Haunted Easton, PA Library: Whose Ghost or Ghosts Stalk the Building and Ground?

Andrew Carnegie offered to donate $50,000 for a new library building in Easton if the townspeople would supply the land, which they agreed to. The best site was the old graveyard that sat upon a hilltop and was in ruins, overgrown and needed to be cleared before the foundation could be laid. The townspeople tried to locate families whose relatives’ graves were in the cemetery for reburial. While most of the relatives were located, some bodies were left unclaimed and were interred in a common vault underneath the back exit to the parking lot. There is a slight recess above the vault that people can feel.

Historical Facts and a Story Book about Easton Library

A touted as “true” ghost book exists that has a story about the library. While entertaining and accounts of the hauntings are supported by others’ interviews with witnesses, there is a mass grave containing unclaimed bodies and two people are interred on library grounds, Mammy Morgan and William Parsons, most of the story is fiction presented as fact. The authors, one of whom is pictured on library property in the book, wrote people didn’t know the site was a graveyard until workers unearthed skulls, bones and rotted coffins! This paved the way for more grotesque fiction. One of the coauthors admitted they fictionalized this because it made the story more interesting and scarier. Déjà vu Amityville: Scamityville!

The Graves on Easton Library Grounds

Two people were reburied in these grounds. William Parsons’ grave is near the front doors of the library. He was one of the surveyors who laid out the plan for the city of Easton. Elizabeth Bell Morgan is buried on the other side of the library’s parking lot. Her grave is marked by a Native American grindstone along with a tombstone. People, out of respect, called her Mammy. She was a Quaker and had been married to a lawyer. She ran a hotel in nearby Williams Township. Mammy was very knowledgeable about the law and gave people legal advice.

Easton Library, Paranormal Phenomena

Librarians, members and people walking by the library have reported sensing or seeing a female ghost in the building or on the grounds. Those who know about Elizabeth Bell Morgan claim it is she who is the haunter. Others claim it could be any of the people whose graves were disturbed.

People who work for the library have experienced unusual phenomena on the second floor where the offices are. Filing cabinet drawers that were locked opened by themselves. Doors have opened and shut by themselves. One librarian felt a hand playing with her hair. Both of these phenomena are poltergeist activity.

According to some people, there have been sightings of phantom lights in the graveyard from the time the clearing of the overgrown brush began.

Not all of the librarians believe the place is haunted. One remarked that the only ghosts to be found in the library were the ones in their books. If this is true, what is responsible for the sightings, sensings and poltergeist activity?

The copyright of the article Haunted Easton, PA Library in Ghosts & Hauntings is owned by Jill Stefko . Permission to republish Haunted Easton, PA Library in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Feb 11, 2009 12:29 AM

Guest :

Uh, "Mammy's hotel" was a house of 'ill-repute.' Her husband may have been a lawyer, but her business undoubtedly made her law-savvy too. She was also well-known for being generally wise and did reportedly give legal advice from time to time. Ultimately she was a respected local figure, but the notoriety of her business venture is what most people in Easton would immediately recognize her for.

Mar 17, 2009 12:39 PM

Jill Stefko :

I would be interested in finding out the source you consulted that alleged Mammy Elizabeth Morgan was the madam of a brothel disguised as a hotel.

Since I received you comment, I have talked to many Easton, Pennsylvania residents, including a librarian in the Marx Room which is where the historical documents are kept and the Executive Director of Northampton County's historical society who consulted an expert about Mammy's life. I've also read many of her biographies and found nothing to confirm this allegation.

While it is true that Mammy was highly repected, wise and gave legal advice, she was never a brothel's madam according to all I spoke to. If this allegation were true, I believe at least one person would have confirmed this.

May 19, 2009 6:26 AM

Guest :

this is a really good report but im not sure what the hotel`s name is that Elizabeth owned because im in 7th grade and doing a report on the easton library haunting so if you could list some things that would be great!

May 24, 2009 11:11 AM

Jill Stefko :

Hi,

I don't know the name of the hotel Mammy Morgan owned. Perhaps the library's Marx Room librarians or the people at the Northampton County historical society would. There is a lady at the historical society who is an expert on Elizabeth Morgan.

Jul 17, 2009 8:34 AM

Guest :

By any chance, would Elizabeth Morgan's ghost be seen outside of the library's territory? A house, perchance?
My mom's side of the family has much history that goes way back, but what excited me the most was when I was noticing that my family was having encounters that didn't relate to our family. In the winter, my aunt smelled cigar smoke and she was real close to her grandfather so she believes it is his ghost that sometimes visits her house. But my mother told me that when she was 15, that she woke up while she was in my aunts house and saw a woman with a bonnet and a dress down to her ankles. My aunt wonders if it is Mammy..could it be a possibility. my aunt's house is located on morgan hill and has been since my grandparents handed it down to her.

Jul 17, 2009 8:41 AM

Guest :

By any chance, would Elizabeth Morgan's spirtit be seen outside of the library territory? A house, perhaps? My aunt and grandparents live in a house on Morgan Hill and they're the second owners of the estate. After the first owners moved out, my mother was fifteen and my aunt was seventeen. My mother told me just last year that her and my aunt were sleeping in the basement where my aunt's house was. My mother had fallen asleep and when she woke, she found a woman just standing there. I believe my mother described her as elderly, wearing a bonnet and a dress down to her ankles. My mom said that she just stared at the woman. My mom's side of the family has a big history, but this woman was not recognizable when my mother told my grandmother. My aunt from then on wondered if it was Mammy Morgan. Is this a possibility?

Jul 17, 2009 3:05 PM

Jill Stefko :

It's possible that a ghost can be seen in more than one place. Abraham Lincoln's, General Anthony Wayne's and others' ghosts have been seen in several places. It would be beneficial to go to the Marx Room in the Easton Library to find a picture of Mammy Morgan. This would prove whether or not the ghost was Mammy.

I believe the cigar smoke is your aunt's grandfather. I have smelled my father's pipe tobacco in my apatment and in my mother's home.