Grand Rapids Public Library

The main branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library, housed in a historic building. The library has served the city for over 120 years.

The Grand Rapids Public Library's main building, the Ryerson Building, had its cornerstone laid on July 4, 1902, and opened to the public two years later. The Beaux-Arts structure has served as the intellectual center of Grand Rapids for over a century, but library staff have long known that the building harbors at least one resident who never checks out.

The spirit most commonly encountered in the library's basement is a man dressed in a dark green military uniform, thought to be Samuel Hill Ranck. Ranck served as the director of the Grand Rapids Public Library and was a respected figure in the city's intellectual life. During World War I, he served as a wartime librarian, organizing and distributing reading materials to American troops overseas. Ranck devoted his career to the library and to the city of Grand Rapids, and his ghost appears to have continued that devotion after death. Staff report that the spectral figure in the military uniform is usually seen cataloguing materials in the basement, carefully organizing books and documents as though his work was never finished.

The Ryerson Building has become a focal point for paranormal tourism in Grand Rapids. The original Grand Rapids ghost tour, led by the authors of the book "Ghosts of Grand Rapids," begins at the public library and covers just over one mile of the city's most haunted locations over approximately two hours. Nicole Bray and Robert DuShane, the authors who wrote the book that inspired the local tour industry, chose the library as the starting point specifically because of Ranck's well-documented presence.

The library's ghostly activity is quiet and almost respectful, befitting its setting. There are no screaming ghosts or violent poltergeist events. Instead, staff encounter a figure who appears to be doing exactly what he did in life: serving the library. Books are found rearranged in sections that Ranck was known to manage. Lights flicker in the basement areas where he most frequently appears. The atmosphere in the building shifts noticeably after hours, when the public has gone home and the library belongs to whoever or whatever remains. The Grand Rapids Public Library doesn't officially promote itself as a haunted location, but the staff who work late shifts know that they're not always alone.