One of the most famous ghosts at The University of Tulsa is the one affectionately known as Farley, who wanders the McFarlin Library. It seems no one knows who Farley is, and many speculate it could be the ghost of McFarlin himself.
Teri French, Tulsa's Haunted Memories
The autumn and winter seasons tend to alter our perceptions of the waking world. These seasons create an environment with fewer daylight hours, but more time for the dark atmosphere that welcomes in the unexplained and (possibly) paranormal. Whether it's the Halloween season or simply the dropping of leaves and temperatures, this time of year sends many in search of something to chill our bones and test our bravery. For some this experience can be derived from a haunted house or moonlight stroll. Others will seek out a classic horror film, or a dark and twisty novel. And yet, for a select group at the University of Tulsa, that spooky experience might be found in the halls of McFarlin Library. There are those who believe this nearly 100 year old building could be housing more than old books.
It's no secret that old buildings have quirks, but some visitors cannot accept the notion that “it's just an old building." It's not enough to explain the vibes of a dark hall, the creak of a stair, or the cold spot in a room. While most students and staff who fill the spaces of McFarlin are working in the warm autumnal sunlight of the browsing floor, or the ambient table lighting of a reading room, there are times when the darkness of this building rushes at you and fails to part around your presence.
Take the automatic lights in the main and intermediate level book stacks. These lights are set to detect your presence, responding with a click and illumination. However, I myself have had moments when I am halfway down a side of the stacks and the light fails to respond. Worse still, I was working in the periodicals section when the lights clicked on around the corner. Stepping out from the aisle to see if there was a patron who needed help, I waited and listened for steps. None came. I stepped around the corner looking for source of the motion, and the lights suddenly clicked off behind me. Was this most likely a sensor not detecting my movement? Yes. Did it make me snap a glance over my shoulder and shiver? Absolutely.
There is something almost gothic and romanticized about working in a space with so much history and architectural beauty. Knowing that there many departed scholars who walked the same routes, touched the same books, deepens the sense that something more than fingerprints could be left behind. Though it is easy to logically dismiss any apparent creepiness of an old space, it is also easy to get too comfortable and fail to consider that you may not be the only presence in a room. With the help of a unique Tulsa history book, and the input of current and former students, staff, and professors, I set out to see if I was the only who thought McFarlin Library could be haunted.
Speculation of a ghost is the simplest form of haunting. Due to it's age and rather strange construction phases, it is no extreme stretch to consider that an unsettled spirit may haunt these halls. Author Teri French collected some lore on McFarlin's specter, Farley. Whoever the “ghost” might be, people have attributed many unsettling experiences to the presence of this ghost: books found rearranged when no one is in the building, items going missing with no explanation, and strange noises.
French also details two specific paranormal encounters of a former librarian and a janitorial staff member.
While working late one evening, a former librarian heard whistling. When she went to investigate the sound (believing it to be a patron who was present after hours), she found no one. After returning to her desk and beginning to work again, the whistling started back up. This continued throughout the evening, but no person was ever identified. In what is now called The Learning Studio on the main level of McFarlin, a janitorial staff member was cleaning the room when she looked up and saw a phantom form that appeared to be wearing graduation regalia. She fled the room and did not return. However, others have also noted the appearance of a man in similar garb that appears to be waiting in the corners of various rooms (96).
As any modern-day investigator should, I also pulled my resources and took this question to the online social platforms. From those responses I learned that many people believe McFarlin has a weird vibe, especially at night and in the original parts of the building.
Below are some of the stories that anonymous staff and former students wanted to share…
- In the fourth floor women’s restroom, to the left of the sinks, there is a door that leads to the bathroom stalls. One day I opened the door, and all the stalls were available. I went into the first one. A moment later, I heard the most plaintive, sad, and prolonged sigh from the adjacent stall. No one had opened the main door to access the stalls. Seeing as they would have walked by my stall, I would have seen them through the crack of the door. When I finished I looked into the other stall, and it was still empty. It was so unsettling that I haven’t been there since.
- Sometimes when I've used the ladies' room on the fourth floor, I have thought I saw a shadow pass by me. It is, of course, only ever out of the corner of my eye.
- After spending more than a quarter of a century on campus, I've seen it, heard it, and felt it: ghost lights, secret stairwells, Farley, underground tunnels to ghost buildings and many more.…
- Years ago, when I worked at TU, we had a staff development meeting in the Library's Faculty Study. We were all quiet and seated while the VP of Student Affairs was talking of past history and TU’s vision of the future. All of a sudden, a floor lamp that was in the corner came crashing down!
All I know is that we heard some weird noises in one of the upstairs study rooms in the middle of the night during finals my junior year.
This fall I challenge you to be aware of the season's eerie nature. Whether you go looking for it, or just happen into a quiet space, listen in the silence. Take a moment to recognize the atmospheric weight of an old room. Acknowledge the peripheral flashes of movement near you. And whenever you are in McFarlin Library, be leery of the fourth floor bathroom.
Photographer: Kathryn Thomas
For more information
French, Teri. “Tulsa’s Haunted Schools.” Tulsa’s Haunted Memories, Arcadia Pub, 2010, pp. 95–96.
If a book is not findable in our system, then it really cannot help any patron. This is the sentiment that is often held by our cataloging and metadata staff members. And without the tedious work and troubleshooting that people such as Stephen complete, you - our lovely patrons - would be unable to search for and evaluate the materials we have for research and personal reading. For those not in the library world, metadata might seem trivial, but those in the know understand the value and benefit of having staff members as skilled as Stephen.
How long have you been at McFarlin and what roles have you had during your tenure?
I was hired one year ago as McFarlin's Library Systems and Metadata Specialist.
Why librarianship? What made this career appealing to you?
I was a bookish kid who enjoyed hanging out in the library. I’ve become a bookish adult who enjoys hanging out in the library. As an undergraduate I worked in the campus library’s technical processing department and loved the behind-the-scenes work. After graduation I took a part-time job at the local public library, also in Technical Services. My supervisor encouraged me to pursue an MLIS but really it didn’t take much convincing.
What is your non-library training and/or degree, and how does it help you as a librarian?
I have a bachelor's in English, and later picked up some coursework in computer science and math. That combination has helped me develop a mix of communication and technical skills for understanding library systems and how to leverage them.
What’s your favorite spot in McFarlin Library and why is it your favorite?
I love the view from the plaza.
Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you have had with a patron?
My position is not very public-facing, but I’ve enjoyed working with campus IT to launch a couple of web applications.
What is your favorite media to consume and what makes it your favorite?
Text. Print books are still my favorite, but I also read a lot of eBooks too. As a Gen-Xer, I remember life before eBooks, and I’m grateful for the way eBooks have made obscure, non-English, and niche titles so much more easily available.
What’s the best (non-human) resource at McFarlin?
McFarlin's collection of databases is fantastic. Whatever you’re researching, you can probably find a database for it. My current favorite is Gale's “Eighteenth Century Collections Online.”
Tell me the most bizarre thing you have seen while walking through the book stacks.
Nothing yet that I’d call bizarre, which probably means I need to spend more time in the stacks. The closest would be handwritten notes like “You are enough” and “You’ve got this!” lying on random shelves. I assume some kind person left them for whoever might need a little encouragement.
If you could go back in time and talk to one of the designers who modified the building, which phase would you jump to and what would you tell them?
At any phase I’d just say, “You won’t believe this but someday accessibility is going to be a big deal.”
You’re trapped in McFarlin for the night: what do you do when no one else is around?
Hang in the stacks and read. Honest, officer, that’s all I was doing. I have no idea who lined up the DVDs like dominoes. Stacked the Oklahoma Geological Survey like a Jenga tower? Who in the world would do such a thing?
What is an exciting project you are currently working on, or a future endeavor you are anticipating?
I’m excited about our Digital Archive project. We have plans for multiple collections on this platform, and it’s exciting to be part of making them available.