Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries

By Mark Leslie

A supernatural tour of bookstores and libraries around the world, focusing on the ghost stories from haunted locations.

Throughout history, books have inspired, informed, entertained, and enriched us. They have also kept us up through the night, thrilled us, and lured into their endless depths. Tomes of Terror is a celebration and an eerie look at the siren call of literature and the unexplained and fascinating stories associated with bookish locations around the world.

Mark Leslie’s latest paranormal page-turner is a compendium of true stories of the supernatural in literary locales, complete with hair-raising first-person accounts. You may even recognize a spectre of your local library lurking in these true stories and photographs. If you have ever felt an indescribable presence hanging about a quiet bookshop, then you’ll enjoy these fascinating and haunting tales.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dundurn
• Release date: Sep 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781459728622

Mark Leslie

Mark Leslie is a writer of "Twilight Zone" or "Black Mirror" style speculative fiction. He lives in Southwestern Ontario and is sometimes seen traveling to book events with his life-sized skeleton companion, Barnaby Bones. His books include the "Canadian Werewolf" series, numerous horror story collections, and explorations of haunted locales. When he is not writing, or reading, Mark can be found haunting bookstores, libraries or local craft beer establishments.  

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Notes

Canada

The Mischievous Bookseller's Elves

Gryphon Books

Edmonton, Alberta

When you walk into a store that has been securely locked overnight, you expect everything to be the way you left it. Unless, of course, there were unseen visitors flitting about, up to mischief, after you left the night before.

That’s exactly what happened to the owner of Gryphon Books in Edmonton. Donna Tremblay (not her real name) believes her store was home to what she refers to as mischievous bookworm elves.1

A few months into the store’s operation, Tremblay, a former school teacher, was comfortable with the smooth operation. Running her own bookstore was a passion and a dream, one that she had methodically worked toward and planned for over the years. But when she unlocked the store one morning, she discovered books piled in stacks in various places throughout the store.2 Not understanding what had happened, but still with a business to run, she re-sorted the books onto their appropriate shelves before opening the store for the day.3

When it kept happening, Tremblay began to notice a pattern. After several mornings of discovering piles of books, she detected that the books weren’t just in random locations like she had first suspected. The piles tended to appear in two distinct locations: near the cash register and by the stairs leading to the basement.4

Instead of being worried or frightened by the inexplicable and eerie occurrences, Tremblay simply started arriving a bit earlier in order to have the time to tidy up the mess made by the unseen forces.5 She treated the misplaced books no differently than if customers had walked in, grabbed books off of the shelves, and then set them down in another location — it was merely a side effect of running a bookstore.

It was only when she took to hanging No Smoking signs throughout the store that Tremblay had the chance to experiment with the spirit that walked, unseen, down her aisles. The first morning after she hung several of the signs, they were all on the floor, presumably having fallen off the walls during the night. Several days later, she found some of the signs as far as a dozen feet away from where they had originally hung, and one of them was even tucked away behind some shelved books.6

Tremblay began experimenting with the nightly sign-mover, and eventually determined that there was a single spot near the front of the store where she could hang the sign and have it remain undisturbed. So she abandoned the rest of the signs and stuck with the single one that stayed exactly where she placed it.7

She never did, however, find a similar solution for the misplaced books that continued to haunt her the entire time she owned and ran the bookstore. She merely got used to the nightly activity and cleaned up every morning. She discovered that the building the store was located in dated back to the 1800s and had been home to several other types of businesses over the years.8 With a building that old, there was certainly a lot of history, and potentially a spirit that enjoyed moving the stock around in the dark of the night.

The Eerie Elevator

Waterdown Public Library

Dundas, Ontario

The mysterious occurrences at Waterdown Library began almost immediately after a new elevator was installed in 1978.

From the beginning, the elevator began taking unexplainable trips all on its own. Library staff and patrons reported seeing the elevator doors opening, despite nobody having called it, and the car taking unmanned trips back and forth between floors.

When library staff called the manufacturer of the elevator to get to the bottom of the malfunctioning install, the company reported that there was absolutely nothing wrong with either the mechanics or the wiring. Third party inspections confirmed the results.

But the elevator continued to operate as if guided by unseen patrons.

Speaking with the spouse of one of the previous librarians, I heard several tales of the elevator door opening and closing on its own and then going up for no detectable reason. One evening a group came to the library to take a display away and got caught between floors for a significant amount of time. Before the elevator resumed its course and set its prisoners free, panic set in and speculation arose that something truly unexplainable was going on.

One explanation for the cause of the disturbance comes from a pair of white marble tombstones that were found in 1978 and now hang beside the elevator with a plaque that reads:

These stones in memory of Waterdown’s first settlers, Alexander Brown and his wife Merren Grierson, were placed here in 1979 when the interior of this building was reconstructed as a library.

The Brown family had replaced them in the Union Cemetery, Waterdown, with one large tombstone on which Mrs. Brown’s name appears in correct form. These were found quite by chance early in the year of celebrating the Centennial of Waterdown’s Incorporation 1978–1979.

Popular legend has it that the slight misspelling of Merren Grierson’s name on the tombstone (spelled as Merion rather than Merren) might have something to do with the odd and unusual behaviour of the elevator.

Despite regular inspections into the elevator’s activity, all revealing it to be in good working order, staff and visitors to the library continue to witness the elevator operating independent of human activity, the doors opening and closing for no good reason, and the occasional unexplainable sound of footsteps and voices when there is nobody else around.9

Elevator and tombstones at Waterdown Library

Hamilton Public Library

The library is slated to move to a new building in late 2014. The elevator will not be making the move, but the tombstones likely will. One wonders if the bizarre and unexplainable behaviour will move along with them. Of course, only time will tell.

First established in 1966, the Waterdown Branch of the Hamilton Public Library moved to its current location on Mill Street North, a designated building of Historical and Architectural value under the Ontario Heritage Act thirteen years later. Soon it will embark on yet another move to a 23,000-square-foot facility that will include the Waterdown Public Archive, multi-purpose recreational facilities, municipal services, community centre, and police services. The library will be located at 163 Dundas Street West at a significant elevation of the Niagara Escarpment, offering not only a picturesque view, but a unique and bold architecture that incorporates topography extended into the library and split-level organization.10, 11 The newest location for the library will comprise of six levels, fully accessible via barrier-free sloping walkways.12

The Hitchhiking Ghost

The University of British Columbia Library

Vancouver, British Columbia

There is certainly no shortage of urban legends about ghostly hitchhikers. But one particular hitchhiker appears only to young male drivers on dark and broody nights: a lone and oddly silent female with an unearthly desire to get to the UBC library.

The legend tells of an accident that took place in the 1960s. Apparently, while driving one rainy evening along University Avenue en route to the UBC campus library, a young couple got into a heated argument. Frustrated, the woman demanded that the man stop the car, after which she got out, determined to walk the rest of the way to the library by herself. The woman never made it to the library, as she was struck by another car and died instantly.13, 14

Since that stormy night, numerous male students have shared a similar story: while driving on bleary, overcast, and rainy evenings, they have pulled over to pick up a lone female hitchhiker standing in the rain. In each case, the woman said nothing, merely handed the driver a piece of paper with the library’s address on it, and then hopped into the back seat, only to disappear almost immediately.15

It seems that this poor woman, no matter how many attempts she makes, is destined never to arrive at her desired destination. It is too bad, because if she did reach the library, there might be a ghostly companion with which she could commune. Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada (PSICAN) not only publishes reports about the legend of the female hitchhiker, but also tales of an old woman in a white dress. She allegedly appears inside the university library, but vanishes into thin air if approached.16, 17

The UBC Library website shares these as well as other creepy stories. In an October 2013 article about the unusual and the haunted, Andrea Coutts wrote about odd phenomena in the Irving K. Barbara Learning Centre — staff reports that books spontaneously jumped off shelves. Perhaps more chillingly, Managing Librarian Julie Mitchell reported hearing the sound of typing coming from Room 203 multiple times, but each time she checked the room, she found it empty.18

Haunted Country Bookshop

The Country Bookshop

Lloydtown, Ontario

When the Country Bookshop in Lloydtown closed down there were over 15,000 books on its shelves — and one legend of a mysterious hooded lady. 19

The ghost never walked through the bookshop, but immediately outside it. She is a solid-looking figure, owner Art Gray said. A lady in a cloak, hooded. You never see her face.20

Gray explained that at twilight, the woman would start walking from the walnut tree at the top of the driveway and slowly move up and down the driveway, as if searching for something.21

There is a local legend from the early 1900s that takes place on the land The Country Bookshop was located on, in which a young mother suffered the tragic loss of her baby. It is unclear whether the baby died or was taken from the woman, but the ending is the same: a ghostly apparition continually and endlessly searches for the lost child every single night after sundown.22

Many people have seen her, Gray explains. But she doesn’t bother anyone. She’s quite harmless, part of the family really. Apparently dogs wag their tales in the presence of the apparition.23

The bookstore might no longer exist, but the hooded woman likely continues on her endless quest, forever searching for her lost baby long into the night.

The Country Bookshop was originally opened in 1967 by bibliophile Art Gray. Gray, a life-long book lover, was particularly fond of books about Canadian history and pioneer life. He ran the bookstore from the day he opened it in 1967 until his death in 1984. Gray’s widow, Audrey, ran the store for a few years following her husband’s death, before finally closing its doors for good.24

The Runnymede Ghost

Chapters Runnymede

Toronto, Ontario

In some locations, businesses come and go, but ghosts abide.

Such is the case in an old theatrical locale that was most recently known and beloved as a neighbourhood bookstore. But it’s the building’s history that gives it its ghostly inhabitants, including a little girl who can sometimes be heard eerily crying from the old stage.

The Runnymede Theatre, located in Bloor West Village in the west end of Toronto, was built in 1927 to be an atmospheric vaudeville style theatre, with such features as white clouds painted on the ceiling and tiny lights meant to simulate stars in the night sky. It was Canada’s first theatre of its kind. In the late 1930s it was converted into a movie theatre, and was declared an historic building in 1990.25 After much controversy in the neighbourhood, big box store Chapters moved into the location, spending over $3.5 million in restoration efforts.

Legends shared about the old Runnymede Theatre include that of a little girl who apparently died right on the theatre’s stage in the early 1900s. The various local legends are unclear about who the girl was, whether she was performing as an actor or was the child of one of the performers, but they do all say the little girl died when a sandbag dropped onto her from the ceiling.

While there do not seem to be any official records of such a death taking place in the theatre, there have been repeated reports from people who claim to have heard the sound of a child crying and witnessed the ghostly spectre of a little girl. These accounts come from the time Runnymede was a theatre through to the fifteen years that it was a popular bookstore haunt.

A former Runnymede theatre manager reported being in the basement supply area, located beneath the stage, and becoming suddenly overwhelmed with a woozy feeling before seeing the figure of a little girl standing before him for a few seconds, after which she completely disappeared.26

Chapters Runnymede.

Aeryn Lynne, GeekWithStyle.ca

One woman remembers a performance she and her husband attended for singer Mike Ford at the Chapters: During the performance I heard a child crying, she writes. I looked around to see where the child was, but then realized that the child was actually magnified coming out of the speakers. It was only after she returned home and looked into the history of the building that she learned about the little girl who allegedly died on the stage.27

Former Runnymede Chapters staff have also reported odd occurrences while working there, including the overwhelming sensation of being watched, cold chills, and dizziness when standing on the stage area; books flying off shelves all on their own; unexplainable glimpses of figures disappearing down bookstore aisles out of the corner of their eye; and the appearance of sand on the stage area floor with no easy explanation as to where it could have come from.28, 29

Chapters Runnymede closed down in February 2014, and a Shopper’s Drug Mart is slated to take over the location. One can’t help but wonder if the ghost that roamed both the theatre and the bookstore will continue to appear to the new staff and

Reviews for Tomes of Terror

[jennifer35k · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished this book and must say that it was a lot of fun. I am so used to paranormal books being about traditional hauntings, such as the ones about highways, castles, homes, or schools. This book was very different and offered a lot of new information. I enjoyed both the historical facts and personal experiences that were shared throughout the paranormal tales. It made the book very easy to read and I would recommend this paperback to anyone who enjoys the ghostly side of life.

[drm68 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am enjoying this book so far. I like the pictures it shows of the places the writer is talking about.

[booknookretreat7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a pretty good book about bookstores and libraries that are haunted. Nothing scary though within the pages as it was just general information about different bookstores and libraries around the world that are haunted. Some of the stories have pictures, but they were not very clear on the kindle.

There are quite a few stories within this book - 59 to be exact. I will just list what stories I really liked.
The Eerie Elevator, Ghosts in the Attic, The Rocking Chair Ghost, Spectres in the Stacks, The Portal, The Ghost of Harriet Haskell, The Many Lives of Carnegie Library, A Ghost Called Lola, The Curse of Old Lady Gray, Things That Go Ding In the Night, The White Lady of the Haunted Bookshop, A Treasure of Infinite Haunts, and The Restless Librarian. The other stories were good, but I liked those listed above the best. Three stars for this one.

[bassocantor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

√ Mildly Interesting Spooks

TOMES OF TERROR is a compilation of a large number of short "ghost" or "spookty" tales involving libraries. The book is divided by world regions, starting with Canada, then USA, then International.

There are stories of elevators starting themselves, books re-arranging themselves (or falling to the floor), wandering spooks, strange sounds, etc.

There are several appendices for further reading on haunted libraries.

√ All in all, an interesting, but not frightening assortment of fun tales.