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Scary Stories From The Stacks

Every year the Preservation Lab celebrates Halloween with some fun, spooky and scary content, and this year is no different. However, this year we decided to reach out to our UC Libraries colleagues to hear about their encounters with the unknown, with the paranormal, and share with us any of those stories. 

Scary figure wearing a mask in the stacks of the library

We received a few submissions that were downright spooky, creepy, and just unexplainable. So prepare yourself! Go ahead and settle in, grab yourself a hot chocolate, and cozy blanket and enjoy!! Hopefully you can sleep after this..

General spooky remarks from Mike Braunlin (Classics Library)

“Ghosts – Local lore is that the Blegen building [which is presently home to the Classics, CCM and ARB libraries] has some of them. In the Archives and Rare Books Department on the 8th floor, an apparition has been seen over the years. I read once that the Classics Department had its offices in that space years ago, and that the entity might be one of the professors of that time. I can add nothing to this story, but for years I became very uneasy whenever I had to visit our rare books in ARB and I am not usually bothered by such things. In later years, what used to invariably scare me when I retrieved a rare book was the life size photographic image of former UC president Nancy Zimpher that was placed in ARB’s stacks. They never moved it (something I would have done regularly), so I knew exactly where I would walk past it; but every time I did, it terrified me anew. But the image is now gone, and as I am also entering an age where I may soon number ghosts as my companions, I no longer fear those stacks. ”

The Ghost of Blegen Library by Kevin Miller

Published in Folkstream – volume 3, issue 3, December 1980 [courtesy of Mike Braunlin]

Cincinnati is a city steeped in tradition and folklore. Drawing upon a population of Eastern settlers, European immigrants, and Appalachian migrants, the Queen City has a varied heritage of tales and legends. Some of these, murder legends and ghost stories, have been around for the life of the city. But folklore is always being created and at least one ghost story is recent in origin: the ghost of Blegen Library.   

Located at the south end of the University of Cincinnati campus, the Blegen Library is a large, rectangular structure built in 1930. Formerly known as the Main Library and then as the Old Library, the building was rededicated last year in honor of Carl Blegen, an early Classics professor at UC In the cavernous foyer, sculptures and bronze panels depict the heritage of learning while the chandeliers exhibit proverbs in bronze silhouettes, proverbs in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew, Chinese, Latin, and Japanese which extol the virtues of education. Printers marks, the trademarks of famous publishers in the history of the printed word, decorate the high walls and stairwells. Blegen Library has a scholarly demeanor, but is at the same time a stuffy, forbidding place.   

I remember my years as a graduate student at UC, trying to negotiate the confusing stairwells, the maze of book stacks and small rooms. Some of the book stacks were located ‘underground and in the summertime, the dankness and humidity would assault me like a warm sponge. I often expected to come upon one of those career graduate students which infest every library, hiding in his carrell, his hair turned white and eyes pink from years of little sunlight, turning to me with a small, tubercular cough.   

Creepy image of library stacks with a shadowy, half exposed man walking across the stacks
Image provided by Mike Braunlin

Atop the library is the Rare Book Room, a secluded area set off from offices, classrooms, and reading rooms. It is a dark room kept at a constant cool temperature and even humidity to preserve the volumes. Little drafts of air waft around theological tomes and travel accounts, in between shelves of poetry and stacks of folios. In 1976, while l was a students at UC, a student worker was shelving books in the Rare Book Room, alone in the quiet gloom, Suddenly she felt a chilling presence and turned to see a man in the stacks beside her, a rather innocuous and shadowy man who had instantly appeared.

Terrified and breathless, she rushed downstairs leaving her work unfinished. Soon her tale of a ghost quickly spread across campus and I heard about it for the first time. Since then, the story of what the student saw has circulated around Cincinnati.   

An informal ghost investigation was conducted for her by a UC professor but the spectre did not reappear. Some versions have it that the man was wearing a gray suit and glasses, others that he was short and smoked a pipe, Some folks believe it was the ghost of a former Classics professor who suffered an untimely and tragic death. His office had once been in the room where the rare books are now housed, and it happened to be near the spot where the ghost was encountered. Be that as it may, the student forever refused to return alone to the Rare Book Room for as long as she was in the library’s employ.   

Since I’ve come back to UC as an archivist in the Special Collections Department, which houses the Rare Book Room, I’m often asked by friends and acquaintances about the ghost and in turn I listen to what they have heard. Folklore is a dynamic process, always being generated and always changing. Legends are created all the time and spread by word of mouth. Whether there truly was a ghost of Blegen Library or not, its story is becoming a part of Cincinnati folklore, an example of the creative process in folklore.  

Today, there are no offices or reading rooms in Blegen Library. The building is being renovated and the sounds of welding torches and drills have for a time replaced the echoes of students’ footsteps on marble stairs. The bronze panels and chandeliers and printers marks will survive the renovation. Perhaps the ghost will too, patiently awaiting another visitor.  

Here is our reenactment of part of the story:

The Haunted Basement under the Geo-Math-Phys Library by Anonymous

image of a creepy basement with mechanical equipment
View from the elevator

“There’s an urban legend here at GMP that long ago, a maintenance man accidentally died while trying to fix the service elevator. Now he haunts the GMP library and particularly can be spotted in the basement underneath GMP. One day I was teaching one of my coworkers how to use the service elevator and we decided to explore the basement since neither of us had been down there before. When we reached that floor, it was completely pitch black before we turned the lights on, meaning no one else was likely down there. As we walked in, we turned the corner and saw a very old work-station. At that station was an office swivel chair that was slightly turning all on its own. When it stopped, the seat pointed directly at us (almost as if someone wanted us to sit in it). We were both freaked out and decided to leave before exploring more. I have been down there a few times since then and luckily haven’t seen any more activity.”

The Haunted Stairwell by Mike Braunlin

Picture of the Blegen stairs from above

“Over the years, however, student assistants have told me they are uncomfortable working on the fourth floor of our Classics stacks. No one has ever reported to me anything extraordinary, but some have told me that something there made them fearful. Some students would go to great lengths to avoid working in stacks 4 and several downright refused to go there. It is most curious that the stacks photo with the shadowy figure was taken on the fourth stack level in the area where students have reported eerie sensations.  

I only experienced one unusual incident and I offer the bare telling of it; I put forth no conclusions…

Ca. 45 years ago, when I was younger, energetic, and dedicated, an inability to stay asleep often led me to go to the office early – I often came to work in Classics around 5 AM mornings. I also didn’t have to sign in and out, as now on Flex, so I could get away with that kind of thing. One winter morning (some would call it late-middle of the night) I had entered the north stairwell of Blegen from the 4th floor to walk down to level 2, where the Classics Library was in those days. I was about halfway down the stairwell, which was in darkness, but for the moonlight shining in the windows, when the entire stairwell (all levels) erupted with the noise of dozens of people talking and laughing all together.  

Illustration entitled “The Party on the Stairs” by British painter Adelaide Claxton from 1875

Imagine, if you will, a cocktail party going on in the stairwell, full of people, all talking and laughing at once – all around me. Except there was no one there. I stood there in the darkness, desperately tightening my sphincter muscles and taking in the unreality of this, until I bolted up the stairs, out the front door, and ran to the Majestic Apartments on McMillan, where 2 of our student assistants lived, Claire Sponsler and Susan Stites. I banged on the door and when they, full of sleep and surprise, let me in, I explained what happened, and lay on their couch until 8 AM, then I went back to work. Nearly scared the crap out of me, hence my sphincter reference several lines up, but I am glad for the experience. Also glad, because, 45 years on, Susan and I have been married for 33 years…”

Here is our reenactment of part of the story:

A huge thank you to all those who shared stories with us! We know we will definitely be checking over our shoulders the next time we’re in the stacks.

If you want more spooky content, check out our Instagram where yesterday we shared what gives conservation professionals nightmares:

Catarina Figueirinhas [UCL] – Assistant Conservator

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Sr. Conservation Specialist

Our Wonderful Week with Jeff Peachey: A Recap in Instagram Reels

At the end of October we were lucky enough to have Jeff Peachey come to the Lab for a week-long workshop on Leather Conservation. We covered sewing extensions, joint tacketing, board splitting and cotton hinges, leather rebacks, and knife sharpening. In the weeks following the workshop we shared highlights from the workshop on our Instagram…

Highlights from the workshop
Sewing extensions and joint tacketing

And we couldn’t not highlight the master at work (sharpening and paring leather likes its butter) and the amazing tools Jeff makes:

Leather rebacks, including board slitting, inserting a cloth hinge, lifting the original leather, dyeing the new leather, and paring and attaching the reback.

Finally, conservation ASMR…Jeff Peachey style! Make sure the sound is on for this one…

We had the best time with Jeff. He is such a knowledgable and approachable instructor, and we learned so much from him. Thanks for coming to the Preservation Lab, Jeff!

Fun fact, did you know that Jeff was inspired by a press we have in the Lab to collaborate with Timothy Moore to create a “perfect all purpose” press that you can buy for your lab or studio?!

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Social Media Coordinator and Sr. Conservation & Photographic Documentation Specialist

Recap of The Haunting of the Preservation Lab

In case you missed it, here is a highlight of our Halloween-inspired Instagram series this year…

“The Board Shear”:

“The Chemist”:

“The Saw”:

“The Haunting of the Preservation Lab – Part 1”:

“The Haunting of the Preservation Lab – Part 2”:

“Behind the Scenes – the Making of the Haunting of the Preservation Lab”


We hope everyone enjoyed our spooky Insta reel series…until next year!

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Social Media Coordinator and Sr. Conservation & Photographic Documentation Specialist

Catarina Figueirinhas (UCL) – Assistant Conservator

Preservation Horrors – A Frightening Week on Instagram

Tune into the Lab’s Instagram the entire week before Halloween, where we’ll be sharing five of the scariest “preservation horrors” that we encounter in our work. It’s bound to be a fun but frightening week that you won’t want to miss!

A very special thank you to our model, Aja Hickman, who also happened to have the wonderful idea for this event!

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Sr. Conservation & Photographic Documentation Specialist

Instagram Live Event – 10/20 at 3pm (EST)

Join the Preservation Lab staff on Wednesday, October 20th at 3pm (EST) for an quick Instagram Live event centered around a collection of Japanese bindings that were recently conserved and are now in the process of receiving specialized, custom enclosures. We’ll be talking about the two different types of bindings in the collection, creating Japanese four-sided enclosures, why we make models, and answering any questions you might have!

Mark your calendars, or better yet, follow us on Instagram @thepreservationlab for updates, because you won’t want to miss this behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the Lab. See you then!

You can now view the live event on the Preservation Lab’s IGTV.

Jessica Ebert [UCL] – Sr. Conservation & Photographic Documentation Specialist

Preservation Week 2021: Preservation in Action

Join the Lab in celebrating ALA’s Preservation Week next week, April 26th-30th. We have a lot of fun virtual happenings to check out:

Monday 26th – The Lab will be taking over the @cincylibrary Instagram stories to break down all the different facets of preservation.

Tuesday 27th – Head over the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s blog to see what our “Favorite Tools” are and why we chose them.

Wednesday 28th – We’ll be sharing our “Favorite Treatments/Projects” right here on our blog.

Thursday 29th – Catarina and Jessica will be “Live in the Lab” at 12pm for an Instagram Live event hosted by @cincylibrary

Friday 30th – We will have a new video up on our YouTube channel – “How to Create Your Own Collapsible Punching Cradle”.

We hope that you can join us for all the activities we have in store for Preservation Week 2021. If you can’t wait for the celebration to begin, then check out our past Preservation Week activities!

Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Tech & Photographic Documentation Specialist & Catarina Figueirinhas [UCL] – Senior Conservation Tech