Liverpool’s Central Library is a complex set of buildings, some of which are grade II listed and others due for demolition and replacement.
The library’s eldest building is the William Brown Library and Museum, which was extended in 1879 to the Picton Reading Room and then the Hornby Library in 1906.
Central Library is part of the William Brown Street conservation area. This area includes the unusual St John’s Gardens and St John’s Church.
St John’s Church was designed by Thomas Litoller and construction started in 1767 in an area which was once used as the general burial ground of a small mortuary chapel. St George’s Hall‘s west elevation backs against the Church.
St John’s Gardens was conceived as an area to display art to the public. As such it contains a number of monuments; Balfour Monument, Regimental Monument, Gladstone Memorial, Nugent Monument, Lester Monument, Forwood Monument and the Rathbone Monument.
Witches and witchcraft
The father of modern-day Wicca Gerald Gardner was born in Liverpool. Gardner (1884 to February 12th, 1964) authored the famous Witchcraft Today, a book which helps revive public attention in Wicca and Witchcraft in 1954.
In his life, Gardner used the craft name Scire, acted as High Priest of the Bricket Wood coven and met Aleister Crowley who announced Gardner as being able to perform the rites of the Ordo Templi Orientis.
Gerald Gardner travelled often and did not stay in Liverpool, however, perhaps because of his association with the city and the gothic appearance of St John’s Gardens and the Central Library the area has been associated with witchcraft. Locals sometimes speak of a history of rites or rituals occurring in the gardens or from inside Central Library itself.
Hauntings
Central Library is believed to be haunted. The Picton Stacks, a separate building from the main area, actually contains an isolation ward and mortuary.
Visitors to the William Brown Library have reported the feeling of menace originating from unusually dark shadows towards the corners of the room.
A black cat with glowing eyes is sometimes seen in the International Room and the sounds of a cat screeching are occasionally heard late at night throughout the library. Whereas cats screech all the time and the reflective nature of their eyes often result in a glow like an appearance some occult commentators have noted the connection between witches and demonic familiars which often take on a cat-like appearance.
The names Sal or Sally have been reported by more than one psychic while in the library. One theory links the name to a missing librarian, murder and possible demonology.
The mortuary is, of course, strongly associated with death and deaths. Stories of demonic rats or ghosts remaining near the autopsy slab remain are often shared by visitors to the historic building.
Most Haunted Live visited Central Library in 2009. The program coincided with the 45th anniversary of Gerald Gardner’s death.
In Pure Spirit
Have you been to either Central Library in Liverpool or St John’s Gardens? Did you sense anything while you were there?
People continue to confuse Wicca and witchcraft. Do you think this will change any time soon and do programs like Most Haunted help the situation?
The information in this article is commonly available online or from books like Haunted Liverpool*.
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yes, I visited the library as I have done many times but this time I was grieving my son Thomas who I had carried to term and was stillnborn whilst there I was 'given' the smallest book in that large library of a book 8×5 inches called the Phaedo by plato which gives an argumanet for the exitence of the soul before life there is something there I am sure .. I felt on the night of the most haunted and wrote to them to tell that I felt there was someone who liked to tidy up the place putting books back vely look forward to the finale tonight will be watching at home .. lib from Liverpool
you can imagine how helpful this was I had never hearfd of this book and just poicked it up as it was lying on the tablke in forn tof me .. I went to the toilet and oplaced it down when I returned it had gone not knowing where it was and there was noone around to have out it back I started tos earch for it after about halfo hour or so I decided to leave and there it was back on the shelf again infront of me this tiny slim volume I picked it up and read it again .. an old volume which I was not allowed to take out but since then I have my own copy but of all the books this book gave and provided me with much comort if I had searched i could not have found such a book … home .. lib from Liverpool
if I had searched i could not have found such a book .. there is something there I am sure .. I felt on the night of the most haunted and wrote to them to tell that I felt there was someone who liked to tidy up the place putting books back and they referred to a lady who had a grat respect for the building married to picton I think it was here who put that book back in the shelf when I had put it down to go the toilet .. loved hta tthey went there and love that they are in St Geroges Hall it is a gtreat building with a wonderful history of its own I have just come back as I had tickets for thursday (last night) for the show when they visited Bidston ( I was very excited) poor Cath I wouldnt have stayed the night .. but it was a great expoerience being part of the show and in the audience and meeting some of the presenters after they are all lovely look forward to the finale tonight will be watching at home .. lib from Liverpool
Thanks for sharing this Lib. I'm glad that there's something that can be positive in the library.
Let's see what Friday night brings to MHL!
Yes I live in Liverpool and I have visited the library on a few occasions and I am a wiccan, whilst I was there me and my friends experienced a terrible feeling in the atmosphere so we decided it was best to leave.
i have been to that library coz my dad work's there and i went in the night to pick him up and we heared something that sounded like books were getting dropped so we told the manager who's great, great,great,great gran father was wicca genarlad garden and he phoned most haunted and they ame to do it live and everyone saw it. and we found out that it was wicca genarld gardens so now we are even more scared.
My experience was outside the library, in the gardens rund 3am after a night out, me and my boyfriend decided to sit in st johns gardens it was july and warm so we thought it would be romantic, we sat at the left hand side near the road, in the distance i seen a figure of a man walking we didnt think much of it at first until the man walked towards us the turned about 10 yards awat frm us, i got a feeling of great unease this pattern hapened twice. my boyfriend laughed said i was being stupid n we carried on kissing, i looked up and the man as before was walking towards us, and turned, my boyfriend didnt see him this time s went wait there im going to look, i didnt want to be left alne so i pulled him back as i did so i heard the mst horrific cat screech at this point i was really frightened and we left. This is probably nothing but the feeling i got made me look this up when i got home