A Ghost in the Library?: The Linda Hall’s Spookiest Patron
The Linda Hall started what would become its celebrated History of Science Collection in 1946 when we acquired the American Academy of Arts and Sciences library. The acquisition included volumes published by the French Academy of Science in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Little reports of supernatural history exist until the late 1960s, when the collection was moved into the newly constructed, and eerily empty, annex building. Library pages began to experience a variety of paranormal activities—lights abruptly turning off, thumps and bangs with no origin, and even mysterious messages appearing on chalkboards. Staff continue to experience peculiar and unexplained occurrences to this day.
The ghost eventually revealed itself to a stacks employee as Andre Dettonville, an explorer killed in a mountaineering accident while on a scientific expedition in the French Alps in the 1650s. Andre’s spirit later attached to the book Histoire De L'Academie Royale Des Science, which includes the science Andre was studying when he died.
Over the past 60 years, many librarians have attempted to piece together Andre’s story, but mysteries remain. From what we have gathered, Andre is connected to Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician who invented the first modern calculating machine and was known to use the pseudonym A. Dettonville. Pascal also devised the Puy de Dôme experiment, executed by his brother-in-law in the exact area Andre’s ghosts says he died. While Pascal’s experiment is celebrated as one of the most famous of the Scientific Revolution, Pascal eventually experienced a religious crisis and refused to engage in more experimental science. Pascal’s manuscript was not published until after his death.
A spooky, but ultimately mischievous ghost, is Andre trying to impart the importance of scientific experimentation upon our patrons? Or is he simply miffed that his cozy resting place was moved to a more isolated area of the library? Until we receive the next message on a chalkboard, we might not know.
