In the mid-1880’s Willard Carpenter was a well-known name in Evansville, Indiana. A prominent city leader, businessman, philanthropist, and humanitarian, he is best known for the privately funded Willard Library he founded, which broke ground on May 17, 1878. The building was a passion project for him and he worked closely with the architects on its Victorian Gothic design. The massive red brick structure, with its oak wood interior, was one of the first public libraries of its kind, free and open to all. The library opened on March 28, 1885 after a construction delay due to the slump in the real estate market.

When Carpenter died, his daughter and only remaining member of his immediate family, Louise Carpenter, was shocked and infuriated to find out that her father had left almost his entire estate to the library. She felt cheated, believing that her father was not in his right mind and the estate was rightfully hers. Louise filed a lawsuit challenging the will, which she lost.

Bitter and defeated, Louise left Evansville and moved to Raynham, Massachusetts, where she died on February 8, 1908 at the age of 64.

Before leaving Evansville, she vowed that someday, somehow, she would get what she felt was rightfully hers. And until her dying breath, she never let go of the betrayal she felt from her father and the hatred she had for that library.

Not long after her death, little things began to happen in the building. A book would fall off a shelf from time to time and objects would move by themselves. These incidents were mostly chalked up to vibrations from the trains that ran next to the property. 

There were places in the building that were inexplicably colder than the rest of the building. Inspectors were called in to check for air leaks or drafts, but no problems were ever found. In addition to these moving objects and cold spots, the strong smell of perfume permeated the library on occasion.

Then, in 1937, a custodian reported that he had seen the ghost of a woman. The first time he saw her was in the basement while working on the coal furnace. He mentioned other places as well, such as the second floor where the Genealogy Department was located.

The custodian described the woman as middle-aged, wearing an ankle-length gray Victorian-style dress with a ruffled high-neck collar, long sleeves, and a black veil. On one occasion, he stated he had seen her on the stairs wearing high-heeled boots that buttoned on the side. All of her attire would have been common dress for a woman in the late 1800s when the library was built. But, alas, no one ever believed the custodian. His insistence in the apparition led to him being accused of drinking on the job.

Eventually, staff members and patrons began reporting sightings of the mysterious lady. They called her the Lady in Gray. It was after several interviews with witnesses that investigators came to the theory that the ghost was that of Louise Carpenter.

Over the years, the activity and sightings continued. Every year it seemed these incidents increased, especially around Halloween. At that time the ghost, which in reality was a poltergeist professionals said, would wreak havoc on the library. Entire bookshelves would be knocked over. Patrons and staff members would get scratched by unseen hands or hit with flying books. The ghost liked playing with the faucets in the upstairs bathroom and a couple of times the staff arrived in the morning to find the sink overflowing and water everywhere. Every time it happened, a plumber would be called to see why the sink backed up and didn’t drain only to find there wasn’t a problem with the pipes. Other times the whole building would become so cold that you could see your breath, and the smell of perfume would become so overwhelming that all the windows needed to be opened. Many times, the lights would flicker off and on or go out completely for hours at a time. Electricians would be called in to check the wiring only to find no issues. Everything would go back to normal and stay that way for weeks or even months. 

This went on year after year until finally they decided that it would be best to close the library for the week before and after Halloween for general safety reasons. Not wanting to draw attention and add to the rumors already circulating, they told the public it was for maintenance and remodeling. No one truly believed that, and there was always talk about the Grey Lady of Willard Library. Articles were written about her in the local paper recounting the dozens of encounters people reported having with her. Most of which were not pleasant and were downright terrifying.

During the shutdowns, the only ones ever allowed in the building were paranormal investigators and clergy members. Investigators held EVP sessions and seances. Every time she would come through, she always communicated the same message. “I want what is rightfully mine. I will not leave until I get it.” 

There were attempts to exorcise the spirit by various members of the clergy, all of which failed. In most cases, it seemed to anger her and cause her to lash out and attack the participants. It caused the building to shake violently, and objects to fly around, ending with a call for everyone to vacate the library in a panic to avoid serious injury. She could be heard through shrieks and moans, “I want what’s mine!” 

Eventually, the activity became more frequent and was occurring throughout the entire year, not just around All Hallows Eve. The poltergeists’ power was building more and more over time. It was as though every year more of her energy would remain on this side of the veil, with violent activity becoming a daily occurrence. She began appearing during broad daylight, and those who saw her reported she always looked as though she was seething, and furious. 

It became common to capture clear pictures of her. There were newspapers from around the country sending brave enough reporters to Evansville to cover the stories. The local paper ran a weekly column chronicling the events of the week, eyewitness reports, and pictures of the ghost. This all came to a culmination in 1983 when the library board of directors decided to have a memorial program at the library on the 100th anniversary of Willard Carpenters’ death. It was to celebrate the life of the man who founded the library and to recognize all the accomplishments he had achieved and all the contributions he had made to Evansville in his lifetime. The event would be held on the lawn away from the building for the safety of all involved. 

In preparation for the event, a temporary stage was to be built in the southwest corner of the property which was the furthest point on the lot away from the building. Construction wasn’t without issues. It should have only taken two days to build, but it took over a week to complete. There were workers injured in what would be called freak accidents on the morning of the second day. Workers arrived only to find a pile of debris instead of a partially completed stage and other building materials scattered across the property. It was decided to bring in extra help the day before the event and do a nonstop construction blitz to have the stage completed the morning of the event. 

The timing was on the spot. Participants started arriving just as the workers completed the stage. When the event started, there were two hundred spectators in attendance, along with a number of speakers giving presentations on the life of the founder and the contributions he made to the city.

The first speaker started talking promptly at 10:00 am. Everything was going smoothly until about halfway through the program when the skies suddenly darkened and the ground shook violently. The ceremony had enraged the spirit, and many of the members of the crowd were thrown to the ground unable to keep their footing. Then a rumbling began. At first, it was a low rumble, but it quickly rose to a deafening roar. The building could be seen shaking, windows exploded, and several spectators were cut by flying glass. The timbers of the structure could be heard cracking and breaking, and the stonework on the exterior of the building crumbled. Then came the lightning. Bolt after bolt struck the building. It wasn’t long before fire could be seen coming from the upstairs windows. It only took a couple more strikes and the entire structure was engulfed in flames. 

It wasn’t long before the firefighters arrived but the building was already too far gone. Even though they attempted to put it out, all anyone could hear was loud maniacal laughter ringing through the square. When the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left but a large hole in the ground where once stood a beautiful piece of architecture, and a fountain of knowledge. The library was no more. After the fire the skies cleared and the sun came back out. The bystanders were in shock and in despair at the loss of such a beautiful structure that meant so much to the citizens of Evansville.

Once it was safe to approach, the scene investigators found a broken gas pipe spewing a four-foot-long flame of natural gas. The gas company had to be called in to shut off the main feed to the building. It was surmised that the gas pipe broke and filled the basement with gas, and when the fire reached the basement, it ignited causing an explosion. 

In the following months the site was cleaned up and what was left of the once magnificent structure was hauled off and the hole was filled in. By spring of the next year, it was hard to tell that there was ever anything there. They removed the sign at the corner of the property that said, Willard Library Park. The board decided not to rebuild and to dissolve the foundation. All the assets were transferred to the public liberty system. The land was deeded to the city with the understanding that it would become a city park, and in hopes of appeasing the spirit of Louise Carpenter, the park would be renamed after her.

The city abided by the wishes of the board and planted flower gardens, built walking paths, and installed benches in the four-acre lot, right in the center of the property they placed a stone monument engraved with her name and proclaiming this her park in perpetuity.

This seemed to appease the angry spirit, and there were never any malicious events after that. Every once in a while, however, around Halloween, there would be reports of a young woman in a gray Victorian-style dress strolling through the park, smiling.