Libraries, already quiet, can be a scary place to spend some time alone, and if a library is haunted, it’s one of the spookiest places you could find yourself in.
We’re talking about the libraries with a dark history, where people might not have such a good time at. Here is our pick of the top 10 most haunted libraries in the world.
10. Pattee Library
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Penn State Another horrific library basement story. This time, much worse. In 1969, the day after Thanksgiving, a woman named Betsy Ruth Aardsma was killed in the Pattee Library basement at Penn State University.
She was just 22 years old, and her killer was never brought to justice. A motive couldn’t be found as she didn’t seem to have been robbed or assaulted.
Some say it was Ted Bundy. Whether or not Betsy’s ghost stuck around to ask for justice, I still wouldn’t go anywhere near that library or its basement.
9. Illinois Library, The Library Built on Cursed Ground
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Public buildings are often so old we don’t even think about what was there before them. With this Illinois library in Peoria, it might have done them some good to give that previous tenant some thought.
See, before the Peoria Public Library stood on this ground, it was the home of Mrs. Gray in the 1830s. Until, of course, she couldn’t make her mortgage payments anymore.
A foreclosure ensued and she was forced to leave. She didn’t, of course, go happily, and before leaving she supposedly put a curse on the house, the property as a whole, and the person who owned it.
Since then, every owner of the property has seen their riches dwindle. One of the most haunted libraries.
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Part of this land was later turned into the public library in 1894, and the curse seemed to get even worse. First, each of the library’s first three directors died mysteriously.
The library is said to be unnaturally cold all year long, voices call out names of the staff, even when no one else is there, and there have even been reports of sightings of a deceased library director.
I suppose in a place as quiet as a library, ghosts are certain to be heard.
8. Alaska Resources Library and Information Services
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One can’t help but picture all of Alaska as a quiet and arid place as a whole. Whether or not that’s true, its resources library, and information services, located in Anchorage, is a place you don’t want to be alone.
It’s full of taxidermied animals, long gone but still looking at you with glass eyes. It’s the only library in the United States to have such a strange inventory.
Teachers and scientists often support the library’s use of its resources, but when it’s not in use in the classroom, you might see it in films like The Frozen Ground from 2013, where these dead species were used for the set design of a serial killer’s basement.
Yes, this library could very much be described as the budding mind of a serial killer in the making and that’s why I wouldn’t want to go there at all. Imagine a power outage in the middle of all that!
7. Combermere Abbey
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Across the pond in Cheshire, England, you’ll find a library that is said to be haunted by the very lord of the Abbey, Lord Combermere.
He died tragically after being run over by a horse-drawn carriage, much scarier than a car accident, I’d imagine.
Lots of stories are told about the photo of the library in which you can see a faint silhouette of the lord.
Regardless, they all say the photo took place during his funeral, which was held miles away. After the photo was revealed, everyone saw this figure right in the Lord’s favorite chair. Was it all a figment of their imagination?
6. The UBC Library Hitchhiker
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The UBC campus has to be one of the most beautiful in Canada. Not far from forests, lakes, and the beach, it’s the dream of a lot of people to study their passion there.
Underneath it all, there’s the story of a young couple that may be bringing down the otherwise perfect vibe of the school.
Rumor has it, that the couple was in the middle of an argument as they drove through the campus in the 1960s on their way to the library.
When it got to be too much, the woman got out of the car in the rain with the plan of hitching a ride the rest of the way.
Turning to stop the car, the driver didn’t see her through the rain and accidentally killed her. Now, people on campus claim that she stuck around all these years, haunting the very library she didn’t make it to, and the whole path leading up to it.
It’s so bad that motorists have even reported being flagged down, being given a note with the library address, and sometimes even giving her a ride only to turn around to an empty backseat upon arrival.
5. Africana Library, Ghost of the Librarian
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Librarians are truly a force to be reckoned with. Some teachers with decades of experience relax a little and become more lenient. Librarians, however, they’re the strictest people out there!
Well, maybe not as tough as the lunch lady. In the Africana Library of Kimberly, South Africa, though, this librarian continued to do so even after his death.
His name was Bertrand Dyer, and people say he worked there in the early 1900’s. Though he was qualified, he was also corrupt, pocketing money he said was going to unusually expensive books.
Scams like that can’t last long though I’m afraid, and soon after he was discovered. He died slowly and painfully by suicide after taking cyanide which took three whole days to kill him in the very library where he worked.
Now the library is a museum and visitors often claim to see a man in clothing from that time, floating through the halls, rearranging books, and even pulling out the book they’re looking for from the shelf.
It sounds like he’s not a bad scary librarian after all.
4. Pendleton Library
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As if basements weren’t already scary enough with their humidity and their cave-like feeling of essentially being trapped if the person upstairs just decides to lock that door.
Now imagine one in a library that is haunted. Oh, it’s a horror movie waiting to be made! In Pendleton, Oregon, there’s a library with this very story that’s waiting to be told.
It allegedly hosts the ghost of an assistant librarian from the 1940s. Ruth was her name and she used to close up the library every night until a headache brought her to her hands and knees, a cerebral hemorrhage.
She hoped it would pass and sat by the basement doors until she felt better. Unfortunately, she was unable to help herself, and though she was found the next morning still conscious, she was taken to a hospital where she died.
Some seem to think her work at the library wasn’t quite done since it wasn’t long until activity started to spook staff and visitors alike.
3. The National Library, India
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The National Library in Kolkata, India, was the former residence of the Governor General during the British era and it is one of the biggest treasure trove of artifacts and a wide collection of books and publications.
It was said that the wife of Governor General Charles Metcalf, Lady Metcalf, was a cleanliness freak and it is believed that one can still see her roaming in between shelves, dusting the old books and shelves.
The night guards and the students who study till late have heard footsteps of the Lady Metcalf and have seen grey shadows on the wall.
There have been many instances where people have felt someone breathing down their neck while reading there.
The librarian has also witnessed chairs being pulled and books dropping from the shelves even when the library is empty.
In 2010, a doorless room was discovered on the ground floor, and it was a secret chamber from the British times. The library, already quiet, is one of the most haunted libraries in the world.
2. Ghost of a Burned Woman, Nebraska Library
For some reason, we seem to think elementary schools are either saved from hauntings or haunted only by the children who never left. This story seems to offer a different possibility.
At a Nebraska elementary school called Bellwood, there have been allegations of possible paranormal activity walking the halls of the library. Cold spots, scary noises, and even this frightening apparition.
They say it’s the ghost of a severely burned woman looking out a window full of rage. The activity reportedly gets worse at night, with specters roaming up and down the halls near the library.
Could they be guarding her? Extensions of her? Why are they all here? Most haunted libraries has their own stories.
1. The Gray Lady, Willard Library
Appearing much like an old-timey schoolhouse, the Willard Library looks like a great place to study peacefully. Residents of Evansville, Indiana, where it’s located, don’t seem to agree.
They say it’s haunted by a “Grey Lady”, and she’s been seen by many since the first apparition was reported by a custodian in the 1930s. Some have the luck of just hearing a security alarm or voices.
Others have had the misfortune of seeing her ghost, smelling her perfume, and even feeling her cold, ghostly touch. Smaller claims include lost books, furniture ending up in strange places, and more harmless pranks.
To this day, no one knows who she is, but they do host a ghost tour to honor her presence. Truly one of the most haunted libraries in the world.
The old buildings and books have seen a lot throughout history, so you would think something would attach itself to them.
So which of these haunted libraries would you be willing to visit? Let us know in the comments.
