The rustling of pages, the coughing of visitors, the smell of old books - love it all? But in these places you definitely would not want to find yourself if your mind is dear to you …
Greedy librarian
The Kimberley Public Library in South Africa has given shelter to the ghost of a man who worked there during his lifetime. The library itself was built in 1882, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that the city had the opportunity to hire a librarian. His name was Bertrand Dyer. Soon, a new (and only) employee began to turn around fraudulent schemes: he ordered books, and in the reporting documents he indicated the price much higher than the real one. He put the extra money in his pocket.
But soon the deception was revealed, and Bertrand, out of shame and despair, committed suicide. He took cyanide, but the poison acted slowly, and for three days Bertrand suffered from monstrous pain until he died. The library now houses a museum, and visitors often see the ghost of a man in an Edwardian costume. Some say he rearranges books on the shelves, while others argue that if you can't find the book you're looking for, a helpful ghost will push it off the shelf.
Bibliophile spirit
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They say that in the funds of the Russian State Library. Lenin's ghost lives the collector Nikolai Rubakin. The bibliographer lived in Switzerland and collected books from the Soviet period. After his death, his descendants abandoned books in favor of the library, and then 80 thousand books were delivered from Switzerland in 1948, and also an urn with the ashes of the patron.
All the time while the employees were cataloging the books, the urn with the ashes stood in the library, and only after the completion of the work was the ashes scattered at the Novodevichy cemetery. The ashes were scattered, but the spirit of the book lover Rubakin remained in the library. Employees assure that when the vault closes, a mysterious haze appears on the floors with Rubakin's meeting, and people feel that they are being looked after.
Offended Mrs Gray
In the city of Peoria in the northern United States in the state of Illinois, a house stood on the site where the city library is now located. In the 1830s, it belonged to a woman named Mrs. Gray. She was repaying the house loan, but times were tough and she was unable to save enough money. The bank took away her house, leaving the woman on the street. Finally, an angry and desperate Mrs. Gray put a curse on the house - more precisely, the curse was addressed to anyone who tried to take this house. Coincidentally or not, all subsequent owners of the building really had bad luck.
In 1894, a library was opened there. Its first three directors died under mysterious circumstances. The old building was destroyed in order to build a new one in 1966, but the strange inhabitant of the library did not want to move out. Employees say they hear voices calling them by name, and in some parts of the building, temperatures drop sharply and a "cold spot" appears.
Favorite chair
Rumor has it that the library of Combermere Abbey in Cheshire, England, is also chosen by the ghost. According to rumors, this place was to the liking of Lord Combermer himself, who died in 1891 - he was run over by a carriage. After the households began to complain that they saw everything in the residence, the invited photographer installed the camera in the most “disturbing” place of the house - in the library. The camera shutter clicked an hour later.
No one could take a picture because all the relatives and servants were at the lord's funeral. What did you see in the photo? Although today it looks like an ordinary double exposure, but then people were quite sure that they see the spirit of Lord Wellington, sitting in his favorite chair.
Hitchhiker
According to urban legend, the University of British Columbia library has its own spirit. According to rumors, in the 60s of the last century, a guy and a girl went to the library. A quarrel broke out between them on the trip. Having lost her temper, the girl told the guy to slow down and got out of the car in the pouring rain. She walked a little, but still decided to catch the car. She stood too close to the road, and the driver did not notice her due to the downpour. The unfortunate woman died on the spot.
But her spirit is still trying to get to the library, where she so longed. They say the girl confuses motorcyclists. Slows them down and gives a note with the address of the library. At times, she sits in the back seat of the car and suddenly disappears, as if dissolving into thin air.
Photo: Andrey Gordeev / Vedomosti / TASS, Wikipedia
Author: ANASTASIA MAKSIMOVA