
From Haunted Posey County by Joni Mayhan
55 South Cale Street
Poseyville, Indiana
Library ghosts have always intrigued me. Imagine loving your job so much, you deny yourself a trip to Heaven and go back to work instead. It happens more than you might imagine. Visit any old library and ask the head librarian if they have a ghost, and you might be surprised by the answer. Librarians are a dedicated group of people.
Such is the case with the Poseyville Carnegie Public Library.
Their first library was established in 1898 and was located in a section of an old opera house. It housed just over 400 books.
In 1903, the growing library was moved to a room in the town hall, but it still wasn’t sufficient. George Waters, a local banker, wrote to Andrew Carnegie, hoping for help in building a more permanent location.
Andrew Carnegie was better known for his steel empire, but he also had a soft spot for libraries. For forty-six years, from 1883-1929, he provided grant funds to build 2,500 libraries nationwide.
Eager for a bigger library, Waters waited for as long as possible, but when he didn’t receive a response from the Carnegie Corporation, he instigated a meeting with the tycoon. His efforts eventually paid off. The town received a $5,500 grant, doled out in three installments. The final $500 was provided at a later date to pay for library furniture.

Land was donated by Leroy Williams, and soon, a small Neo-Classical Revival building was constructed on the site. After its dedication in 1905, the library was filled with nearly a thousand books. By the end of the year, nearly three-hundred people had borrowed books from the new library. The Poseyville Carnegie Public Library was the smallest of the Carnegie Libraries until 2000, when the library was expanded into the lot next door to provide a children’s room.
The lot next door was once the site of a boarding house. Some say it had a rather ill repute. One person I spoke with referred to it as a house of prostitution. Regardless of what it was, the land, once again, played a larger role in the haunting.
Stories about the library’s hauntings have endured for decades. Surprisingly, one of their primary ghosts isn’t actually a librarian.
In February of 2020, Library Director, Heather Morlan, was sitting at the library’s information desk when she noticed someone coming through the front door on their security monitor.
She recognized the woman as Linda Reising, their Board of Directors president, but she was surprised to see a young boy tagging along behind her.
The boy appeared to be around ten years-old and was wearing an old-fashioned blue jacket with the hood pulled up over his head. Heather jumped up, excited to see a child coming into the library. As she made her way around the desk, armed with candy and stickers, she didn’t see the boy.
“Where’s the boy?” she asked.
“What boy?” Linda asked, looking around her, wondering what Heather was talking about.
“I swear I saw a boy come through the door with you,” she said and then described him. Remembering she saw it on the library’s security camera, she ran back to the monitor to rewind the footage. To her astonishment, the boy had vanished. The screen was fuzzy in the places where he had been.
When Heather told her what she saw, Linda was visually startled. She had just returned from a trip to Oklahoma and had visited the grave of her father’s younger brother. The boy died at a young age from asthma. Could it be the same boy? Did he follow her from the cemetery?
Linda showed Heather a photo of the boy and the similarities were remarkable. It looked like the same boy, but what he did next made them wonder. Instead of following Linda back home, he remained at the library.
Silver Nelson, who has been employed at the library since 2019, has also witnessed him on the monitor.
“One day, a woman came in, and there was a little boy with her. When she got inside, the boy disappeared,” she said. “He likes to come in with families.” Nearly everyone who works at the library has seen him from time to time, but the only place he’s been spotted is near the front door.

There is another resident ghost that won’t surprise most people. The Poseyville Carnegie Library also has a librarian ghost. While no one is absolutely certain about her identity, they are pretty sure it’s Miss Carol.
Miss Carol was a legend in Poseyville. She was the head librarian for 45 years until she retired in 1997. Heather grew up in Poseyville and has fond memories of her.
“She walked around town with her pocketbook, hat and gloves. She had electricity at her house, but no indoor plumbing. She heated her house with an old wood burning stove that she also cooked on, and she chopped her own wood. She never drove. Her brother drove her into town and then brought her home every night,” she told me.
Miss Carol was a true throwback to the elegance of the 1940s. She always dressed professionally, with a formal flare, wearing stylish hats and gloves when she went out in public. Her prim and proper mannerisms were also conveyed in the way she managed the library.
Before the addition was added, the library was divided into two sections. When you came into the entryway, there was a room to the right that housed adult books and a room to the left with children’s books.
“She wouldn’t ever let me into the right side. She’d only let me into the left side where the children’s books were,” Heather told me, smiling. As a Sunday school teacher, she was protective of her younger patrons.
After she retired in 1997, the library felt different. Everyone was so used to seeing Miss Carol sitting in her chair in the entryway behind the library counter; it seemed strange to see someone else in that spot.
Miss Carol retired to her small house on the outskirts of town and enjoyed her retirement. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.
Miss Carol’s life came to a tragic end on May 5, 2004. She was at home, chopping wood for her wood stove when a drifter, looking for items to steal, walked through her unlocked front door. Miss Carol must have heard the commotion and walked through the back door, surprising him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
The intruder grabbed an axe that was propped up against the wall beside the door and violently attacked her until she was dead.
The man was apprehended quickly and arrested. Due to a plea agreement, he was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the death of the seventy-nine year-old librarian, something that didn’t sit well with the town.
Her death hit the town hard and still resonates to this day.
“Miss Carol was loved by everyone in town,” Heather told me. “She never had an unkind word for anyone.”
Soon after her death, her house was bulldozed, leaving nothing more than a long gravel lane. Life moved on, as it always does. The library continued to function, with new employees replacing those who left, but Miss Carol’s stamp is still firmly on the library she loved so well.
The new children’s room is named in her honor, and a photo of her sits beside the doorway for all to see. And if her memory isn’t enough, her presence is also frequently felt. Some feel that Miss Carol still lingers at the library.
Sometimes when they’re working, the librarians will hear books shuffling on the shelf as though someone is walking down the row straightening them. Silver told me that when she’s working alone, sometimes books will get knocked off a cart that sits in the entranceway.
“I just go pick up the book and put it somewhere else. I just figured Miss Carol didn’t want it there,” she said.
In years past, a rocking chair that Miss Carol used to sit in during story hour for the youngsters would begin rocking on its own accord. Patrons and employees witnessed it countless times.
The basement of the library also seems to be a paranormal hotspot. Heather was down there looking through boxes and heard the distinct sound of someone in the other room.
Someone was shifting boxes and moving them around, despite the fact that all the lights were off. She was spooked by the noises and didn’t walk into the other room to look. When she went back upstairs, she asked Silver if there was anyone else in the building, and she confirmed her suspicions. No one else was in the building, at least not anyone living. Others have experienced similar things, making the basement a creepy spot.
They also sometimes smell pipe smoke. The old part of the library sits on land that was once owned by a veterinarian. They tore his house down to build the library. And not surprising to anyone, he frequently smoked a pipe.
While we had investigated the library before, we’d never investigated it with a public group. On October 11, 2025, we did just that. As is customary for our events, we divided into three groups and rotated them through three locations inside the library: the main library room, the children’s room and the basement.

The Library Room
I led the group in the Library Room, using a spirit box. My choice for the investigation was actually a phone app called the Ghost Tube Vox. I’ve never been fond of phone apps, but I’ve gotten really good results from this one.
During our first session, we began to learn more about the ghosts who haunt the building. It started immediately as we introduced ourselves. Someone said, “You sound good.”
The library staff have had issues with the timers on the lights. Someone keeps turning them completely off. When we asked, “Who messes with the lights?” we were told, “Need it to work.” Perhaps he wasn’t happy with the way the system was configured.
I was starting to get a complex early on. I asked them if they’d seen my book, Haunted Posey County and was told “It’s going to rot away.” Thanks ghosts!
They apparently weren’t done bashing me. When someone asked how long they’d been there, someone told them, “It’s never been Joni.” Okay, then….
If that wasn’t enough, one of them felt the need to truly creep us out by telling us he was coming up to us.
We asked about the boy who has been seen and was told he was ten years old.
As is common, we often hear something come through the spirit box that isn’t accurate. When I told the group we still had time, we thought we heard “Eight.” And ironically, it was eight o’clock. Upon review, it didn’t say eight. It said something that wasn’t comprehendible. But we did get another response in connection with the time. A female voice told us “We stillhave time.” I asked what we had time to do and was told, “Bury the clock.”
Our second session was largely comprised of library board of director members and librarians. If anybody could get the library ghosts to communicate with us, it would be them.
When we asked for their names, we were told “Cold.” I’ve always wondered if they feel temperature and this gave us some comfirmation.
We got a lot of names during this session. When someone asked his name, a male voice told us, “Israel.”
When asked to tell us something about himself, he said, “Awesome. He can speak!”
I love when we get an intelligent conversation going. A female asked if we were still with her. When we told her we were still there, a male voice told us, “That’s good.”
They were a friendly group of ghosts. One told us, “Ken says hi!”
We’d been asking all night how long they’ve been there, but didn’t get a response until much later. This male told us, “I’ve been here a long time. Help you.”
Linda asked if they liked having so many people in the library. She didn’t get a direct answer, but we did get a name. “George,” he told us.
When we confirmed this, he told us ‘Yeah.”
Probably the most surprising communication we got was a “Happy Birthday!” Turns out, one of our guests had a birthday the day before.
Our third and final session was interesting once again. We got our first responses as we were introducing ourselves.
Bekka is an animal lover and asked if they had any ghost animals there. They laughed and told her, “We got a zoo.”
This group learned about a man named Robert in the basement session. He asked if we were speaking to him and another man told us, “He’s security.”
Bekka seemed to get a lot of responses during this session. She asked if they ever came back to the library and a male voice questioned her, “This house?”
When asked if they lived there when it was a house, a female voice asked, “With a baby?”
Bekka complimented them on their beautiful plants, but was told “That’s a lot of money.”
Piper asked if it was interesting for them to have so many people in there at once. A voice told her it was “packed.”
Sometimes the resident spirits tell us things without a question. In this case, they informed us they were “eating supper.”
Our final responses were a bit heart-wrenching. They told us it was “never ending.”
When asked what was never ending, they told us, “Our lives.”
The Basement
As usual, Traci held court in the basement, utilizing the Estes Method. This experiment uses a Spirit Box, which is a modified radio that scans rapidly through the channels. Ghosts can speak through the white noise. Typically, investigators use these alone and listen to the responses generated from their questions. In this experiment, we connect a listener directly to the Spirit Box with headphones. They can’t hear the questions asked of them, and because they keep their eyes closed for the duration of the session, they also can’t see if anyone is speaking.
This process eliminates false answers. The listener has no idea what questions were asked, so they can’t attempt to interpret the response. They only know what they hear and they speak their responses aloud. We’ve found that some listeners actually go into a trance-like channeling state and pick up far more than other people. Thus was the Case with Ashley.
Ashley began attending our paranormal events as a guest. It didn’t take us long to realize that she was phenomenal at the Estes Method. Ashley is a psychic medium and can tune into the other side. When she dons the headphones for the Estes Method, she literally opens a door for us to learn more about the haunting. We brought her on as a team member in 2024 and began bringing her to our investigations to demonstrate the experiment, but to also give us better insight.
First Session

Traci’s first session was largely comprised of the library’s board of directors. They knew a lot of inside information and were able to ask great questions.
This video captures the beginning of Ashley’s session: https://youtu.be/d3u6K-Aeskc?si=FVq98rhrcW0hWP2x
Ashley immediately tuned into Carol.
Ashley: Hello, everyone!
Ashley: My name’s Carol.
Ashley: Welcome!
Ashley: This was God’s plan.
Q: What was God’s plan – Yes
Q: How long did you live in Poseyville – I worked here. I worked here as a long time as a librarian.
Ashley: Why are you here? – We are here to visit you.
Ashley: I don’t quite understand, but that’s okay.
Ashley: Do you see me here? – no, we don’t see here.
Ashley: My last name is Lamar. I’m sorry I didn’t say earlier.
Ashley: I’m 79.
Ashley: It’s nice to have you here.
Ashley: Why is Joni not down here? Why is she upstairs? – She’s working with a different group.
Q; Do you remember walking to the post office with your white gloves and cute hat? – Stop that.
Ashley: Did you guys look through all the books upstairs? – yes
Q: What was your favorite section in the library? – There’s a few.
Ashley: I miss working here.
Ashley: I liked staying here.
Q: Do you remember a boy names Jim Reising who used to come here? – Yes
Ashley: Did you say your name is Traci? – I’ve been here before with Joni. Do you remember me? – Yes
Ashley: I’m buried here in the cemetery here. Maybe you can come visit.
Ashley: They dedicated this library to me at one point. It was kind of nice. I was here.
Ashley: I don’t think I’m very good at this. – You’re doing very well.
Ashley: This was quite a surprise. I guess that’s what she said.
Q: Miss Carol, it’s Tina Craft. Do you remember me? Yes.
Ashley: All I cared about was working here. They take good care of it now. I’m proud of them.
There’s a lot of people upstairs.
Q: Were you married? No response to this or whether she had children.
Ashley: There’s a child upstairs in the children’s room. I hope you get to meet him. His name is Timothy.
Q: How old is Timothy? – I don’t understand. I come here daily.
Q: Does Timothy come here every day? I really don’t understand how to answer your questions.
At that point, they pulled Ashley out of the session. She reported that it was beginning to feel a little heavy. She knew who she was talking to. She said she knew Carol didn’t want to answer some of the questions.
The next person took over the role of listening, but she didn’t have any luck. Traci took over as listener.
Traci: Hey. I see you. I know. (Traci said it was a male)
Q: Can you tell us your name? Traci: I’ve been here a long time.
Q: Who is that? This is Ashley. Traci: I know her.
Traci: Well, will you look at that?
Traci: Go. Outside. Go on.
Traci: Fix it. What do we need to fix? The lights.
Q: Are you the one messing with the timer? Traci: I don’t want it.
Q: Is this Timothy? Traci: Robert.
Q: What can you tell us about yourself? Traci: I’m down here.
Traci: I feel something. Alive.
Traci: It’s going to be okay.
Traci: I’ll come to you whenever I want.
Traci: The basement. He waits here. I did see you here before.
Traci: I can’t go. Q: Where can’t you go?
Traci: Get Joni. Q: Okay, we can let Joni know. She’s upstairs though.
Traci was leaning forward and then said, “She has her butt out.” That caused Traci to straighten up and the group laughed. Traci said she heard mostly a male, but a female would pop in on occasion. At one point she said, “You’re creepy,” in response to the male.
Traci said at one point, something touched her on her stomach. It was so pronounced, she thought someone in the group had touched her.
Second Session
Ashley started the session again as a listener. Here’s a video: https://youtu.be/vKgM9vRL-iE?si=Hy_8m-1UJUTqOF1n
Q: Can you tell us your name? Ashley: Robert
Q: Did you work here? Ashley: Last name is Lamar.
Traci: It’s nice to meet you, Robert Lamar.
Ashley: Carol’s here’s too. Well, of course. Here I am.
Ashley: What is your name?
Bekka: My name is Bekka.
Ashley: It’s a small group compared to last.
Ashley: Carol is here and she wants to talk.
Ashley: I tried to tell the last group that the library is my favorite place. I hope you like it too.
Ashley: The noises are me. (they were hearing noises in the other rooms)
Ashley: That was the little boy touching her. (referring to Traci’s last session)
Ashley: He was found guilty?
Q: Who was found guilty? Ashley: Herbert was found guilty.
Q: What did he do? Ashley: Carol’s gone because of him.
Ashley: I’m here to the left of her. The left of Ashley. That’s where I am.
Ashley: Head pain. She’s feeling head pane.
Ashley: Where do we go from here?
Q: Am I talking to Carol? Ashley: I’m here.
Ashley heard a scream in the headphones.
Ashley: I feel like what happened is making her sad. She feels the pain.
Ashley: Ax. There was an ax.
Ashley: Quiet and you’ll hear me.
Ashley: What she’s feeling is heavy. It is.
Traci pulled Ashley out of the session. She said it was very heavy. Joseph was the next listener.

Joseph: You.
Q: Is Carol still here? Joseph: He’s here.
Q: Is it Timothy or Robert? Joseph: Left. Footsteps.
Q: Who am I speaking with? Joseph: Crossing over. Footsteps. Do it.
Q: Is Carol still here? Joseph: Like. Like. What are you doing?
Joseph: I said now. Spoke.
Q: Who are you? Joseph: Oh my. Two. Woman.
Q” Which two women? Joseph: Stomach’s growling.
Joseph: His hand’s out. Are you standing next to him?
Joseph: Porch. Q: Did you like sitting on your porch? Joseph: They are on a porch? He is.
Q: Who is he? Joseph: Trophy.
Joseph: Go. Q: Is there somewhere we should go?
Q: Where are you? Joseph: I’m right here.
Joseph: Let them. Q: Let them what?
Joseph: Behind the door. Whoops!
Q: Are you not supposed to talk about the door? Joseph: Of course.
Joseph: That sound. Comes from over there.
Joseph: Can I walk over to the door? (the door was moving as this was happening).
Joseph: Head pain. Again. Trauma.
Q: Did something happen? Joseph: Let them.
Joseph: Force. Thing. Bring it. Off. Table. Right.
Q: What color shirt am I wearing? Joseph: I don’t know.
Joseph: Off. Him. Crying.
Joseph: Who’s crying? I appreciate it. Help.
Q: How can we help you? Joseph: I’m not going over there. Thank you.
Joseph: See you there. Golf cart.
Q: Is Timothy still here? Joseph: Tobacco use.
Q: Who smoked? Joseph: Smells. Thank you.
Joseph: Spa. Bleeding. Ooof! Calling. Bleeding.
Traci pulled him out because he seemed to be getting agitated. He said he felt shaking and something kept touching his arm.
They put Piper in as a listener.

Q: Do you remember anyone’s name? Piper: Do you?
Piper: Do it. Over there. Not your mother.
Piper: No, you’re not my mother.
Piper: You and I.
Q: Can you let everyone else know who this is? Piper: It’s all.
Q: What’s all? Piper: Revolution. This.
She reported hearing a thumping noise.
Piper: Time. Of course. Already. Going. Electric. And I.
Q: Did you move? Piper: Me. Sutton. It’s. Oh. Nine years old.
The group was hearing whispering behind them (it wasn’t caught on the recorder).
Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell this group? Piper: Eleven years old.
The door opened upstairs as Jason came down.
Piper: He’s here. Ten. Sorry. Sudden. Shaking. It happens up. All. I drift. More than ever.
Q: Are you always here with living people? Piper: Maybe.
They pulled her out. She could almost feel someone standing in front of her.
Bekka really wanted to try it, even though they only had a minute or two.

Q: Who is this?
Q: Who is whispering? Bekka: Me. I am. Two.
Q: Are there two of them? Bekka: You are right here.
Q: We’re still here, but we’re getting ready to leave. Bekka: Sip. Washington. It’s regular. Wednesday.
Q: Is something happening on Wednesday? Bekka: Dreams. Of me.
The K2 was going off on the table.
Q: Are you touching the thing on the table? Bekka: Married.
Bekka: Hardcore. Don’t freak out.
Can you make it light up again? (it lit up)
Both K2s started lighting up, but they needed to end the session. They pulled her out and went to break.
Third Session

Ashley was the first listener. She told them there was a deep, creepy voice that said, “I’m here.”
Ashley: Robert. It’s Robert again.
Q: We’re glad you’re back. Can you tell them about yourself?
Ashley: There’s quite a few of you. Bigger than the last group.
Ashley: That’s mine.
Q: What’s yours?
Ashley: Carol’s here.
Ashley: This is more peaceful than home.
Ashley: Help.
Q: Did you work here?
Q: I’m here. Can you find me?
Q: Where are you at, Carol? Ashley: I touched that last session. That thing on the table.
Ashley: I’ll try to touch it again. I’m around here.
Q: Have you been here for long? Ashley: You got me!
She said she was feeling a lot of back, head pain.
Ashley: That’s what happened to me.
Ashley: Sounds like someone is running.
Ashley: I’m near her. I have been all night.
Q: Who are you near? Ashley: Near Ashley.
Ashley: Here. I’m here. Hallway.
Ashley: That was me. I touched her.
Traci: You can’t touch Ashley. Ashley: It’s okay.
Ashley: I’m here.
She said it sounded like something heavy was dropped on the floor.
Ashley: She feels my head pain.
Ashley: The library is peaceful to me. I don’t want to go home.
Q: Where is home? Ashley: I was opening the door. The door to the right. Watch it.
Traci explained that the door had been opening all night. Ashley: That’s me.
Ashley: Fuck off.
Traci: That wasn’t nice. Don’t talk to them like that.
Q: Carol, is Robert your brother?
Ashley: I was whispering earlier. She heard me.
Ashley: I was upstairs. I followed her upstairs (their dowsing rod session heard whispering)
Ashley: Straight up.
Q: Are you picking up some lingo from the youngsters here? Ashley: Maybe
Ashley: Cross over.
Ashley: Did you enjoy your job here?
Ashley: She was just a girl. Are you talking about a girl?
Ashley: I’m feeling head pain again. (several others felt the same thing)
Ashley: I don’t know. Herbert. That’s who did it.
Q: What’s your favorite book, Carol? Ashley: I don’t know.
Q: How long have you been here? Ashley: Find me.
Ashley: That was me. Why are you recording?
Traci: So we can listen to it later and put your story together.
Ashley: You recorded me lighting up the light? Traci: Yes, we were.
Ashley: I’ll try to do it again. Do you like the library?
Traci: Yes, we do!
Ashley: What was that? Her head really hurts.
Q: I’m so sorry to hear that.
Ashley: Oh man!
Q: Can you touch the meter on the table? Ashley: Slow down.
Q: How old are you? Ashley: Ashley seemed really sad. I don’t know how to help her.
Traci: She’ll be okay. She just feels bad for you.
Ashley: I don’t know.
Q: Is Robert still here? Ashley: Help me.
Q: Who needs help?
Ashley: Sounds like two people arguing back and forth. Go. You’re a dumb woman. Yeah, there’s quite a few of them.
Q: Is there anything we can do about the head pain for you? Ashley: I’m over here. Come towards the door.
Traci walked over. Ashley: I’m here. Look alive.
Traci: Can you move something for me? Ashley: Head pain is all she feels.
Traci pulled her out of the session. She seemed to be getting agitated. Michelle went under.
Michelle: How come?
Traci: Because Ashley needed a break, so Michelle is going to give it a try.
Q: Is Robert still here?
Michelle: Tell me more.
Michelle said she was getting a really bad head pain.
Traci: You’re not allowed to touch Michelle. Michelle: Yeah.
Michelle: I’m here.
Michelle came out on her own. She said she felt like someone hit her on the head and she could taste blood in her mouth.
They put Peyton in as a listener.

Peyton: Come on.
Q: Who am I talking to? Peyton: What are you doing?
Q: You can touch the meter on the table. Peyton: You can. Don’t
Peyton: I changed it.
Q: Who’s with us? Carol. Matt
Q: Does Matt know Carol?
Peyton: Don’t
Q: Is there anything you want to tell us about Matt? Peyton: When Robert visits.
Q: What do you want us to know about him?
Peyton: Crazy. I hope that you know.
Peyton: It’s you.
Q: What about me? Peyton: You’re dirty
Ashley: Okay. Why do you think that?
Peyton: Get back.
Q: Are we talking to Matt or Robert?
Peyton: Dodge.
Peyton: And people.
Q: What do you want us to know? Peyton: In the backyard.
Q: What about the backyard? Peyton: Getting through.
Peyton: Carol, what do you want us to know?
Peyton: I don’t want it. I don’t want it. I don’t want it.
Q: What do you not want?
Peyton: Hey there. To the back room.
Q: What’s back there? Peyton: He’s young. You can do it. You (talking to Traci)
There was another thud back in that room.
Peyton: Glad you picked me.
Traci pulled Peyton out and put Heather in.

She had pressure and physical anxiety during the session.
Heather: Do it. Get back.
Q: Do you not want Ashley by the door?
Heather: Help you.
Q: We’d like to know more about your story.
Heather: Run.
Q: How long were you a librarian?
Heather: Help you.
Q: What do you want to help us with? Heather: I like her.
Q: Can you tell us about your head pain? Heather: Help.
Heather: Yard.
Traci told her that we would bring flowers to her grave and she said, “Carol.”
Children’s Room
Whistling Rick led a dowsing rod session in the Children’s Room, but due to technical difficulties on Rick’s part, no audio was recorded.





Conclusion
All in all, we learned a lot about the resident souls who linger at the Poseyville Carnegie Public Library. We spoke with Miss Carol. learned that the little boy’s name is Timothy and discovered who is messing with the lights (Robert). We’d like to thank Heather Morlan and the entire library staff for allowing us to do this investigation.
As always, thank you to my amazing team for making everything go so flawless.
