"There's something going on with the electromagnetic fluctuation in the story room."
Willard Library dates back to 1885 when it first opened in Evansville, IN by Willard Carpenter. Originally the library was constructed to serve all citizens regardless of class, race, or sex, while being free of charge. Willard played an integral part in the development of Evansville, often generously donating to the community. He passed away before the library was completed on November 3, 1883 from a stroke. To this date, Willard Library is one of several public libraries that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is the oldest working public library in the state.
Aside from being a historic landmark in Evansville, Willard Library has been made famous by a spirit appearing to be a woman in a grey gown, dubbed the Grey Lady, sometimes referred to as the "Lady in Grey". It is speculated that the spectral being is that of Louise Carpenter, the daughter of Willard Carpenter, who had a tumultuous relationship with her father. This was further acknowledged with Willard writing that Louise and her husband would receiver nothing from his will, rather leaving most of his wealth to his businesses in Evansville, Willard Library included. Resenting her father even more with his decision to keep her out of the inheritance, Louise filed a lawsuit in order to gain access to her inheritance, only to lose the case in the end.
The first reported sighting of The Grey Lady was in 1937 in the library's basement by the custodian that was working on the coal furnace. Staff, along with library visitors, have reported sightings of the ghost all over the library throughout the years, with the children's section being the most active. Many guests have claimed to have been "touched", or seen books and chairs move on their own accord, face-to-face encounters, as well as smelling a musky, strong perfume. She has been seen wandering the halls with books in hand, appearing in the elevator only to terrify guests until they reached their floor, and traversing the stairways. Some have said she has been known to play pranks on the library staff and visitors by flickering lights, disheveling books, as well as moving chairs.
The phantom was first reported in 1937 by a custodian working on the coal furnace in the library’s basement. Over the years, staffs and visitors of Willard Library have reported similar sightings of the apparition in different areas of the library. However, the children’s department, story room in particular, is said to be the most haunted spot. Former lead librarian, Margaret Maier, claimed she had such an encounter with the Grey Lady in the 1970s, when they library was undergoing renovations. The unsuspecting woman had been followed home by the spirit, leaving her son to witness a woman in their home before she vanished from sight right in front of him.
Willard Library has installed CCTV in the building, as well as putting together a website for those being curious to watch for the Lady in Grey. There have been multiple paranormal investigative teams that have visited the library, and most all of them have one thing in common to say, there is definitely something going on here; with one claiming "There's something going on with the electromagnetic fluctuation in the story room." For anyone who wants to look for the Grey Lady on their own time, I highly recommend checking out the ghost cams on their site and just watching for a bit, you'll never know what you catch on the live stream. Check it out here:
It is speculated that there may be more than one entity present along with the Grey Lady. only to be referred to as "the dark mass." It's said this "shadow person" or "dark mass" has been spotted nearby the Grey Lady through the windows, once even by police as they were investigating a tripped alarm. Among the CCTV footage a humanoid dark figure has been spotted, and at times looks as though it is just a mass with no true form. One such photo (below) shows the mass in its vague human form, appearing to be crawling toward the camera out from the Children's Story room. To date the "dark mass" has still not been identified, leaving one to speculate that it may just be a hoax, or something else entirely. What do you think?
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