Walking with the library ghosts

Ghost stories from the Sweetwater County Library in Green River have been shared, and officially documented, for decades. In addition to the everyday haunted happenings that people report, around Halloween the public is specifically invited to go to the library and reach out to the spirits. 

The Ghost Walk Crew and the Sweetwater County Library Foundation host ghost walks at the library each year. These walks provide an opportunity for those who are curious about ghost hunting, or about the spirits at the library, to explore for themselves. 

"Our investigations are real-time. Everything that happens is the spirits," Tiffany Kennah explained. "We don't control them. We don't have any jump scares. Nothing here is staged. We're not here to scare you, we're not here to entertain you. Everything is up to the spirits and what they want to do."

Kennah, who is currently a librarian at the Green River library and a member of the Ghost Walk Crew, helped lead the most recent ghost walk last Saturday evening at 9:30 p.m. She began by explaining the history of the library to the roughly 20 people who gathered for the walk. 

The land the library was built on was the original cemetery when Green River was first beginning to develop as a town. Eventually, the bodies were moved to their current resting places in the Riverview Cemetery. However, due to poor record keeping, inconsistent burial procedures, and the ground shifting, not all the bodies could be found. The land was used for veteran housing after World War II. After that housing was eventually torn down, a swing set was put on the land. When ground for the new library was broken in 1978, more bodies were found and moved. As work was done on the library in later years, even more bodies were recovered. 

Since the 1990s, paranormal experiences at the library have been officially documented. Library staff started doing investigations of their own, and reported interactions with the spirits. Eventually, the Ghost Walk Crew was formed and regular ghost walks were hosted. 

The walks serve as an opportunity for people to try to interact with the spirits using standard ghost hunting equipment. Kennah explained to the ghost walk participants on Saturday night that their attitude could determine how responsive the spirits were. 

"The more energy you guys bring, the more energy they're going to show you," she said. 

She also noted how important it is to be open and friendly, and explained that the Ghost Walk Crew is especially strict about enforcing that no one on the walk antagonizes, provokes, or disrespects the spirits. 

"We have a good relationship with them," Kennah said of the spirits, explaining that Ghost Walk Crew members like herself, who work at the library, especially want to maintain that good relationship. 

As they were encouraged to investigate as a group, participants at the walk were also invited to use ghost hunting equipment, which was provided by the Ghost Walk Crew and explained by Crew Members Ian and Sami Doak. 

Star photo by Hannah Romero

Ghost walk participants gather in the women's bathroom to use their ghost hunting equipment.

Some of the equipment used during the walk included EMF detectors REM pods, thermal guns, an ovilus, and SLS cameras. Ian explained that EMF detectors were originally designed for electricians to use. With a row of lights that go from green to yellow to red, the meters go off when they detect electric energy. REM pods similarly have lights and noises that go off when anything comes into contact with their antenna. Thermal guns measure temperature and show outlines of figures. An ovilus is a device that is programmed with a dictionary and will say words when it detects changes in energy. And SLS cameras detect when people are in front of them, mapping a stick figure onto that person on the camera's screen. 

Ian explained that much of the equipment will go off when people are walking around with it, and can sometimes be set off by things like phones. To avoid this, all participants were asked to keep their phones on airplane mode during the walk. But Ian pointed out that the strength of the devices is when they start going off when everything is still and there is nothing obvious triggering them. When they go off in a timely and repetitive manner as the investigator is asking questions, "that's when it starts to get really fun," Ian said. 

The ghost walk took participants to multiple locations in the library where activity has been reported, including the women's bathroom, the lobby, the children's area, and upstairs. As participants used their equipment, they had several devices go off in each location. 

In the lobby, the SLS camera picked up a stick figure when it was pointed to an area where no one was standing. Before the stick figure even appeared, Kennah had explained that the SLS has previously picked up the figure of a man who appears to be playing a guitar. 

Star photo by Hannah Romero

A stick figure can be seen on the SLS camera.

In the Young Adult area, one ovilus said the name "Ian." Ian Doak replied "That's me," and the device said "dramatic." When one of the participants asked "Is Ian being dramatic?" an EMF detector sitting on the table lit up. 

In the same area, several participants used EMF detectors to ask questions and waited for the devices to light up to signal an affirmative answer. For several minutes they asked questions of a spirit named Jack. When they asked if he was in World War II, the EMF detector lit up, and a nearby ovilus said the word "battle." Kennah listened to the questions and took notes. When the subject of smoking came up, she asked, "are you the one we smell smoking a pipe in the staff lounge?" 

Upstairs, participants had a similar question session, waiting for EMF detector lights or the ringing of a bell that functions like a REM pod to signal an affirmative answer. After asking the spirit of Deborah if she was a chemist, the bell rang, and an ovilus said "science." 

The investigation continued until it was nearly midnight and had to be wrapped up. Afterwards, Ian Doak noted that this particular ghost walk was an especially active one. 

"Compared to the last one I went to, this one was crazy," he said, explaining that his last walk only had a little bit of activity on the devices in one area of the library. 

Sami added that even the walk that had taken place earlier that same evening had gotten no activity at all upstairs. 

Sami and Ian also explained that they do their best to debunk things as they go through the investigations, such as making sure the equipment isn't being set off by anything else, and trying to check whether evidence can be recreated. 

The Doaks have been a part of the Ghost Walk Crew for the past eight years, having joined after participating in the library's ghost walks regularly. Since they've been a fan of watching paranormal shows, and are now fans of doing and leading ghost walks themselves, they have seen a wide variety of investigations with different amounts of activity and evidence. 

"Every night is something different. You never get the exact same thing," Sami said, explaining that one of her favorite parts of the ghost walk is the fact that "there's always something new to discover."

The Ghost Walk Crew will host two special holiday ghost walks, called "The Ghosts of Christmas Past," on December 7. Kennah explained that these events are just like the Halloween ghost walks, but include food as well. Tickets go on sale November 16, and Kennah explained that all the proceeds from the ghost walks go to the Library Foundation, which helps support library programs and community outreach.