The elevator doors open and you face rows and rows of shelves filled with books and the heavy air of silence.The squeak of your shoes and the small sounds of your breathing disturb the quiet, until you hear a creaking door open behind you. Perhaps it is one of the librarians coming to tell you that it is almost closing time for Alderman Library. You turn around to plead for just a few more minutes, because you're almost done with this research. But there is no one there, and the door is closed. How strange.
But this may not be as strange as you think it is. According to Reference Services Librarian Jared Loewenstein, curator of the Borges Collection in Alderman Library and a University employee since 1962, the library is rumored to host two different ghosts. During his time at the University he has heard stories from various students and faculty members who claim to feel a little uncomfortable when alone in the stacks, as if someone is watching them.
"In some cases, a careful check has revealed that no one else was even in the same area," Loewenstein said.
This "someone" could possibly be the ghost of Louisa County resident Dr. Bennett Wood Green, who bequeathed his substantial collection to the library after his death in 1913. Some University community members have long believed that Green could not bear to leave his books behind, and that he followed them to the Dome Room of the Rotunda, where the library's books were being stored at the time. When the books were moved to Alderman in 1938, Green's spirit allegedly followed close behind.
It may not be Green's ghost watching you down in the old stacks of Alderman, though. Another ghost is rumored to lurk in the collections of Alderman Library, but no one is sure of his name, Loewenstein said. A family by the name of the Garnetts lived on the Elmwood estate in the Fredericksburg area before the Civil War. They often entertained a guest, whose name is unknown today, who perused their extensive collection of books. By the end of the Civil War, the guest had already died, and the estate subsequently fell into disrepair for about 80 years. Miraculously however, the library remained intact and dust-free, possibly due to the care of the guest's ghost.
In 1938, the family donated the collection, and possibly the ghost along with it, to the University. The story goes that the ghost still haunts the Garnett Room, even after all of these years.According to Loewenstein, patrons claim to have heard books being opened and closed and seen the silhouette of an older man in front of the shelves in the room.
"Like any other tale of supposed supernatural beings, these two 'ghost stories' may or may not be true," Loewenstein said.
He is careful to note that the library does not promote these stories, but simply refers to them as interesting pieces of its history.
Nonetheless, ghosts seem like much more than interesting pieces of history when one experiences them in real life. Imagine it is Fall Break and you and your suitemate are alone in the common room, taking advantage of some rare moments of quiet to finish up studying. After having some dinner and taking a quick shower you say good night and head to your respective rooms to catch up on some beauty sleep. Sounds like a typical Fall Break evening, right?
It was for Eudora Chua, a first-year student residing in Lile , until an event occurred that made her perceive the supernatural in a whole new way.
Chua claims that while she was alone in her room over Fall Break, she saw a dark shifting shape pass by her door and was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of coldness.
"I went to see if it was my suitemate walking around," Chua said. "But when I asked her, she said she had been in her room the whole time."
Suites in Alderman require an ID swipe and a four-digit key code personalized to each ID card to open the main door to the common room, so there is little possibility of a break-in. This, of course, leads to an interesting postulate: there is a ghost haunting Lile.
Upon closer investigation, it was discovered that Chua's bizarre occurrence was not the only potentially supernatural incident in Lile.
"In the middle of the night, I often hear the sound of a window sliding, like screeching, back and forth," first-year Engineering student Zach Kohl said. When he gets up to check out the source of the noise, however, he is unable to locate it.
When asked about these particular paranormal events, residents of Lile had fairly unanimous reactions. Most simply shrugged it off, saying that they hadn't heard any peculiar noises or seen any strange sights. But when questioned about whether they believe in the existence of the supernatural, their responses diverged. Many flat out denied the possibility or acted with equivalent indifference. Some wholeheartedly agreed that mystical experiences can and do occur. Others, like first-year Kate Rember, refused to categorize the supernatural and instead delved deeper into its meaning.
"I believe there is a realm we don't know about, but people try to fit it all into a box, when, in reality, it's a lot more complicated," said Rember.
So the next time that you are perusing the books in Alderman stacks late at night or are alone in your room during break, remember these tales of the University's paranormal past and present. Ask yourself the question: do you believe in ghosts?
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