Ghostly Book Lovers

Europe

The UK

The Ghost of Lord Combermere

The library at Combermere Abbey near Cheshire, England is haunted by Lord Combermere. In 1891 the gentleman was run over by a horse-drawn carriage. The staff at the abbey have reported ghostly sightings and paranormal activity. A photographer set up a camera in the library and when the image was developed there was a ghostly apparition sitting in Lord Combermere’s favorite chair.

Headless Ghost

For over 600 years Raby Castle has stood in northern England. It was once the seat of the Neville family and only after defeat by Tudor forces in 1569 the castle became the property of the crown. Sir Henry Vane the Elder purchased it during the 16th century. Sir Henry Vane the Younger his son incurred the wrath of King Charles II. The son was publicly beheaded in 1662. Now the spirit of Henry Vane the Younger has returned to the castle and the apparition of a headless man has been seen floating through the castle library.

Ireland

Ghostly Apparition of an Archbishop

At Marsh’s Library in Dublin, Ireland you can encounter the ghost of its founder Archbishop Narcissus Marsh. The tragic story is that his beloved niece fell in love with a sea captain and decided to elope. She left a note for her uncle and asked for his forgiveness. The Archbishop never found the letter and to his day he searches the library for it.

Australia

Ghostly Visitors

At the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia there has been paranormal activity since the mid-19th century. Grace was a former librarian and now enjoys haunting the library. She has discovered in her ghostly presence that other poltergeists also enjoy this library. One in particular enjoys tormenting library staff and visitors so when this ghost appears Grace makes sure it stays in a closed area of the library although at times he does get his way and has scared people with strange noises, glowing orbs, and sudden cold spots. Another ghostly visitor appears as a well-dressed man from the 19th century. He has a curling mustache and enjoys the music department. The ghost pulls out music books and leaves them on tables.

South Africa

Helpful Spirit

At the Africana Library in Kimberly, South Africa the spirit of a former worker makes himself helpful. In the 1900s the library hired Bertrand Dyer as a librarian. Unfortunately, he chose to make the library work in his favor and committed fraud. He placed orders for books inflating the price list that he presented to the city for payment pocketing the extra cash. When his scam was uncovered he was so ashamed that he chose to commit suicide. Taking cyanide he suffered in great pain for three days and died at the library. Today this library is a museum and visitors have seen a man in Edwardian attire. This apparition thought to be Dyer rearranges books on shelves. When someone cannot find a book Dyer knocks that book off the shelf to help out.

North America

The USA

Ghostly Nun

At the University of San Diego, California the ghostly apparition of a nun appears in the Copley Library. She is seen wearing a blue habit and roams about the book stacks. Her spirit floats around the balcony of the library reading room. No one knows her identity.

Ghostly Voices

The Peoria Public Library in Peoria, Illinois was built on the site of a home once owned by Mrs. Gray in the 1830s. Unfortunately, the woman ran into bad times and was forced to leave her home when the bank foreclosed on it. Before leaving she put a curse on the property and thereafter all the following owners met up with bad luck. In 1894 the library was built on this land and each of the first three library directors met with mysterious deaths. In 1966 the original library was torn down and a new structure was built. Since that time library staff had heard ghostly voices calling their names. At times temperatures drop to freezing degrees and some claim to have seen the ghostly figure of one of the deceased library directors.

The Gray Lady

The Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana is home to a ghostly apparition known as the Gray Lady. She has appeared to many people over the years since first seen by a custodian in the 1930s. Before she appears, people hear strange noises, smell perfume, and feel ghostly touches. Cold spots have been experienced, books have disappeared, and furniture has been moved. No one knows who this lady is but every October in her honor the library holds a ghost tour.

Ghost of Innkeeper’s Daughter

The Bernardsville Public Library in Bernardsville, New Jersey is haunted by the ghostly apparition of an 18th-century innkeeper’s daughter. During the Revolutionary War, the building was the Vealtown Tavern. The daughter of the tavern owner Phyllis Parker had a heartbreaking tragedy. She was in love with a boy who was a spy for the British. He was discovered, charged, and hanged, His body was brought to the tavern in a coffin, and at the sight, Phyllis had a breakdown. She never recovered and died years later in the innkeeper’s quarters. After the building became a library staff, and visitors say they have heard cries and wails. The ghostly apparition of Phyllis has been so active that the library staff has issued her a library card.

Ghostly Assistant Librarian

At the Umatilla County Public Library in Pendleton, Oregon the ghostly apparition of a dying woman asks for help. People say that this is the spirit of Ruth Cochran an assistant librarian in the 1940s. Her job was to close the library each evening and one evening as she was about to lock the doors she experienced a severe headache. The headache led to a cerebral hemorrhage. Not knowing what would happen the librarian sat down by the basement doors hoping to start feeling better. The following morning she was discovered still conscious but unfortunately, she died at the hospital. Soon after Ruth died library staff and visitors noticed strange occurrences that made it appear that the assistant librarian was still going about her work or seeking help.