Paranormal Activity at the Morgantown Public Library

Morgantown Public Library
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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.

Historic Warner Theater

Today, Morgantown's historic Warner Theater is closed for business, and facing an uncertain future.  This is a far cry from the grand days of the theater's early days at 147 High Street.

The Warner Theater was built on the site of the former residence of prominent local physician Dr. David Hall Courtney and his wife, Lizzie.  Dr. Hall had passed away on May 27, 1929 at this location, due to "generalized arteriosclerosis."   In any event, the house was razed, and the property purchased by the Warner Brothers of film fame who hired architect John Eberson to design a grand theater.  The theater officially opened on June 12, 1931 at a cost of $400,000 and was of a classic art deco style.

The first movie that was shown at The Warner was The Millionaire, run by projectionist Constant (Con) DeFere.  Con, who was originally from Belgium and trained in glassworks, quickly found a penchant for film, and helped to actually install the sound and projection equipment in the new Warner Theater.  Con died in December of 1975 and spent much of his life, at LEAST until 1958 (as seen in a local newspaper article), as projectionist for the theater.

In the 1970s, the single screen theater was partitioned out into a tri-plex; the bottom floor was divided into two, with two separate screens.  The balcony became the third auditorium, and was serviced by the original projection booth.  It is this area of the theater that is said to haunted.  Unfortunately, that's about the extent of the information I have on the haunting.  Several websites mention that the balcony is haunted, including one site which includes an informal interview with a former manager of the theater, who stated that many believe that its haunted, but that its probably not.  Other websites claim that an apparition has been seen here and that there are rumors that a body was found in the theater years ago.

If the theater IS haunted, my guess, based solely on what little research I have been able to uncover online, is that there are at least two good suspects.  The first suspect is obviously Dr. Courtney or a member of the Courtney family who lived and died on the land before the theater was even thought of.  The second is Con DeFere, who devoted his life to a somewhat dangerous profession, spending much of his career at the Warner Theater.  Since the haunted area is said to be the balcony area, which holds the original projection booth, this theory makes sense to me.

Another sort of interesting fact that may or may not contribute to a haunting is the construction of the building itself.  In order to maximize acoustics, the walls were plastered with an "absorptive plaster."  This material is filled with tiny holes and is meant to reduce echo and reverberation.  It is said to contain such natural ingredients that its actually edible!  We've all heard the hypotheses that limestone and other materials can "trap" and replay spirit energy...could this edible plaster with its tiny holes actually be trapping and storing energy as well?

Hotel Morgan--Is that the Courtney Home on the right?

Unfortunately, we may not ever get the chance to fully study this location, as it shut down in September 2010.  It had been purchased in 2004 by the Round Table Corporation, who was intent on saving and restoring the theater, while at the same time offering a mix of indie/cult films and newer showings at reduced prices.  Too much competition from bigger area theaters combined with the money and headaches of keeping up an aging structure proved too much, however.  There were issues with the sound and projection equipment (especially in the balcony), the heating and cooling systems, and even the curtains over the screens.  In an ironic twist of fate, the final film shown that last day of operation was Dinner For Schmucks...a far cry from The Millionaire, a film shown when the Warner was truly THE place to be in Morgantown society.

Fun Facts!

*Don Knotts worked at the theater while in college at WVU.  In 1964, the Warner hosted the national premiere of Don Knotts' film, The Incredible Mr. Limpet.

*Albert "Al" Fusco was the manager from 1961-76.  He passed away in 2007.

*The Warner Theater is located adjacent to the (haunted?) Clarion Hotel Morgan.

*The front of the theater still houses several businesses, including a hot dog restaurant.

*The original ticket price for a daytime showing was 15 cents.

Please see THIS ARTICLE for more information, stories, and recollections!

THIS ARTICLE talks about the hauntings on the balcony