Original subtitles

- My name is Kelly Ferchau.

I've worked for the public libraries

of Saginaw for 35 years.

Working in a library as old as this

or any building as old as this, I guess,

you always hear about oh, is it haunted?

Are there ghosts?

Do you ever experienced anything

out of the ordinary?

Every once in awhile, while we're looking at old newspapers,

we might read something where someone actually died

in the library, so you know, then you think

well, maybe that's that person's spirit is here.

- I know there are portions of the library

that some of the employees either try to avoid

or absolutely avoid

because they have experienced paranormal activity

and were very upset by it.

- To me, this is one of the creepiest areas of the library.

I cannot come down here without getting goose bumps

on my arms and the back of my neck.

One time I was walking down one of the aisles

and there was someone in front of me,

no one behind me, and I felt something

tugging on the back of my sweater.

And that is a feeling that you know what that is.

It couldn't have been anything else.

There was no one there.

I turned around, nothing but darkness.

- Hoyt library has a colorful past.

People talked about some of the paranormal activity

that was happening at Hoyt.

You didn't hear it all the time, but one of the things

that I heard was that there was a video,

a short clip online from Hoyt library,

of a chair in the basement,

and it was just spinning.

And so I did go out on the Internet and I looked at that

and I was quite amazed by it.

Because at that time I wasn't terribly interested

the paranormal.

I can't really say that I believed in ghosts,

but I didn't disbelieve.

I'm a believer now.

- Right now, we're headed into the fiction room.

This originally was the reading room.

I've only heard one story about there being

an encounter here.

A patron a few years ago was down here looking

at works of fiction,

and there was a little girl

sitting here, a little blond girl,

about four years old.

And all I could think is that maybe it's a little girl

who's waiting for story time.

When this section of the library was the children's

department, and the librarian would sit here

on the floor with the children and read them a story.

- The area that we're in now is called the tech attic.

This is really a storage area for the library.

This is probably the most active

and most disturbing of all the places in the library

where people have experienced some kind of haunting.

This particular room has had everything happen

from books moving by themselves on the shelf,

footsteps that sound like someone with hobnail shoes

walking around, when there's no one in the room,

to lights being messed around with,

turned on, turned off.

When you hit the switch, the lights go on one way,

and then they go off, and the only other light switch

is at the bottom of the stairs.

- When was the last time that happened?

- Just now, actually, when we came in the room.

Yeah, I'm a little bit creeped out by it right now.

- This the Michigan room.

Several people who work here

don't like going into this room.

In 2010, I was here.

It was late at night.

The library was about ready to close,

and I was working at the desk.

I looked up and going across

inside the room

was the shadow figure of a woman

in a long dress.

She just went from this side to that side

and that's all there was.

Here on the grand staircase

when I leave at night and other people leave at night

we always had a feeling that somebody is

up on the landing,

just staring at us,

waiting for us to leave.

And I never look back

and I never look at the window,

just in case there's a reflection.

We always get this feeling that we, the living,

we have the building during the day

and there's like a shift change when

we close the building at night.

And sometimes I think they're a little bit

more anxious to get the building to themselves

and you just feel it when I walk down the stairs

that it's time for us all to leave.

- One of the things that I find so fascinating

about this location specifically

is how many different spirits are said

to haunt the Hoyt library.

How many different apparitions have been identified.

And one has to wonder, how could there be so many ghosts

trapped within the walls of one building like that.

What's the cause of that?

And one of the theories I have is

you gotta consider multiple things.

The land that the Hoyt was built on

at one point used to be a jail

where many people were murdered violently

in the 1800s.

On top of that, people have died here

since it's been a library, so you've got

to wonder if that plays a part.

And it's also a theory that spirits can be attached

to certain objects, and the Hoyt

has one of the biggest collections,

if not the biggest collection of Saginaw history

and Saginaw's past.

So all of this together could really account for why

there's been so many different things

seen within this building.

We just want to find the answers.

We want to document and get some evidence.

- The hard drives on all the digital recorders

have been wiped clean.

We're ready to record all night.

We've got fully charged infrared lights

and fresh batteries in all the rest of the gear.

The tripod cameras have been set up.

And that's actually one of the biggest challenges

that we have this evening is the building itself

is so large, we have more rooms than we have cameras.

But we've got the live feed broadcasting in here.

And with all the stories that we've heard

about this building, with all the history behind it,

I know it's gonna be a good investigation.

I'm ready to go.

- Looking at this picture, I can imagine

the amount of blood, sweat, and tears

that went into creating this building.

Especially when you get into all these little

detailed carvings in the archway

and all on the exterior of this building.

Kind of makes you wonder if any of these gentlemen

have returned and they're the source

of the paranormal activity that

the staff here at the library are experiencing.

- I'm really excited about this investigation.

I've heard rumors that this place is haunted for years.

Read all kinds of articles in the paper.

Heard all kinds of stories.

We've got employees who have given us eyewitness claims.

We just want to validate those on both audio and video.

We owe it to them.

One of the things that's most exciting about this is

we've never had a place where there's so many

professional people who've come forward

and stake their reputation on the stories that

they're telling us, being in our documentary and all.

I can't wait to see what we find.

- Alright, guys, this is one of the biggest places

we've ever investigated.

Thousands of square feet, multiple floors,

and dozens of different rooms.

The only possible way that we're gonna cover

all this ground before the sun comes up,

we all need to split up and go our own way.

Just be cautious.

Be careful walking around here in the dark.

Stay in radio communication.

Now, this is important.

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for tonight.

There's warnings all over the radio and TV.

We all know that thunderstorms cause a huge spike

in the electromagnetic field,

giving spirits more energy to manifest.

Alright, that being said, we're all geared up.

We've got the guys on the monitors here.

I'm ready to go.

You ready?

- Good.

- Tim?

Josh? - Ready.

- Alright, let's go.

Hoyt Library investigation.

Let's do it.

- This is Tim.

EVP session on the mezzanine.

Do you enjoy seeing people come through here?

Remind you of when you worked here?

Or remind you of when you frequented here?

I gotta say, this is a pretty cool building.

A lot of photographs in here.

Lots of generations have been through here.

- The reports of activity in this vicinity of the building

is that an angry man

has been sighted on this staircase

and up on the landing as well.

They say that they hear his boots

stomping up and down the stairs,

just really heavy footsteps

and they get a negative vibe

and just kind of feel unwanted in this area

when he's around.

So let's try and establish contact

and figure out what's happening here.

- Hello?

Is there anyone down here with me?

- I can only imagine how lonely it would be in here,

year after year, wandering.

Maybe you're confused.

Maybe you don't realize

that you're in a cycle

of day after day.

I couldn't imagine that.

- People that have to use this stairwell

have complained that you make them feel

nervous, anxious,

and flat out frightened.

Being that they work here

and that they have to use these stairs,

you can see where that's a problem.

Some of them like to refer to you as the bully.

They say that you make them feel intimidated.

So I'm not going to label you that way

until I have some kind of interaction with you.

And at the same time, I do want to tell you

that you're not gonna bully me off these stairs.

- Heard a lot about this room.

Tools get moved around.

Are you working on something?

- Are you playing games?

I enjoy games.

Okay.

- They say by the period-type clothing they've seen you in

and the heavy boots, they feel like

you're one of the older spirits here

at the Hoyt Library.

That being said, you probably have more of a right

to be here than I,

so if I seem confrontational

it's only because I want to maybe provoke you

to come out.

Do you like having the reputation of being a creeper?

- That was creepy.

- This is the microfiche room.

What microfiche is is an archival system

that was developed for documenting and chronicling

newspapers from the last century on film.

People can use it to do research on their family,

burial plots, obituaries, and things of that nature.

This is one of the most active rooms in the entire library.

In fact, one year during their annual fundraiser,

A Haunting at the Hoyt,

there was a tour that came through

and the tour guide brought a group in here.

And while he was describing to them

some of the activity that would happen,

sure enough, computers started turning on,

electronics went haywire.

And the people in the group got so frightened,

they left the room, got in their cars, and went home.

- The people that work down here have told us

they know you're here.

That somebody's here.

They feel that you're always standing right behind them

while they're working.

Even walking behind them as they travel through this space.

They'd like us to try and obtain some answers

on who you are, what you're doing down here.

- Librarians have stated that they can hear

floorboards creaking up here when they're

getting ready to close down for the day,

almost as if someone is pacing back an forth.

Some have even said they've heard a female voice.

- I'm here to document some of the claims

that I've heard about this room.

Computers turning on.

Screens being activated.

Pretty outrageous claims.

But if you could do that for me tonight,

that'd be pretty special.

Could you move something for me?

- Do you like the employees down here?

Or perhaps maybe you feel like this is your space

and you don't like them being down here?

You know, I've got a feeling you've been here a lot

longer than all these computers and all this technology.

If you could try to

tell me what this portion of the basement

used to be used for

or why it's important to you,

that could help tell us a lot.

Maybe resolve a conflict, if indeed there is one.

- Maybe you can tell me why you're pacing back and forth.

Are you waiting for someone?

Or something?

- Upon the initial review of this footage,

we believed the flickering lights

to be lightning from the storm outside.

Taking a second look, we realized something

was actually tampering with the lights

in the fiction room down below.

Observe the slow motion replay.

- You know, one thing I gotta point out here is,

especially looking at this tower,

there's a lot of high voltage electronics down here.

And side effects of a high EMF field such as this

is paranoia, feeling of being watched,

and if you're supersensitive to it, even nausea.

So if you're down here putting in eight, nine hour shifts

five, six days a week, it could probably be pretty intense.

That could describe why they feel that way

or why I feel that way right now even.

But on the other hand, there's definitely--

You getting this?

- This is Prozak now entering the fiction room.

Stormy Weather, tell me about it.

So, as I said, this is now known as the fiction room,

but nearly 100 years ago, this was referred to

as the children's section.

Over here by the fireplace, you'd have a teacher

or possibly a librarian who would be over here

reading stories to a small group of children

who would be gathered over here

in front of the fireplace,

listening to stories and playing games.

How that really correlates to modern day

is employees will swear they hear giggling,

laughter, they'll hear little feet running up and down

the aisles here when they're about to close.

And an apparition of a little girl in a white dress

has been seen by dozens of employees over the decades.

Let's see if we can make contact.

- We got a motion detector going off in the

government documents room, let's go.

Nothing looks out of place.

I don't see any books that have fallen.

Something must have crossed in front of that beam

to set off the alarm.

It looks like someone was a little curious

about this device that was set up

by one of our team members earlier.

I imagine it must have startled you when it went off.

Let's reset it.

- You're probably wondering who the big stranger is

here shining a bright light around.

I don't mean to shine it in your face, if I am.

Then again, I can't see you.

Can you tell me what stories used to be read here?

And in front of the old fireplace?

Maybe what your favorite book was?

What kind of games did you guys used to play?

It's a pretty big room.

It'd be perfect for a good ole game of hide-and-seek.

I feel like we've been playing hide and seek all night.

Door over here.

I tell you what.

We can play a game.

I'm gonna knock on something

and if one of you can knock back,

I've got a present here on my shoulder

that I'll leave for you guys to play with.

Sound fun?

Let's try it.

I'm gonna knock.

If you can knock back,

I'm gonna leave this gift.

- Are you avoiding me?

- Come on.

You know, just before we came in this room,

I was grabbing my flashlight here and my recorder

to come in here and we heard little feet

running through the room,

much like many of the people at the Hoyt have heard,

so we know somebody's in here.

I'm gonna knock one more time.

If you knock back, like I said,

I'm gonna give you a present, okay?

I promise.

It's toy, you'll love it.

Let's try it one more time.

- Is there something about this book in particular

that you wanted me to see?

Maybe

you're just trying to get my attention.

Really?

- You guys must not want--

Okay.

So maybe we are playing hide-and-go-seek.

Can you do that one more time

so I can tell where it's coming from?

The childlike laugh had actually startled me.

Catching the audio evidence solidified

that there was indeed a spirit interacting

with me in the fiction room.

Perhaps this was the infamous little girl

in the white dress seen by staff and patrons alike.

Okay, well, a deal's a deal.

As promised,

I got a gift

that I'm gonna leave over by the fireplace.

I'm not sure who's knocking, but if it's

the little girl in the white dress,

I think I have something real special.

I have a little girl in a white dress here in my hand.

She's over 100 years old.

The only problem is I don't have a name

picked out for her.

She didn't come with one.

So I'm gonna leave this here

and feel free to come play with her

or whatever you'd like to do.

This is Prozak entering the local history

and genealogy department.

So, this is one of the most active portions

of the library upstairs here.

There's been reports of an apparition by many

that is said to haunt this location.

As well as many stories of many paranormal events

that have taken place.

Let's see what we can find.

So this is probably my favorite story

that I've heard about this building, period.

They were doing some renovations and they had

an electrician come in to install some wire in here.

And as the electrician stuck his hand in the hole

to connect these wires, he felt an ice cold hand

grab his and just squeeze it.

The man screamed, threw his tools,

and just ran out of the building.

- I'm here to establish contact

with the man who's said to haunt this wing of the library.

The staff described you as a very well-dressed man

in a suit.

Are you the architect?

Or the designer of the Hoyt?

- I'm told there's an apparition

that dwells up here that's referred to as

the helpful librarian.

The patrons of the Hoyt Library will come up here

to research or perhaps work on a project

and on the way out, they'd like to thank

the old woman who was so helpful and nice.

The only problem with this is there is no woman

that works up here.

So I'd like to ask you if you could perhaps help me.

Me and my friends are working on a project ourselves

about the strange and unusual things that happen

at the historic Hoyt Library.

- You can answer some questions for me.

Maybe help me and the staff better understand who you are,

what draws you here.

Is that you in the corner?

You don't have to be frightened.

I'm not trying to corner you.

Come toward the sound of my voice.

Or maybe come take a seat

and the two of us could--

Dude!

- Nobody was in the auditorium

except Tim and the cameraman.

Recall Tim sliding the chair out from the desk

upon entering and facing it toward the room

before conducting his EVP session.

When he turns back to his seat, he is astonished

to find it returned to its original place.

- Jesse Hoyt was president

of the Pere Marquette Railroad

for eight years, until he passed away.

That's better known as the Potter Street Station.

I know it's late.

It's after hours.

But I could sure use some advice or some direction.

Where might I search in this building for the answers

that myself, my team, and the staff are looking for?

CK Eddy,

very prominent member of early Saginaw society.

This room is dedicated to the memory

of Harriet Hough Ames,

the first librarian of the Hoyt Library.

Harriet, is that you?

Are you in fact the helpful librarian?

I apologize for making assumptions.

If that's not your name, please correct me.

Did you hear that?

It seems my talking aloud had disgruntled the spirit

that is said to haunt the history and genealogy department

of the Hoyt Library.

This is crazy.

- Yeah.

- I mean, I expected a lot of of the Hoyt Library,

but I cannot believe how much evidence we've already caught.

I don't know if it's the storm or what it is.

So I called you up here because I want

to send you up to the attic.

- Okay.

- Okay, now the attic has been virtually untouched

for the last 125 years.

- Perfect.

- So therefore, if there are spirits

in that part of the building, they're not

used to people walking around and going through there.

So really dig in that attic and go in all the nooks

and crannies and see what you can kick loose up there.

- Definitely.

- Also, that being said, be careful up there.

Because I'm not sure about how it is structurally.

I'm gonna head down into the basement

into the archive.

That's where all the things are collected and stored

here at the Hoyt, and for that reason I feel like

who knows what I might encounter?

But keep in contact with me on the radio,

let me know how it is,

and let's keep it going.

- Let's do it.

- So we're down to the archives right now.

This is the most feared location in the Hoyt Library.

Employees will make almost any excuse

to not come down here for any reason.

Could be attributed to the old relics that were stored here,

the oldest things that the Hoyt has in their collection

is stored here, a lot of things symbolic to death.

Obituaries, funeral directories, grave plots,

the list goes on.

It's also tucked away in the darkest corner, so I can

understand why people would be afraid to come back here.

However, they believe there is something here.

Let's see what we can find.

Is anybody here with me?

Pardon my intrusion.

Got flashing lights and somebody talking

in a loud tone in a library.

I could understand how that would seem disrespectful,

but I assure you it's not.

Saginaw evening news, 1890.

- This is Adam heading into the attic of the Hoyt library.

Oh, really watch your head in here.

Shoot, I just dropped my recorder.

I can't even feel it down there.

I think it goes down pretty far.

I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get it.

I found it!

Sorry, did I scare you?

Sorry, come on.

- People are very afraid to come down here.

And I'm here to try to figure out why.

I know it's a spooky portion of the building.

But the people that work here

swear it's more than just that.

They feel that they're not alone when they are here.

Some of these dates on these books go back

150 years.

- Oh, wow.

This must be for the skylight.

Take a look in there.

- Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Steve.

And I'm here just for tonight.

I'm here to try to find answers

for the staff of the Hoyt library

who swear

there are supernatural events taking place

throughout the building,

and particularly this room.

Can you show yourself to me?

I promise I won't be afraid,

nor will I be startled.

You can move an object.

You can use your voice to try to speak or communicate.

Anything you feel comfortable with doing.

- You gotta be careful up here.

- You can follow me if you want.

You can stand in front of me.

You can tap me on the shoulder.

I'm here as a friend of the library

to try to reach out to you.

Maybe there's more than one of you.

That's fine, too.

- Hello?

Who's up here?

Did you want us to come in this room?

Are you trying to lead us somewhere?

- Oh my god.

It's got plastic on it, so I think I can touch it.

Carried by a BC Carter through the Civil War.

He was a member of the First Michigan

Engineer and Mechanic's Regiment.

Wow, look at this, the history

that we're in right now.

I mean, somebody carried this object

through the entire Civil War.

Just a little piece of home.

Imagine the sentimental value that this has,

that all these objects have, and you wonder why

this is the most active portion of the building.

That's weird.

Just felt like something kind of brushing in the face here.

Kind of felt like cobwebs, but not quite cobwebs.

But I don't feel anything.

I don't see anything here.

Felt weird.

Hello?

The folks that work down here,

there's only three offices in this particular department

and they're all pretty nervous about working here.

This is known to be definitely one of the most

haunted sections.

I know we say that a lot during this investigation,

but there are so many spots

and so many rooms with activity here.

So many different claims.

So this is one of the older parts of the building.

I'm guessing it has some of the oldest spirits.

A lot of things from the past here

collected and stored.

Maybe you have some interest?

Maybe these things remind you of your particular time frame?

Things that you're familiar with?

East Saginaw.

- I've had the opportunity to speak with several

of the nice people that work down here.

They say they can sense your presence.

Sometimes their belongings will go missing.

Turn up in a different part of the office.

Sometimes never at all.

- Look at this, old dumbwaiter.

All the old buildings had these.

Made people's lives a lot easier,

sending things up and down the little elevator

instead of carrying heavy things up the steps.

Makes perfect sense in a library

with all those heavy books.

- Earlier in the night, when we were given the tour,

I guess one of the employees that work in this office here

was digitizing some old film cans

that were donated by a private collector

of Old Saginaw City.

And while he was processing, digitizing these films,

a very prominent figure of Saginaw's past,

when his name would be mentioned, this light here

above where he was seated, would begin to flicker.

At first, he thought okay well,

maybe it's just a coincidence.

Well, after five or six times of this happening,

he started to get pretty spooked out.

And the gentleman told us that about another dozen times

throughout these films, it would continue to happen,

only when his name was mentioned.

So that's pretty spooky.

- Do you like having the company of the staff down here?

Or maybe you like it better when they leave?

Typing?

Hello?

It stopped.

- Now that is real creepy.

Look at this.

These are all the collections of where

people are buried, all the old cemeteries.

We have Forest Lawn, see several others down here.

Even got some film cans here.

Saginaw city cemeteries.

It's amazing.

You're literally looking at thousands

of people's resting places.

- Excuse me.

- I'm sure you've witnessed quite a bit of change

in this library.

Do you like change?

Or do you prefer things the way they used to be?

- After reviewing all the footage

from the infrared stationary cameras,

we found ourselves in total disbelief.

Finally, after all the stories and eyewitness claims,

we had visual evidence of the spirit referred to

as the helpful librarian.

- I know a lot of heart and soul

was put into the creation of this building.

I say building, it's much more than just a building

to the community, to myself, the staff.

It's a big part of our history here in Saginaw.

So I know some of that heart and soul has to remain,

the energy has to remain here.

If there's anything that anyone

would like to say

or a message perhaps,

please feel free to speak to me

and trust that I am a friend here.

We're only going to be visiting just for tonight.

And then I promise you, the nights will go back

to being quiet, peaceful,

and most of all go back to being yours.

I know there's been others that have come here,

probably asked you similar questions

and asked you to do similar things.

This would be a beautiful place to spend

eternity.

And I could understand that.

The people that work here,

it's not that they're afraid,

they would just love to know more about

why you're here.

They love the building as much as you do.

And I think if you guys could somehow connect

it could be even a better experience for both.

They definitely respect you.

They view the spirits, for the most part,

of the Hoyt to be very kind

and part of the building that it is,

the historic Hoyt library.