Ghost Tour Haunts Northwestern Campus
Paranormal investigator Tony Szabelski led a campus ghost tour as part of the Litowitz Center's inaugural Campus Reading Program.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Paranormal
The Litowitz Center hosted a ghost tour on Northwestern's campus on Thursday evening, led by paranormal investigator Tony Szabelski. The tour was part of the center's inaugural Campus Reading Program, which selected the novel "Vigil."
Why it matters
The event pairs a literary selection with a hands-on local experience, offering Evanston-area readers and students a way to engage with the campus's history and the Campus Reading Program. It also reflects the center's broader programming this quarter, which includes readathons and a dinner conversation about death.
Participants used two L-shaped dowsing rods, electromagnetic readers, and a ghostbox to investigate campus locations. The keynote featuring author George Saunders is scheduled for Nov. 19 in Cahn Auditorium, and no attendance figures were reported for the tour.
The players
Tony Szabelski
Szabelski is a paranormal investigator who led the Northwestern ghost tour and demonstrated equipment including dowsing rods and a ghostbox.
George Saunders
Saunders is an acclaimed author scheduled to deliver the keynote for the Campus Reading Program.
Litowitz Center
The Litowitz Center is the Northwestern program that hosted the ghost tour and launched its inaugural Campus Reading Program.
The details
Participants met in Norris University Center and visited the Lakefill, The Rock, Kresge Hall, and Alice Millar Chapel. Szabelski distributed electromagnetic readers, demonstrated dowsing rods, and used a ghostbox, a radio scanner connected to a speaker, to attempt communication with spirits in front of Alice Millar Chapel.
Timeline
Thursday evening: Ghost tour held on Northwestern campus.
Nov. 19: George Saunders keynote at Cahn Auditorium.
Culture Shift
The ghost tour fits a wider pattern in which university reading programs pair assigned books with immersive, experiential events to draw students beyond the page. Its alignment with the center's readathons and a dinner conversation about death reflects that broader approach to campus programming.
Evanston residents and Northwestern students can attend campus events tied to the Campus Reading Program, including the Nov. 19 keynote. The program gives readers a structured way to join reading-based and experiential activities this quarter.
The takeaway
Pairing a book with a live, hands-on event can deepen how readers connect with a text and with the place they share. Students interested in campus programming can follow the Litowitz Center's schedule for upcoming readathons and talks.
What happens next
George Saunders is scheduled to deliver the Campus Reading Program keynote on Nov. 19 in Cahn Auditorium.
Further reading
For more local ghost stories and campus legends, browse Paranormal coverage across the Evanston area.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Daily Northwestern.
