Ghost Hunting in the Library

We can all agree that we have seen ghosts in Dupré Library. It is usually around finals week, and these specters are fast asleep in the deep recesses of the hallways. They’re guzzling copious amounts of coffee with looks of exhausted determination. Or eliciting eerie moans as they recite yet another round of elements of the periodic table.

But are there more than just sleep-deprived students haunting the hallways? On March 8th, a team of students and library employees went on the hunt to find the answer. Using ghost hunting equipment purchased with a Friends of Humanities grant, Professor Shelley Ingram led her English 370 Ghost Hunting class on a spooky quest through the halls of Dupré Library. With electromagnetic field detectors in hand, the students focused their exploration on the 3rd floor and the original staircase. Using a spirit box, which allows ghosts to communicate through radio waves, one group of students had a conversation with a spirit in the stairwell. Other students spotted shadow figures in the 3rd floor stacks. Even Edith Garland Dupré herself made a surprise guest appearance and joined the hunt (pictured).

As a result of this collaboration between Professor Ingram and the library, the ghost hunting equipment will be available for check out in the Library of Things beginning this summer. Be sure to keep an eye out for the new additions–and a third eye on those 3rd floor stacks.