Paranormal Activity at the Morgantown Public Library

Morgantown Public Library
Source

I've always said that if I had the choice, I'd probably choose to come back and haunt my local library. There's no way I'm going to get to all the books I want to read before I die, so maybe I can finally catch up in the afterlife! As far as I know, there are currently no ghosts haunting my public library, but the same cannot be said about the Morgantown Public Library in Morgantown, West Virginia!

Morgantown gained its first public library back in 1926 when the Morgantown Women's Club started the Waitman Barbe Memorial Library, which was housed in the city's municipal building. The library stayed in this location up until 1964 when construction began on the Spruce Street location. The modern library, now known simply as the Morgantown Public Library, located at 373 Spruce Street, is the library said to be haunted. But, before construction could begin on the (then) 1-story building with basement, two private homes had to be razed. 

It didn't take long before the brand new library was complaining that it was running out of space. However, it wouldn't be until 1993 when a second story was added. And, sometime over the relatively short history of the library, it has picked up the reputation for being haunted. 

Construction of the Morgantown Public Library
Source: WV History on View

The most common example of paranormal activity is the sound of books falling or being tossed off shelves. But while the sound is unmistakable, when investigated, no books are ever found out of place. In addition to these sounds, the sound of toilets flushing themselves in the ground floor bathrooms has been observed. The elevator is said to move between floors without being called by living hands, and even small objects have been moved around. 

Employees note that the majority of the activity happens after the library is closed to the public for the evening, when things are calm and quiet among the shelves. The employees have taken it upon themselves to give this mischievous spirit the name of 'Isabelle Jane,' but cannot explain why. It doesn't seem like there are any former librarians with that name, or anyone else associated with the library itself. Even stranger...on the few occasions when a FULL BODIED APPARITION has been observed, it's been a MAN, dressed in 19th century clothing! No wonder he throws books---people keep calling him Isabelle!

In November of 2018, Spirit Walk Paranormal became the first team to conduct a formal paranormal investigation of the property. Although they investigated all levels of the library, the majority of activity seemed to come from the main floor. In their YouTube video of their investigation, they shared some pretty interesting data they captured. At one point, one investigator heard what sounded like a child screaming. Knocks and other weird noises were observed at various points and locations throughout the night. In the children's section, some really odd, sustained high EMF readings were observed. There were also a few EVPs, but what I found most fascinating was some of the spirit box responses that seemingly answered direct questions, giving the name of 'Sarah' several times, and even saying the name of the investigator conducting the session. Definitely go check out their video, linked below! 

Spirit Walk Paranormal (YouTube: Art House Media WV) 

The Southern Spirit Guide's 'Guide to Haunted Libraries of the South-West Virginia'

WV Library Commission Page

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories. 2014 Globe Pequot.

'Library Problems Told to Kiwanis.' The Dominion News. 06 June 1969. 

'Librarian is Appointed' The Morning Herald (Uniontown PA) 04 November 1965.

The Librarian Who Never Left

Hutchinson Public Library

There was absolutely no doubt that Ida Day (later, Ida Day Holzapfel) was a hard worker. When she was hired by the Hutchinson Public Library in Hutchinson, Kansas, she spent the next ten years dedicated to making some MAJOR changes. Among her accomplishments, she developed a new cataloging/classification system, introduced Sunday hours for the library, and was instrumental in making sure that everyone had access to books, especially World War 1 soldiers and shut-ins. 

But, life goes on and in 1926 Ida left the library to attend the University of Kansas. She also got married and became Ida Day Holzapfel. However, the Hutchinson Public Library would eventually call her back. She started back in 1946 and helped oversee the library move out of the old Carnegie building and into it's current location on Main Street. During this second tenure, she developed quite a reputation as being a very prim and proper librarian, having daily tea with staff at 3pm. She also developed the reputation of being so highly dedicated to the library that she could be difficult to work with at times.  She definitely had her own ideas about how things at HER library should be ran, and would do what she needed to do to make sure things went the way she wanted. 

Again, life would move on and Ida would step away from the Hutchinson Public Library.  In 1953, she took a job as a reference librarian in Tulare County, California. A newspaper notice about her resignation included the following: "She plans to retain ownership of her home, and will eventually return to Hutchinson."

Ida Day Holzapfel

Unfortunately, the new job in Tulare County was never meant to be.  Ida was involved in a car accident on her way to her first day on the job and passed away from her injuries.  That quick line in the newspaper before she left, however, would be eerily prophetic.

It seems that Ida Day Holzapfel made good on her promise to return to Hutchinson, and to the Hutchinson Public Library system to which she dedicated so much of her life. 

Paranormal activity at the Hutchinson Public Library was so common, that the local paper covered the story in 1975, and its been featured many times since in other articles, news stories, and websites on haunted locations.  Even the official website for the Hutchinson Public Library has a page dedicated to Ida and the hauntings!

Ida prefers to haunt the area around the basement. Staff and visitors have reported hearing disembodied footsteps in that area, as well as items that will occasionally go missing or seemingly move to different positions when no one is looking. In once incident, librarians Angeline Welch and Rose Hale were working in the basement. Hale had to run upstairs a moment, but when she returned, she heard Welch speaking to someone, and then heard footsteps walking away. When asked who she was talking to, Welch claimed that she hadn't been talking to anyone---no one else was even down in the basement.

The next day, Hale had an even weirder experience when she saw a lady standing by the stairs, who then vanished into thin air. She didn't recognize the woman, but when she described her to a colleague, it was apparent that Hale had seen Ida Day Holzapfel. 

*Theresa's Note: When I was researching the information for this blog, I perused the Hutchinson Public Library's website and noticed that they were CLOSED ON SUNDAYS. I wonder what Mrs. Holzapfel would have to say about that!*

HAUNTED AMERICA

Boooooks! A Literary Friday Funny

I fully support a library endorsing ghost.  As readers to Theresa's Haunted History know, I LOVE my home library of paranormal non-fiction and West Virginia history.  And, as this little bookish boo has suggested, my son and I have been going to OUR local library at least once a week to partake in their awesome summer programs.  

So go visit YOUR local library this month!  You can find my suggestions on what to check out at the following link:

Book Reviews

Let me know down in the comments or over at Theresa's Haunted History Facebook what YOUR favorite paranormal books are, or what your favorite haunted library is...mine is the WV's Kingwood Library! 

Ghosts of the Portsmouth, Ohio Public Library

From Spongefan

The main branch of the Portsmouth, Ohio Public Library may be one of the most beautiful libraries in the tri-state...and it may also be one of the most haunted.

The current library, which sits on Gallia Street in downtown Portsmouth, was built in the early 1900s.  In 1902, local resident Henry Lorberg appealed to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to donate toward the building of a new library facility for the area.  A $50,000 donation by Carnegie that year resulted in the beautiful building of today, which opened on February 1, 1906.  It was built in the classic Carnegie style by the architectural firm of Richards, McCarty and and Bulford.  In order to keep up with the demand of the growing needs of the community, additions were constructed in 1971 and 1995. A massive genealogy and local history section make this stunning library a wonderful place for the paranormal researcher to conduct historic research, and one could spend hours poring over all the resources the library has to offer. As an added bonus, one might also actually encounter a ghost while visiting!

According to local legends, the library is haunted by two different ghosts.  The first is a woman named Grace.  History isn't clear as to whether Grace was an employee or patron of the library, but the story goes that she fell of the library balcony and was killed.  This section is now closed to the public, but Grace's ghost has still been seen wandering the area.  The second ghost to call the library home is a homeless man who frequented the library before HIS death, and possibly even died there in recent history.  His ghost can be seen wandering among the stacks.

Both Grace and the homeless gentleman seem to prefer the original 1906 section of the building, avoiding the newer wings.  Together they seem to be responsible for any number of strange activity which goes on there, particularly turning lights on and off and stacking books in strange ways.

Wikipedia
Forgotten Ohio
Library Homepage

Waldomore Mansion in Clarksburg

Waldo P. Goff

Waldomore Mansion is a neo-classical home, built in Clarksburg, WV for Waldo P. Goff and his wife, Harriet Moore.  Born in New York, Goff later moved to the area and served on the Virginia State Senate between 1833 and 1837.  Named for a combination of both his and his wife's names, Waldomore was completed around 1839 and stayed in the family for almost a century.

Then, on August 3, 1930, The Goffs' daughter, May Goff Lowndes, passed away and deeded the family home to the city of Clarksburg for the use of either a library or a museum...and nothing more.  This was the home May was born in on December 25, 1839 and was very specific in how she wanted the home used after her death.

The city complied, and in 1931 the Harrison County Public Library moved in under the direction of librarian Miss S. Scollay Page.  Miss Page managed the library until 1938 when she retired.  She passed away in October the following year.  However, the library remained.  After being established with the help of Mrs. Julia Walker Ruhl in 1907, it had hopped from building to building until it was blessed with its permanent home in the Waldomore Estate.  There it flourished until 1976.

Growing needs of a growing city resulted in the need for more library space, so a modern facility was built on the property, directly beside the Waldomore Mansion.  The mansion, in turn, was converted into meeting space, and the new home the West Virginia history/genealogy collection of the library.  In 1978, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

And...somewhere along its long history, its picked up a ghost!

Susan Carleton writes excellent articles on the paranormal side of Clarksburg for Examiner.com and hers is the first mention of the haunting I've seen online.  According to Carleton, a woman in white is seen gazing out from the upstairs windows of the mansion.  In addition, in two separate incidents, the soft tinkling of several piano notes has come from the Steinway piano housed in the mansion.  When the librarian went to investigate, it was discovered that not only was the quilted cover still firmly in place over the piano, but that the room it was in was locked!

From the Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library

So who could this ghostly woman (and possibly piano player) be?  There's at least four good candidates, just discussed in this short blog!

Could it be Harriet Moore, whom the house was built AND named for?  Or could it be her daughter, May Goff Lowndes, whose dream of seeing the home turned into a library and/or museum has come to fruition and remains so, even after all these years?

Possibly, instead of being connected to the family, our female ghost is connected to the library itself!  Julia Walker Ruhl was instrumental in starting the library and most likely would be overjoyed with the fact that after several decades of "homelessness," the library found a wonderful permanent home.  It may also be Miss S. Scollay Page, a life-long librarian who oversaw the actual move of the library into the mansion.

I strongly suggest that if you are in the area, go check out this wonderfully historic resource.  Oh, and there's also an added bonus that I didn't mention....

As part of the West Virginia collection, the Waldomore Mansion houses the Gray Barker UFO Files!!!  Check out this special collection of hundreds of books, magazines, photos, files, and even props from the famous West Virginia UFO researcher and author.  It is open during normal business hours or by special appointment.