Stetson University – Hulley Tower

Hulley Tower at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, stands as a distinctive architectural landmark on the campus of one of Florida's oldest and most prestigious private universities, a structure that serves simultaneously as a physical monument to the university's founding leadership and as a recognized focal point for paranormal phenomena that have persisted since its construction. The tower was constructed in 1934 specifically as a mausoleum and memorial dedicated to Lincoln Hulley, a visionary educator and religious leader who served as Stetson University's founding principal and first president, guiding the institution through its formative decades and establishing educational and philosophical traditions that would characterize the university for subsequent generations. Lincoln Hulley's contribution to Stetson University and to higher education in Florida earned him sufficient esteem that the university honored his legacy through the construction of an imposing tower that combined functional architecture with ceremonial and commemorative purpose. The tower's placement on prominent campus grounds and its architectural prominence ensured that Hulley's legacy would remain visibly central to the university's identity and self-presentation.

The construction of Hulley Tower as a mausoleum represented a significant institutional decision, establishing Lincoln Hulley's remains as eternally present within the university's physical geography and spiritual landscape. The tower's design incorporated elements of classical architectural tradition while adapting these traditions to the late-nineteenth-century American context and the specific requirements of a university memorial. The physical structure itself became invested with ceremonial significance, transformed from merely a building into a sacred space where the university's history and values became embodied in stone and architecture. The mausoleum ultimately contained the remains of Lincoln Hulley and his wife Eloise Hulley, joining the university president's spouse in eternal interment within the tower's chambers, creating a familial presence within the structure. Suzanna Brown, another individual whose remains were incorporated into Hulley Tower's burial spaces, added to the complexity of the spiritual presence concentrated within the tower structure.

Shortly after the completion of Hulley Tower and the formal interment of the deceased within its chambers, reports began emerging from students and staff describing paranormal phenomena associated with the structure. Shadow figures have been observed moving across the tower grounds with apparent intentionality, materializing from shadows and darkness before dissipating back into obscurity. These shadowy entities have been described as ascending and descending the tower's stairs with what witnesses interpret as purposeful movement, suggesting not random manifestations but rather deliberate navigation of the tower's interior spaces. Full-bodied apparitions have been reported, though these manifestations appear less frequently than shadow figures and exist with somewhat greater definition and perceptual clarity. A particularly compelling report describes ghostly figures identified as Lincoln and Eloise Hulley, apparently still bound together by the marital connection that existed during their physical lives, observed walking within the tower's grounds accompanied by what witnesses describe as a phantom dog, suggesting that the spiritual presence encompasses more than merely human entities.

Mysterous bells, understood by contemporary observers as part of the tower's ceremonial architecture, ring spontaneously without any visible agent activating them or any mechanism explaining the auditory phenomenon. These bell rings occur without pattern or predictable schedule, emerging from silence at unexpected moments to startle observers and announce presence through sound. Disembodied voices emanate from the tower and surrounding grounds, speaking in tones that witnesses describe as mournful, ceremonial, or communicative in intent. The voices do not consistently resolve into comprehensible language, but the auditory quality suggests sentient expression rather than mere environmental noise. The tower grounds appear to generate a concentrated atmospheric presence that produces visceral response in sensitive observers, with many reporting profound unease, emotional perturbation, and a sense of being watched or observed by unseen presences.

Freshman students at Stetson University are frequently informed of the Hulley Tower legend during their early campus orientation and social integration, with the paranormal reputation of the structure serving as a foundational element of campus mythology and informal historical narrative. The legends have become integrated into student culture and campus identity, with the tower recognized as one of the university's signature paranormal features. Contemporary students and new faculty members express varying degrees of belief and skepticism regarding the legends, though many report personal experiences that validate the paranormal claims. The tower remains an active campus landmark, accessible to students and university community members, with the paranormal presence continuing to manifest for those who venture near the structure. Stetson University acknowledges the historical significance of Hulley Tower and its importance to the institution's legacy while maintaining official positions that neither promote nor extensively validate the paranormal claims. The tower stands as a tangible reminder of the university's founders and the institutional values they established, while simultaneously serving as a focal point for paranormal energy and spiritual phenomena that suggest the presence of those founders continues to animate the location across the decades.