Haunted Libraries in Massachusetts

Even if you're not feeling spooky this weekend, the spirits might come to you in the right place. No, not the graveyard; not even the Lizzie Borden house. This Halloween, you might just be most haunted in a seemingly innocuous location: the library.

The age of the Internet may have somewhat eliminated the need to lift heavy volumes of encyclopedias, but it hasn't made Encyclopedia Britannica any less smart. The good ol' authority has a list of haunted libraries in Massachusetts. Some of the "haunting" stories are a little thin, such as the "cold spot" in the Lowell library (yawn), or the patron-shushing old man ghost in Peabody.

At least the Millicent Library in Fairhaven has a decent story:

The library’s founder, Standard Oil magnate Henry Huttleston Rogers (1840-1909), had a daughter named Millicent who died of heart failure in 1890 at the age of 17. The 1893 library was named after her. Patrons sometimes see her walking the halls, outlined in bright blue light. At night, passersby have reported seeing a girl standing in the window of the turret in front. A woman dressed in black who runs her fingers along the shelved books has been reported from the upper floors, while a man dressed in a tweed jacket, purple bow tie, and small circular glasses has been seen mopping the basement floor.

Tweedy custodian ghost? We wouldn't mind seeing that! And if Nathaniel Hawthorne can be trusted, Boston's own Athenaeum may be home to The Ghost of Dr. Harris—Hawthorne wrote this short story after Athenaeum regular Thaddeus Mason Harris after his death.

Have you been haunted in libraries by spectres other than overdue assignments?