Haunted and library. These are two words that have kept each other company for centuries. Think about it. Libraries can be seen as spooky and eerie spaces. Could it be the concentration of knowledge and stories in one location? The fact that it’s so quiet that noises become especially heightened and your imagination can run wild? Or maybe you have heard a soft, creaking sound coming from the corner of a library at night, and you pushed away any scary thoughts for your nightly walk arounds as you passed said creaking corner on your closing shift? Okay, that creaking corner experience is my personal recollection (yes, I have previously worked at a haunted library!) so chances are you haven’t experienced that.
All in all, there is no denying that a library can be a haunted space, and it is one of the reasons that people are drawn to them. It is thrilling and enjoyable to learn of the lore, and for many, engaging in dubious tales is a part of Halloween time fun. Really, why is it that libraries are prone to hauntings? For one, many libraries date back centuries and are typically housed in old historic buildings. The walls within the building have witnessed many changes and events. (Think Carnegie Libraries.) Many believe that old buildings retain an imprint of the past. This includes the spirits of people who have spent a significant amount of time there. This means it’s either librarians, staff, or patrons who are visiting in their ghostly form!
Along with library buildings typically being historic spaces and housing knowledge within books, libraries also have a strong sense of place and time. In terms of time, this includes the architectural designs, artwork on the walls, various rooms for events and projects, and the ever-evolving book collection. In terms of space, this includes community events, a place of gathering and belonging, as well as access to resources and programs.
With this, many libraries are open to the public, so the lingering presence of past individuals who once set foot in isn’t difficult to imagine and provides opportunities for interaction between the living and the spectral. It’s okay to be skeptical whether ghostly visits are real or fictional, but there are notable library ghostly sightings!
- Grey Lady Ghost: Willard Public Library in Evansville, IN. This library is the headquarters of the “Grey Lady” ghost, where they have ghost cams around the library and even offer paranormal investigations. Unusual occurrences have occurred, such as books falling or being moved around. The first reported sighting occurred in the year 1937 in the library basement. The story goes that a night janitor went to stoke the coal furnace at 3 a.m. when he reportedly saw a lady wearing grey shoes and a grey veil who dissolved into the shadows. He quit his job right after!
- Julia Ideson Building Research Center (formerly a Houston Public Library) in Houston, TX. There are reported distant sounds of beautiful violin music and the rhythmic tick, tick, tick of a dog’s paws walking around. Other unusual occurrences include the elevator arriving on the floor empty, despite requiring a key to operate it, and flickering lights. The ghost is said to be of a former library caretaker by the name of Jacob Frank Cramer, who lived in the library’s basement apartment with his faithful dog, Petey. Cramer used to play his violin in the library after hours. He passed away in the basement apartment in 1936 and, well, has never truly left.
- Marsh’s Library in Dublin, Ireland. The ghost of Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, the library’s founder, built in 1707, is said to visit the library frequently in an endless search for a letter that his niece wrote and hid inside a book. This library is right behind Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, so other ghostly sightings have also been reported in the library, such as the author of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift.
- Central Library in Los Angeles, CA. Now, Central Library has not actually witnessed real paranormal activity, but a ghost actor has filmed here. The library building was used to film various scenes for the 1984 film, Ghostbusters. Remember the first ghost that the Ghostbusters encountered? Yup, it was a librarian ghost.
The quiet and the solitude aren't the only things that ghosts may be drawn to within libraries. Spirits tend to anchor themselves to objects, and in a library, that means books. There are many rare and old books, which are easily tempting for a ghost to gravitate to (makes you think that if you were a ghost, what book or collection would you like to cling to?) Speaking of old and rare books, did you know that there was such a thing as skin-bound books? I am not referring to animal skin, but... human skin. Yes, you read that right. Once upon a time in the 19th century, it was not uncommon to bind books with human skin. It was usually the skin of people who had committed crimes and were sentenced to death. The act of covering books in human skin is known as anthropodermic bibliopegy and was a pretty popular practice. Rest assured that anthropodermic bibliopegy is no longer being done in our modern day.
I hope that reading this was a fun and chilling experience for you, as much as it was for me to write. Our library collection does hold some great titles that are great to turn to anytime, but especially enjoyable during spooky season. I’ve compiled a select few:
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (The headless horseman): a silent film adaptation from the year 1922. A quintessential American ghost, the Headless Horseman haunts the region of Sleepy Hollow, New York.
- The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde: a classic spooky short tale with hints of comedy. A spectral figure in a stately home, the Canterville Ghost is a more humorous, yet still eerie, apparition.
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Banquo, a ghost in Shakespeare's tragedy, is an example of a literary ghost that haunts a historical setting.
- The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood. Considered one of the greatest ghost story writers of his era, and almost all of his fiction falls into the category of "weird stories" of one kind or another.
So, should you ever find yourself wandering through the shelves of a centuries-old library, pausing around the 133.1 section (the paranormal) at the stroke of midnight, and the lights begin to flicker for a moment, don’t be alarmed. It’s only a fellow library lover from long ago paying a visit too, in ghostly form.
Have you ever experienced a spooky phenomenon in a library? Know of any lore from your local library, or from your personal home library? We’d love to hear all about it!
Lyanne Garcia is a librarian that works with the reference and content development teams and enjoys going on peaceful morning hikes.