2 days Ago By The Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE – The latest potential evidence of a famous Evansville ghost surfaced earlier this month, when a door at Willard Library appeared to open and close on its own. The library posted security footage of the incident to its Facebook page Friday morning. Timestamped April 17 around 5:45 p.
m., the video shows a lower-level entrance near the elevator. No people are in frame, and the glass on the door provides a clear view of the outside, proving no one is around.
The door suddenly cracks open. It shuts just as quickly. The post notes that it happened about 15 minutes after staff left for the day and locked – and alarmed – all the doors.
The library claims it has footage of employees double-checking the entrances before they left. “Important note: The alarm system will not arm unless all doors are properly latched,” the post reads. Later that night, as director George Carter returned to Willard to work after-hours, he received a call from the alarm company that an open door had “triggered the system.
” “The director informed them he was already on-site and would investigate,” the post reads. “When he checked the door in question, it was still securely locked. Upon reviewing the security footage, this is what he discovered.
” Although Willard’s post doesn’t mention her by name, commenters were quick to evoke the Grey Lady : the famed specter that’s supposedly haunted Willard since at least the late 1930s. Unquestionably the most famous poltergeist in the city’s history, she’s attracted everyone from SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters” to renowned psychic Lorraine Warren, who went on to depicted by Vera Farmiga in “The Conjuring” franchise. The library maintains 24-hour “ghost cams” in its children’s section for anyone who wants to catch her in action.
And over the years, patrons and employees alike have reported vaporous taps on the shoulder; mysterious falling books; chairs shoved away from desks while no one is around. Berry Global employees next door have even seen the library elevator climbing and falling on its own throughout the night. A few years ago, two Willard staffers were watching surveillance footage when they spotted a woman who appeared to be wearing a costume: a long, gray dress and veil.
“They were kind of keeping an eye on her and she just dissipated into thin air,” Arrika Taylor, Willard’s adult services librarian, told the Courier & Press in 2021. “Disappeared right in front of their eyes.” No veiled specter can be seen in the latest footage.
Some commenters blame the wind. But it would have to be a stiff breeze to jostle a latched, locked door. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Footage could show latest evidence of famous Evansville ghost.
