Super Scary Haunted Libraries

Before the Peoria Public Library stood in Peoria, IL, a house occupied the site. In the 1830s, Mrs. Gray owned the home. She faced hard times and could not pay her mortgage. The bank foreclosed, forcing her out. Before leaving, Mrs. Gray supposedly put a curse on the property and anyone who owned it.Mrs. Gray put a curse on the property and anyone who would ever own it.Each subsequent owner experienced a loss of fortune. This happened either because of her curse or simple bad luck.

The library opened in 1894 on land from Mrs. Gray's estate. Creepy things started then. The first three library directors died mysteriously. People tore down the original library in 1966 and built a new one. Eerie events kept happening. Staff report hearing ghostly voices call names and feeling the temperature drop to chilling levels. Some claim they saw the ghostly figure of a dead director.

A ghost known as "The Gray Lady" leaves ghostly perfume traces in the Willard Library." Gray Lady" supposedly haunts the Willard Library in Evansville, IN. A custodian first saw the Gray Lady in the 1930s. The Gray Lady has appeared to many people over the years. Visiting lecturers from a nearby university and police officers spotted her. Police were called when a security alarm sounded in the middle of the night.

Those who meet the ghostly figure report many things. They hear strange noises, smell perfume, and feel ghostly touches. They also report cold spots. Books vanish, and furniture moves to odd spots.

No one knows who the Gray Lady is. Every October, the library hosts a ghost tour to honor their Gray Lady.

The library at Combermere Abbey., near Cheshire, England, is haunted. Lord Combermere, rumored to be the ghost, died in 1891 after a carriage ran him over. After Abbey staff reported sightings and other paranormal activity, a photographer set up a camera in the library. The camera shutter stayed open for one hour.

Staff claim no part in the photo-taking. They attended Lord Combermere's funeral four miles from his home. Still, when the plate developed, a ghostly image appeared, sitting in the Lord's favorite chair.

To modern eyes, the photo looks like aSimple double exposure.But many people at the time believed a ghost was captured on film.

The ghost of a dying woman lingers in a library's basement.The spirit of Ruth Cochran, an assistant librarian from the 1940s, still seeks help from the living at the Umatilla County Public Library in Pendleton, OR. Ruth usually closed the library each evening. One day, while locking the doors, she got a bad headache, causing a brain bleed. She sat by the basement doors, hoping to feel better. Minutes later, Ruth could not stand or call for help. People found her the next morning, still conscious. An ambulance took her to the hospital, where she died.

After Ruth died, library staff and patrons started seeing creepy, strange things. They say these are Ruth's ghost activities. Some believe Ruth remains, reaching out for help; the building's uneasy feeling comes from her.

Young students were atNebraska's Bellwood Elementary SchoolStudents must walk carefully through their school day. The library shows regular paranormal activity, including cold spots and scary noises. The specter of a severely burned woman appears at a window, looking out with desperation and anger. Nighttime shows ghostly figures moving through the hallways near the library.

The Africana Library in Kimberly, South AfricaA man who worked there haunts the library. The library opened in 1882. The city hired a certified librarian in the early 1900s. His name was Bertrand Dyer. Dyer was qualified but soon began cheating. He ordered books but inflated the price list for the city's payment. Dyer kept the extra money.

People found Dyer's scam. He felt ashamed and chose suicide. He took cyanide, but it did not work right away. He suffered severe pain for three days before dying in the library where he worked.

The library is now a museum. Visitors report seeing the ghost of a man in Edwardian clothes floating through the halls. Some people see him moving books on shelves. Others say Dyer helps find books by knocking them off the shelf.

The ghost of an 18th-century innkeeper's daughterA ghost haunts New Jersey's Old Bernardsville Public Library. The building served as the Vealtown Tavern during the Revolutionary War. Young Phyllis Parker, whose father ran the tavern, experienced a terrible tragedy. Her boyfriend claimed to support the revolution but was a British spy. He was captured, charged, and hanged. They brought his body to the tavern in a coffin, and Phyllis had a breakdown. She never recovered and died later in the innkeeper's quarters.

The building became a library, but Phyllis reportedly stayed. Patrons and staff hear her cry and wail. Staff issued her a library card because she remains an active presence.

Since the mid-19th century, paranormal activity has been reported at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.The State Library of Victoria is in Melbourne, Australia..

Grace, a former librarian, is one of the ghosts most often seen. She is a kind presence trying to keep more dangerous spirits away. A poltergeist torments staff and patrons. Grace watches to keep the poltergeist in a closed area. The poltergeist sneaks past and scares people with strange noises, glowing orbs, and sudden cold spots.

Another ghostly regular appears: a well-dressed man from the 19th century with a curling mustache. He favors the music department. He pulls out music books and scatters them on tables.

Much otherworldly activity happened at the Melbourne library. Clairvoyants tried to calm the troubled spirits. Their efforts did not stop the ghostly disturbances.

Raby Castle stood in northern England for over 600 years. The Neville family held the castle for centuries. After Tudor forces defeated them in 1569, the crown took the castle. Sir Henry Vane the Elder bought it in the 16th century. His son, Sir Henry Vane the Younger, angered King Charles II and was publicly beheaded in 1662.It was publicly beheaded in 1662..

Sir Henry's spirit is said to have returned to his castle home. Visitors report seeing an apparition.an eerie apparition of a headless manA headless ghost floats through the castle library.

Local Vancouver lore says a young couple argued while driving through the University of British Columbia campus in the 1960s. They planned to visit the campus library. The argument grew heated, and the woman had her boyfriend stop the car. She got out and walked toward the library in the rain. She tried to hitch a ride but the driver missed her. The woman was run over and died there.

Campus residents claim the ill-fated woman haunts the library and the path she took to reach it. She likes flagging down male drivers. When they stop, she gives them a note with the library's address on it. Sometimes she gets in the back seat, then vanishes.

A ghost asks for chocolate at a campus library.This happens at a university in Manila.A story says a female student sat at a table reading the newspaper. She brought a chocolate bar. She nibbled on it when a young man approached. He asked what she ate. She replied, "Chocolate. Do you want some?" He did not answer and left, passing through the solid wood table.

Patrons and staff at the University of San Diego's Copley Library report...A spectral nun haunts Copley Library.Attired in a blue habit, she appears in the building. She roams the stacks and floats around the balcony of a library reading room. No one knows her identity.

Marsh's Library in Dublin started in 1707, and it remains theThis is the first public library in Ireland.. It might also have a ghost: that of its founder, Archbishop Narcissus Marsh.

The story says his niece loved a sea captain and decided to elope. She left a note for her uncle, the Archbishop, asking for forgiveness, then disappeared. The Archbishop never found the letter, and people say he goes back to the library to find it.

The town of Farnham in Surrey, England, is involved.This library boasts a king haunting it.. In the 17th century, things did not go well forKing Charles I haunts the library.. He lost a civil war and was sentenced to death for treason. Charles stayed at Vernon House—the current Farnham Library location—until he was moved to London and beheaded.

Charles's spirit apparently returned to the site and still haunts it today. Visitors and patrons report seeing him in the building, though his head stays whole.

Baba Yaga is Russian culture's most wicked witch. She flies through the skies with a mortar and pestle, eats ravenously (even human flesh), and has a house that moves on chicken legs.

Legend says Baba Yaga was born in Kukoboi village, so her hometown's library is a favorite haunt. Library staff report thata ghostly young lady in an old-fashioned bonnet appeared and spoke to people. Then she suddenly vanished.Baba Yaga appeared and talked to people. Then she suddenly disappeared.