From enchanted fountains to spectral soldiers, the U is brimming with stories of the strange and supernatural. University of Utah Magazine investigated campus lore to separate myth from reality—and found a few surprises along the way. Discover which legends hold up… and which refuse to stay buried in the Summer 2026 cover story, “Legend Has It.”

At the University of Utah, the lore runs deeper than the rumored network of tunnels beneath campus. There’s the ghostly soldier who roams Fort Douglas. The fountain that supposedly grants athletic powers. The friend of a roommate who narrowly escaped a notorious serial killer.
Like lichen spreading over headstones, tall tales and spooky stories have taken hold throughout the university’s 176-year history. Some are legends. Some are fabrication. And some are very much true.
We set out to find which is which.

Legend has it…campus is haunted.

Fort Douglas is home to some of Salt Lake’s oldest buildings—and, some say, its most restless spirits. “It can get weird sometimes,” says Fiona Robinson, administrative manager of the Fort Douglas Military Museum.

One night, Robinson was working late. “I heard a woman talking, almost like a whisper,” she recalls. Assuming it was a wayward visitor, she walked through the rooms, announcing that the museum was closed. “But still, she kept whispering.” That is, until Robinson approached a display case containing a World War II parachute dress. The gown possibly belonged to the sweetheart of a soldier who’d sent the precious silk back home. A paranormal expert who later toured the museum told Robinson, “The woman who owned this dress is still here. And she’s upset.”

Read the full story at magazine.utah.edu.