The first time Connor Henry braved the darkened basement of the Bloomsburg Public Library he got a chill and an idea.
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“It terrified me, it really did,” he said. “I said to myself, if I’m scared down here, who else is going to be scared down here? Probably everybody.”
He proposed creating a haunted house experience for the library with his new production company, Dark Mind Experiences.
“If we could do a haunted house at the library then get them in the basement with the lights off, we might have a big show just doing that,” he said. “Of course, we’re doing more.”
The Bloomsburg Public Library will transform into the Haunted Library this weekend, with “night librarians” leading tours through the shelves and halls where the literary characters who come to life at night wait around every corner.
The Haunted Library will run from 7-9:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting on Oct. 24. Admission is $10 and all funds will support library programs.
Fundraisers provide crucial program support
Library Director Ammon Young called Henry’s haunted library idea an “easy yes.”
“We’re about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our building … so there’s definitely some scary places once you turn the lights off,” he said.
Young estimates the library has increased its programs by 500% since he started in December of 2023, so large fundraisers like the Haunted Library and their annual Murder Mystery are crucial.
“We have more than 20 programs per week, so it’s more than 100 per month,” he said. “These could be anything from chess club to bridge club, to a grief support group to civic conversations, a whole variety of children’s programming and teen programming.”
Andrea Bishop, public services librarian, said the funds will be split between the Bloomsburg Public Library and two others — the Columbia County Traveling Library and the Orangeville Public Library.
They’ll use the money to purchase supplies and build their library collections, she said.
“If you come on a Tuesday night there’s sometimes 30-60 people in the library because we have Dungeons and Dragons in one room, we have gaming club for preteens upstairs … there’s usually community groups meeting here as well,” she said. “Our rooms are filled a lot of the time and the community has really responded by showing up for everything.”
Haunt experience will feature entirety of historic Bloomsburg Public Library
Henry designed the Haunted Library with the help of Dark Mind Experience collaborator Emily Brannon.
Brannon grew up in Bloomsburg and remembers spending lots of time on the library’s second floor, where “Van Tassel Castle” stands over the children’s wing.
“To watch (Henry) bring his own show to life for the community and just giving back where I spent a lot of my time,” he said “It’s a huge part of what we wanted to work together on.”
The Haunted Library opens to visitors on Oct. 24, 25 and 26 at 7 p.m. Guests will step through the library’s main entrance into a waiting area where they can pick up refreshments, books for sale and raffle tickets.
When their group is called, they’ll join their night librarian for the tour. Characters sprung from the pages of scary stories and horrifying tales lurk around every corner — like the witches of “Macbeth,” the vampire Dracula, the Headless Horseman and Frankenstein’s monster.
The tour winds all the way downstairs into the basement, where the library stores shelves of used books. Bishop says most patrons rarely have an opportunity to visit the basement, especially in the dark of night.
Henry saved the basement for the haunt’s grand finale.
“Perfectly cluttered, perfectly wonderful to make you feel unease in this space,” he said. “This is where you might encounter a certain … Dr. Henry Jekyll.”
Tour details
The 20-minute tours run every ten minutes between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Bishop recommends younger or more easily frightened visitors come between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. — the haunt will be “toned down” during that hour.
Henry said the Haunted Library is a “no-touch experience,” and everyone will be informed of the “safe word” to use if they become uncomfortable.
“If the experience is too scary for you, we allow them to say ‘monster be good,’ and our characters will adjust,” he said.
Bishop said to book tickets for the Haunted Library experience in advance. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or by cash or check at the Bloomsburg Public Library, the Columbia County Traveling Library, or the Orangeville Public Library.
