadelphia in 1840 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Ronaldson’s Cemetery, which is now a playground. In 1924, remains were exhumed and brought to Transylvania University. However, historians now believe those remains are likely those of Mary Passimore, not Rafinesque, as the cemetery plot contained multiple bodies.
Imported from The Shadowlands Database
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