Indiana Paranormal Activity

The 1984 film Ghostbusters famously opens with a paranormal investigation of a haunted New York library. Who could forget the angry spirit of a librarian or Dan Aykroid’s famous line, “get her?!”

One of Indiana’s most famous true ghost stories is the tale of the haunting of the Willard Library in Evansville. This historic library, built in 1885, is renowned not only for its extensive collection of books but also for its resident ghost, the “Grey Lady.”

The Grey Lady of Willard Library

The Grey Lady, as she’s called due to her appearance in a long grey dress, has been spotted numerous times by both staff and visitors. The first reported sighting occurred in 1937, when a maintenance worker saw her in the basement. Since then, there have been countless reports of strange occurrences attributed to her presence.

Many witnesses describe the Grey Lady as a misty apparition, sometimes appearing as a full-bodied figure and other times as just a shadowy outline. She’s often seen roaming the hallways, peering around corners, or standing quietly in the library’s rooms. In addition to sightings, people have reported other unexplained phenomena: books and other objects moving on their own, the sound of footsteps when no one is there, and sudden drops in temperature.

One particularly famous incident involved a library security guard who, while making his rounds, saw the Grey Lady near the water fountain. He described her as having a mournful expression, and when he approached her, she vanished into thin air.

Over the years, the Grey Lady has become a local legend, and her presence is so well-known that the library has set up webcams for ghost hunters and curious visitors to try to catch a glimpse of her. Despite numerous investigations by paranormal researchers, her identity and the reason for her haunting remain a mystery.

Some speculate that the Grey Lady might be Louise Carpenter, the daughter of the library’s founder, Willard Carpenter. Louise contested her father’s will, claiming she had been cheated out of her inheritance. Others believe she could be a former librarian or even someone who lived on the land before the library was built.

In the early 2000’s I wrote automated scripts to download Willard webcam photos, sort them by date/time, and delete the duplicates. Each day I would view each image hoping to catch a glimpse of the Grey Lady. Sadly I was not fortunate enough to capture definitive proof of her existence.

So whether she’s a figment of overactive imaginations or a genuine ghost, the Grey Lady of Willard Library continues to intrigue and spook those who encounter her, making her one of Indiana’s most enduring ghost stories.