5 Haunted Libraries in 5 Different Countries
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Things that go bump in the night. Sudden drafts of cold air. A spirit that makes its presence known. A mysterious voice that suddenly speaks. There are many creepy things that happen at certain haunted locations. And they’re all over the world. Haunted places can be anywhere and anything – a house, a cemetery, a hotel, and yes, even a library. Sometimes, stories aren’t the only scary thing in libraries. If you visit one of these libraries in person, it’ll surely make for an interesting experience. But if the idea of visiting is too creepy right now, that’s okay too. Read a bit about five unique haunted libraries below to get started on a chilling adventure.
Marsh’s Library (Ireland)
Located in Ireland’s capital city of Dublin, Marsh’s Library has been open for more than 300 years. You read that right, it opened in 1707. The library is “Ireland’s oldest free public library,” according to The Culture Trip.
Born in and raised England, Marsh entered the clergy in the early 1660s. Then in 1679, Marsh was sent to Trinity College Dublin to be the Provost; and from the 1680s to early 1700s he continued to rise in the ranks within the church.
How is this related to the haunting of the library that bears his name? Well, the library’s website says that Marsh had the idea for his library while he was Provost at Trinity College. At one point, his niece Grace Marsh (who helped with his housekeeping), ran away and eloped. She allegedly left a note for her uncle in a library book, and he’s haunting the library still searching for it.
Felbrigg Hall (England)
Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, England, is one of the places taken care of by the United Kingdom’s National Trust. The Trust is a charity organization that dates back to 1895; they say it’s “Europe’s largest conservation charity, caring for historic properties and areas of beautiful countryside for everyone, for ever.” In the late 1960s, Felbrigg Hall was passed on to the Trust by Robert Wyndham Ketton-Crember.
So, why is it haunted? Here’s the story. There was a fire at a friend’s library in 1809, and William Windham tried to save books from that fire. By this time, Windham had already inherited Felbrigg Hall. He ultimately died from the injuries he sustained. Legend says that his ghost appears at Felbrigg Hall in order to keep reading books.
The Hall has gardens around it, a lake, more than 500 acres of woods, and other natural attractions, per the official site. This means that visitors today can not only tour the inside of Felbrigg Hall, they can also enjoy its surroundings.
Hutchinson Public Library (USA)
At Hutchinson Public Library in Hutchinson, Kansas, the ghost of Ida Day Holzapfel has been seen. She worked at the library from 1916 to 1926, and again from 1946 to 1953. It was in 1953 that she left the Hutchinson Public Library to work as a librarian in California. Not long after however, she died in a car accident.
According to the library, Holzapfel was very dedicated to her work. On Halloween in 1975, library workers “reported seeing and hearing a ghost in the library” – hers. Library employees have continued to feel her presence after that day.
Morelia Public Library (Mexico)
The Morelia Public Library is a university library, belonging to Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo. Founded in 1930, it houses important antique Mexican items and art, El Sol de Morelia reports.
According to a library staffer in a 2010 interview with the BBC, spirits have been noticed there throughout the years; both by visitors and library employees. The staffer, María Abigail González Ojeda, also mentioned that the spirits have turned on machines and touched a former employee.
National Library of India (India)
The National Library of India “is a permanent depository of all reading and printed materials produced in India, or written by any foreigner, wherever published and in whatever language.” Located in Kolkata, its beginnings go back to the early 1800s and the Calcutta Public Library.
The Times of India Travel section lists the library as one of several haunted places in Kolkata. Different ghosts have made their presence known in the library over the years. The Times of India also reported that a secret chamber was discovered in 2010, which no one has entered in more than 200 years. There are different theories about what may be inside.
