Our Lady Of The Lake

Posted: 01.18.2020 | Updated: 05.27.2025

College is a wild ride—a chaotic mix of curiosity, ambition, and the constant battle between your brain and your impulsive instincts. As one might say, “It’s just a quick snort… Trust me, there are pills if it gets you too wound up.” Imagine that whirlwind of adrenaline, hormones, and questionable decisions… then add ghosts.

Suddenly, Our Lady of the Lake isn’t just any college; it’s like Hogwarts with a Southern twist—less magic school, more hilarious haunted circus. Here, instead of dark wizards, you’ve got banjo-playing spirits and rowdy poltergeists that would give Voldemort a run for his money. It’s a place where the supernatural and the everyday collide in the most unexpected—and entertaining—ways.

Ready to uncover San Antonio’s haunted history? Join a ghost tour with River City Ghosts for a spine-tingling experience through the city’s most eerie landmarks!

Who Haunts Our Lady of the Lake College?

Two infamous spirits have turned this peaceful campus into one of the most talked-about haunted places in Texas. There’s Jack, the mischievous ghost who loves pulling pranks in Pacelli Hall, and the ominous Lady in Black—a ghostly nun whose chilling presence has been linked to mysterious events and tragedies.

With eerie tales whispered in dorm rooms and sightings that send chills down students’ spines, Our Lady of the Lake College has earned a spot on every true believer’s San Antonio ghost tour bucket list. But before the hauntings, there was history—rich, complex, and deeply rooted in a mission of education and faith.

The History Of Our Lady Of The Lake University

OLLU, cause institutions just love abbreviations and code names, locally known as the Lake is a Catholic university in the San Antonio region of Texas. The house of learning was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of Divine Providence (The Congregation of Divine Providence).

The sisters are religious institutions that originated in Lorraine, France, during the 18th century.  They develop most of their teachings and outlooks on the work of the Blessed Jean-Martin Moye. Moye was a French Catholic priest that saw as a great sin the lack of educational opportunities for females in rural France.

He dedicated his life to the instruction and care of the needy as well as the propagation of scholarly education. Moye, trained dozen of pious women, who lacked all manner of formal knowledge and in many cases were illiterate, in child psychology. His general thesis was that with this weapon at their disposal they could provide instruction and special help to the less fortunate and poor. 

His methods expanded and the women started opening cells and institutions around the world. Moye died in 1793, he had contracted typhus while nursing refugees. In 1954, Pope Pius XII beatified Moye. 

Let’s slip back to The Lake. Construction of the main campus began in 1895, and by early 1896, the high school educational program was already bringing in kids. Since that moment, its curriculum and tasks her only expanded.

Our Lady of the Lake College was a vanguard in the field of women’s rights and the female emancipation movement in Texas. By 1911 it had a varied curriculum and higher learning programs dedicated to women’s studies. 

In 1927 it became the third Texas school to be approved by the American Association of Universities.

Lady of the Lake College Hauntings

With over a century of history, Our Lady of the Lake College has earned its spot among Texas’s most haunted places. Pacelli Hall, a small student residence, is the epicenter of ghostly activity—home to flickering lights, eerie noises, and the mischievous spirit known as Jack.

Pacelli Hall was and quite frankly is ground zero for the supernatural at the Lake. The wraith that seems to go bump in the night is known as Jack. 

“Jack’s sort of our resident Slimer—he’s everywhere,” said freshman Elizabeth Dwayne. “The minute you crash into the Lake and start unpacking your stuff, someone will come up to you and tell you about Jack. I was hauling my things in when my roommate came up to me and said, ‘Better watch out for your stuff, Jack likes to screw with newcomers.’”

Jack, according to most who have seen him or been in the vicinity of shenanigans, is your every day Dennis The Menace sort of spook. He’s responsible for all manner of countless pranks and tricks. From locking door and trapping them.

“I was in the restroom when suddenly the door was locked on both sides… Which is kind of impossible, right? I had to phone a friend to help me up. The janitor actually had to come and cut the lock off the door in order to let me out.” Chloe Gaza stated, English major. 

To turning lights on and off.

“You’re running by a dorm room or a class-room and suddenly the lights switch on. You backup, trace your steps, and BOOM, the lights go off. You start up again, and the switch on… It’s like a Benny Hill skid.” Dave Gonzalez said, Business major. 

Jack is one of the most famous—and quite frankly, most documented—ghosts in the region. He’s become so popular among locals that he’s been featured in several editions of San Antonio Magazine as a bona fide haunting. Among the most talked-about haunted places in Texas, from the Alamo to the Driskill Hotel and the Baker Hotel, Jack stands out as one of the state’s most mischievous and well-known spirits.

“I’ve seen some strange things—felt a presence and witnessed objects move around. I don’t know if it’s Jack or not, but I’ve definitely felt something weird in certain places on campus,” said Alexa Saavedra, a senior majoring in Public Relations.

There are two explanations for Jack. The supernatural and the skeptical. Proponents of the first believe that Jack’s a really a kid ghost. His antics, his silly jokes, and pranks, his annoying little habits seem to coincide with the attitudes of a kid. His paranormal wanderings go hand in hand with those of a toddler. 

The skeptics, meanwhile, rally behind a more academic explanation.

“Jack was created by a student as a social experiment. He’s not real—just a figment imagined by someone in the Psychology Department,” said Marisa Garcia, a junior majoring in Psychology. “She wanted to show how quickly a rumor could spread and be accepted. The lore of Jack was invented to study how a clearly false supernatural story could influence group dynamics and behavior.”

The Devil Nun

And Jack’s not the only restless dead in the area… he’s just the cutest of the two that call Our Lady of the Lake their home.

There’s a specter a bit more sinister and insidious roaming the halls of the University. 

“This place is definitely haunted—but not by a boy named Jack. I hear things, notice things. There’s something evil or otherworldly here,” said Brian Hedge, a Social major.

Most of the other hauntings are a bit more hair raising than a simple prank. They are full-fledged horror movie and balls to the wall scary. The general description of the entity perpetrating them is of a woman in black, possibly a nun who lived in the old convent, with long raven hair and something of an unsettling vibe to her.

She’s believed to be an omen of ill times. She was there when a fire broke out in 2008. Her image was seen weeks prior to the disappearance of various girls around campus. And, when Kennedy was shot in Dallas, students swore the saw her figure staring out a window in the direction of that city. 

“When I was a student, I took a film class in the Fine Arts building. One day, I went to use the restroom and saw my friend Tammy heading in. I ran to catch up with her and reached for the doorknob—just as it slammed shut right in front of me. That moment stands out the most. But when I opened the door, no one was there. It’s a single-occupant bathroom,” said Professor Amanda Brown.

The restless nun has been, as opposed to Jack that likes to call Pacelli Hall his home, seen all around campus. Her story is the kind of nightmare fodder students like to tell each other just to raise hell and cause a bit of panic.

“I thought people were going to say I was crazy or on something. I’ve never seen Jack—but the nun? That’s something else,” said Devon Franklin, a Sociology major. “There’s this grotto, and dozens of students—including me—have seen a woman crying near it. It’s really freaky, because every time you try to approach her, she just disappears.”

Haunted… or Something More?

Whether Jack is a playful phantom or just a brilliant psychology experiment gone rogue, his legend is deeply woven into the campus culture. And the Lady in Black? She’s not a rumor you hear once and forget—she stays with you, lurking in the back of your mind, surfacing when the hallways are just a little too quiet or the lights flicker one too many times.

Our Lady of the Lake isn’t just another college with a few ghost stories—it’s a place where the veil between the living and the dead feels unusually thin. Here, history doesn’t stay in the past, and the spirits—whether imagined or real—seem to have a knack for showing up when you least expect them.

So, is it haunted? That depends on who you ask. But one thing’s for sure: once you’ve walked these halls, you’ll never forget them. And maybe… just maybe… they won’t forget you either.

Learn More About The Haunted History of San Antonio

Are you brave enough to uncover the haunted secrets of San Antonio’s most mysterious campus? From the mischievous ghost of Jack in Pacelli Hall to the chilling presence of the Lady in Black, Our Lady of the Lake University is a hotspot for spine-tingling paranormal activity.

From shadowy figures in the Fine Arts building to unexplained footsteps echoing through dorm hallways, the campus is teeming with ghostly tales that have left students speechless—and spooked. Want to hear the top haunted stories from The Lake up close and personal? Join us for a San Antonio ghost tour and dive into the eerie legends of San Antonio’s haunted history. You might even catch a glimpse of the crying nun near the grotto… if you dare.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and don’t forget to keep reading our blog for even more chilling encounters and supernatural sightings from Our Lady of the Lake and beyond.

Sources

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/college-education
• https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/halloween/article/ghostly-jack-blamed-for-spiriting-away-coeds-3979804.php
• https://www.ollusa.edu/campus-life/residence-halls-dining/residence-halls/pacelli.htmlhttps://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=202221
• https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=202221