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Reported

The former Burnley School of Professional Art on Capitol Hill is tied to reports of a restless presence known as the Burnley Ghost. Beginning in the 1960s, students and staff described strange activity inside the old school after hours, including footsteps on the stairs, doors opening on their own, phones dialing without anyone nearby, coffee brewing by itself, and furniture found rearranged or stacked overnight. Some believed the activity was connected to the spirit of a young male who may have fallen to his death on the building’s steep rear stairway, though that story remains unverified.

The Burnley School of Professional Art was founded in 1946 by Edwin and Elise Burnley. The school began offering graphic design and illustration classes in the former Booth Building at 905 E Pine Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, eventually growing into a full commercial art program. In 1960, the school was purchased by Jess Cauthorn. Reports of unexplained activity became part of the school’s lore during the 1960s, including several attempted séances meant to contact the presence. The ghost stories appear to have faded after the school relocated in 1986.