Hey YouTube, Jim here! Welcome to Top10Archive! We like to think our channel is our little
digital library of all things interesting, creepy, strange, and more. But today,
we’re talking about other libraries, where people might not have such a good time at.. you know, due
to them being haunted and all. Here is our pick of the top 10 Creepiest Libraries In The World!
10. A Tank No, we didn’t accidentally slip
something from another video in here. We’re still talking libraries, if you can believe
it. In Argentina, an artist by the name of Raul Lemesoff takes to the streets in a military tank,
because it also doubles as a mobile library. He cleverly calls it a “weapon of mass instruction”,
alluding to the power that words have. Though it can be a very scary thing, especially for those
probably recovering from post-traumatic stress from the country’s military dictatorship in the
1970s, the purpose is to spread books, not death. In reality, the “tank” is just a 1970 Ford Falcon
and it holds up to 900 books. While I’m sure it’s a great service for the community, it has to be a
terrifying thing to see for the first time. 9. The Library Built On Cursed Ground
Public buildings are often so old we don’t even think about what was there before them.
With this Illinois library in Peoria, it might have done them some good to give that previous
tenant some thought. See, before the Peoria Public Library stood on this ground, it was the home of
Mrs. Gray in the 1830s. Until, of course, she couldn’t make her mortgage payments anymore.
A foreclosure ensued and she was forced to leave. She didn’t, of course, go happily, and before
leaving she supposedly put a curse on the house, the property as a whole, and the person who owned
it. Since then, every owner of the property has seen their riches dwindle away. Part of
this land was later turned into the public library in 1894, and the curse seemed to get even worse.
First, each of the library’s first three directors died mysteriously. The library
is said to be unnaturally cold all year long, voices call out names of the staff,
even when no one else is there, and there have even been reports of sightings of a deceased
library director. I suppose in a place as quiet as a library, ghosts are certain to be heard.
8. Alaska Resources Library and Information Services
One can’t help but picture all of Alaska as a quiet and arid place as a whole. Whether or not
that’s true, its resources library and information services, located in Anchorage, is definitely a
place you don’t want to be alone. It’s full of taxidermied animals, long gone but still looking
at you with glass eyes. It’s the only library in the United States to have such strange inventory.
Teachers and scientists often support the library in order to use its resources, but when it’s not
in use in the classroom, you might see it in films like The Frozen Ground from 2013, where
these dead species were used for the set design of a serial killer’s basement. Yes, this library
could very much be described as the budding mind of a serial killer in the making and that’s why
I personally wouldn’t want to go there at all. Imagine a power outage in the middle of all that!
7. A Mysterious Figure Appears In Photos Of An English Library
Across the pond in Cheshire, England, you’ll find a library which is said to be
haunted by the very lord of the Abbey, Lord Combermere. He died tragically after being run
over by a horse-drawn carriage, much scarier than a car accident, I’d imagine. Lots of stories are
told about the photo of the library in which you can see a faint silhouette of the lord.
Regardless, they all say the photo took place during his funeral, which was held miles away.
After the photo was revealed, everyone saw this figure right in the Lord’s favorite chair. Was
it all a figment of their imagination? 6. The UBC Library’s Hitchhiker
The UBC campus has to be one of the most beautiful in Canada. Not far from forests,
lakes, and the beach, it’s the dream of a lot of people to study their passion there.
Underneath it all, there’s the story of a young couple that may be bringing down the otherwise
perfect vibe of the school. Rumor has it, the couple was in the middle of an argument as they
drove through the campus in the 1960s on their way to the library. When it got to be too much,
the woman got out of the car in the rain with the plan of hitching a ride the rest of the way.
Turning to stop the car, the driver didn’t see her through the rain and accidentally
killed her. Now, people on campus claim that she stuck around all these years,
haunting the very library she didn’t make it to, and the whole path leading up to it. It’s so bad
that motorists have even reported being flagged down, being given a note with the library address,
and sometimes even giving her a ride only to turn around to an empty backseat upon arrival...
5. A Librarian Dies By Suicide, Haunts His Own Library
Librarians are truly a force to be reckoned with. Some teachers with decades of experience relax
a little and become more lenient. Librarians, however, they’re the strictest people out there!
Well, maybe not as tough as the lunch lady. In the Africana Library of Kimberly,
South Africa, though, this librarian continued to do so even after his death.
His name was Bertrand Dyer, and people say he worked there in the early 1900's. Though he
was qualified, he was also corrupt, pocketing money he said was going to unusually expensive
books. Scams like that can’t last long though I’m afraid, and soon after he was discovered.
He died slowly and painfully by suicide after taking cyanide that took three whole days to
kill him in the very library where he worked. Now the library is a museum and visitors often
claim to see a man in clothing from that time, floating through the halls, rearranging books,
and even pulling out the book they’re looking for from the shelf. Sounds like he’s not a bad
scary librarian after all. 4. A Library Basement
As if basements weren’t already scary enough with their humidity and their cave-like feeling
of essentially being trapped if the person upstairs just decides to lock that door.
Now imagine one in a library that is haunted. Oh, it’s a horror movie waiting to be made!
In Pendleton, Oregon, there’s a library with this very story that’s waiting to be told. It allegedly
hosts the ghost of an assistant librarian from the 1940s. Ruth was her name and she used to close up
the library every night until a headache brought her to her hands and knees, a cerebral hemorrhage.
She hoped it would pass and sat by the basement doors until she felt better. Unfortunately,
she was unable to help herself, and though she was found the next morning still conscious,
she was taken to a hospital where she died. Some seem to think her work at the library wasn’t quite
done since it wasn’t long until activity started to spook staff and visitors alike.
3. Patee Library—Penn State Another horrific library basement story.
This time, much worse. In 1969, the day after Thanksgiving, a woman named Betsy Ruth Aardsma was
killed in the Patee Library basement at Penn State University. She was just 22 years old,
and her killer was never brought to justice. A motive couldn’t be found as she didn’t seem to
have been robbed or assaulted. Some say it was Ted Bundy. Whether or not Betsy’s ghost
stuck around to ask for justice, I still wouldn’t go anywhere near that library or its basement.
2. Ghost of Burned Woman Haunts Elementary School Library
For some reason, we seem to think elementary schools are either saved from hauntings or
haunted only by the children that never left. This story seems to offer a different possibility.
At a Nebraska elementary school called Bellwood, there have been allegations of possible paranormal
activity walking the halls of the library. Cold spots, scary noises, and even this frightening
apparition [show photo]. They say it’s the ghost of a severely burned woman looking out a window
full of rage. The activity reportedly gets worse at night, with specters roaming up and down the
halls near the library. Could they be guarding her? Extensions of her? Why are they all here?
1.The "Gray Lady" and her Perfume at Willard Library
Appearing much like an old-timey schoolhouse, the Willard Library looks like a great place to study
peacefully. Residents of Evansville, Indiana, where it’s located, don’t seem
to agree. They say it’s actually haunted by a “Grey Lady”, and she’s been seen by
many since the first apparition was reported by a custodian in the 1930s. Some have the luck
of just hearing a security alarm or voices. Others have had the misfortune of seeing her ghost,
smelling her perfume, and even feeling her cold, ghostly touch. Smaller claims include lost books,
furniture ending up in strange places, and more harmless pranks. To this day,
no one knows who she is, but they do host a ghost tour to honor her presence.
Thanks for watching! I was always more frightened by the living librarians than the dead ones
when I was in school. How about you? Which of these libraries would you be willing to visit?
Let us know in the comments. Hey, check this out! You can become an archivist and haunt our hallowed
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