Haunted Michigan: Ladies' Library Club in Ypsilanti

 

Ladies Library Club in Ypsilanti, Michigan - Photo from Ypsilanti Restoration

Ypsilanti, Michigan has quite a reputation for its haunted hotspots. One of my favorites is the Ladies' Library.

Built in 1858, the former Ladies' Library Club was the home of Edwin Mills. Mills lived there for quite a few years before selling to the Starkweather family. The last descendant of the second owner Mary Anne Starkweather. I've also seen her name spelled as Maryanne, Mary Ann, and just Mary. Starkweather was a fan of reading and thought the city could benefit from a new library.

In 1890, she decided to donate her former family home to the Ladies' Library Association. Eastern Michigan University used the building up through 1964 as a library for students. As the story goes, Starkweather agreed to donate the building as long as the university used it as a library for a full century. Before a century passed though, EMU turned her old home into an admin building with office spaces. It seems as though Mary isn't very happy with that decision.

Visitors occasionally claim they saw a woman walking through the halls. Some who live nearby even say they saw an older woman staring out of one of the windows at night. Others, including some of the club's members, heard eerie footsteps and saw shadows moving when no one was there.

A janitor who worked in the old building told an unusual story about his experiences there. The man was working late one night in the basement. As he cleaned, he thought he felt eyes following his movements. Trying to hurry through his work, he was just about to shut down for the night when icy cold hands reached out from the darkness and began grabbing him and running over his body. The man quickly left and refused to work there by himself at night.

Starkweather and her husband not only owned the house, but they also owned a large portion of the land now occupied by the university. They used the land as a massive orchard they filled with hundreds of trees. Though some believe she sticks around to keep an eye on the property, others believe she isn't happy with what happened to her old home. That might explain who so many who spotted her said she had a scowl on her face.

The Ladies' Library Club building is in Ypsilanti, Michigan for those who want to check it out.