Middlesbrough Library

Halloween 2008 was to be spent on a team only investigation at Middlesbrough Library with the addition of Bob Fischer and his Gobstopper show from Radio Tees.

Was the library haunted? Some people who work there believe it is and one member of staff believed she had photographic evidence to support this. The photograph of a supposedly spectral silhouette is stood between two high bookshelves in the upper store room. People have made claims of being touched, feelings of oppression and doors unlocking themselves, opening and closing. This usually occurs when nobody else is in the building and occasionally footsteps can be heard.

We divided into two groups. Bob would do his live broadcast with one group while the other (mine) would explore others areas. Knowing that so much activity has be claimed to occur maybe this location would be one of the better ones. With this in mind we headed to our first location.

1st Location - Children's Library
We sat quietly for a while and chatted about our experiences and the history of the library with a member of staff who joined our group. A large TV outside was quite distracting and even with the lights off it was still quite light in the room. The room was very large and thousands of books on many subjects from fairy tales to encyclopaedias lined the banks of shelves. Posters and pictures covered the walls. It was clearly a room intended to make children excited about stories and reading.

It occurred to the group that we were all sceptical in nature while the other team were generally believers. This wasn't a good mix. No wonder nothing was happening! Still, Carol tried calling out and asked for various ways to confirm any spiritual presence but nothing occurred. We all sat in separate areas in the large room, took photos and waited for something to reveal itself. After an hour of silence and growing impatience we decided to move to the next area.

2nd Location - Reference Library
This appeared to be a better location from a visual point of view and we had more places to explore. The wooden walls and panelling with lots of glass for ghosts to rattle seemed like a good opportunity for something interesting to happen. Phil and I walked around the upper gallery in the patents room. I felt a change in the atmosphere, almost like the air had become momentarily heavier and darker but I put this down to the high temperature and size of the room compared to the neighbouring reference section.

In the main library room, I suggested we try the Ouija board, which everyone agreed to and participated in. We asked aloud for any spirits in the room with us to join us in conversation but the invitation was ignored. After a few attempts the Ouija Board remained motionless, so we all went up to the galley after Julie said that a caretaker had once seen a step rock by itself while clearing up. The step on this occasion remained motionless even after nicely asking for it to move. Some spirits can be so stubborn!

Carol called out again but was met with silence. We decided to try the room where the doors are believed to open by themselves. Other than the heat and loud hum of the printers in this room, nothing occurred. After about 10 minutes we went into another computer room but we all felt that we were simply killing time – there was no atmosphere of any nature to detect.

3rd Location - Top Floor/Store Room
In here we met up with the other half of the team who were participating in a séance while Bob the radio presenter was talking to Claire. Our group walked about quietly and took the occasional photo.

Julie had a few orbs on her camera and we all tried to recreate the photo that is claimed to be a shadow of a ghost that has now found postcard status. The recreation was not possible due to the differences in the time of day and conditions etc, but Bekki said that she could actually see how the photo could have come about by the way boxes were stacked at the far end of the isle and the way light was cast in the room.

The stairwell that lead up to this floor had something about it. I stood in the dark by myself and could hear people in the room beyond. But as I waited I felt a sudder as though someone had decided to join me and brought along a temperature drop to announce their arrival. I waited a little longer to see if this developed into anything more. A few moments passed and the feeling remained. Then as suddenly as it arrived the feeling dissipated. I joined the rest of the group to see if any progress had been made. My group said no and the other group said they'd had a few things. But the claims made by staff of particular poltergeist activity didn't materialise on this occasion.

Conclusion
Most of us felt that there was nothing to take away from the Library that suggested there was any active spirits. A couple of people said they felt and experienced things but our group could not confirm anything that would suggest ghosts or a haunting. Perhaps as our group consisted of sceptics this may have influenced the outcome but who knows?


Links

• Middlesbrough Library Photo Gallery

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