The Ironic Ghost of Attic Books

An ironic ghost haunts the basement of Attic Books, an antiquarian and used bookstore in London, Ontario. I’ve decided to start BibliOccult with this story, because not only have I been to this bookstore, but I may have encountered its spirit. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Built in the mid-to-late 1800s, the stunning red brick building on 240 Dundas Street was initially only one storey, with the first and second storeys being added during renovations in 1880. The gargoyle, which adds a Gothic look to the building, was only added in 1996 (1).

 The building has housed many businesses over the last century and a half. The first inhabitant of note is Abraham Spry. He worked as a tailor in the building in 1875 (1). However, he only stayed there a year before moving on, transferring his business to another building on Dundas Street. It’s my understanding that he didn’t stay there long enough to grow attached to the building. He didn’t stay there long enough to die.

The staff and owner of Attic Books all agree that the basement is haunted. They often smell the thick scent of cigar smoke wafting up from the basement. Books fall from the shelves of their own accord. The lights sometimes flicker ominously, like a kindergarten teacher insisting it’s quiet time. The staff refer to the ghost as Roland, because he “be rollin’” them books all over the place (not a direct quote) (2). The staff have positioned an antique 1930s wooden chair in the corner of the basement, where they placed an offering of books to the spirit. Apparently, since then he’s been less inclined to mess with the carefully shelved used books.

Not long ago, the Paranormal Knights of London visited Attic Books to try to detect the ghost. They wanted to find out who he is and what he wants. They were able to determine that his name starts with an “A”. (How could they be right?! There are so few names that start with A. It’s far too specific!) They also observed that he was wearing a bracelet with a pincushion on it. (Okay that’s actually highly specific.) It’s thought that the ghost they encountered might have been Roland; however, they sensed this spirit on the third floor, not in the basement. So he couldn’t be the ghost that they were sensing. Nevertheless, they thought this ghost might have been Abraham Spry, because of his name and his profession. But the third storey of the building hadn’t even built by the time Spry had left, intact and not dead. So it’s highly unlikely that a second ghost, this one Mr. Spry, is just chilling on the third floor.

So, unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Abraham Spry is the ghost of Attic Books. Although, can’t we all agree that “Spry” would be an amazing name for a ghost?

An article written by Mary Baxter of London Community News also introduces the possibility that the ghost is George Reid, one of two brothers who inhabited the building from 1881-1886. It isn’t clear in her article why he was a contender. (Did he die in the basement?) I did some research, and George Reid was a London Chamber of Commerce Leader. He died in 1924, but it’s unclear of where he died (3). Unfortunately most resources state that he can’t be the ghost, because he was very vocal about not smoking or drinking (sounds like a fun guy). Although, that would explain why he would be hiding in the basement to smoke. He had a public image to uphold. Just a thought.

I have another theory that I want to address quickly before I get into the nitty gritty of my encounter with Roland. Given that Attic Books sells antiquarian books, is it possible that it isn’t the building itself that’s haunted? Could it be one of the books that has a spirit attached to it? Someone who didn’t get to finish a book before he keeled over, and now he’s cursed to forever walk this earth because of this unfinished business? This is only partially a joke. There have been many anecdotes of haunted personal items, which is something to that will be explored further in a future blog post.

My experience in Attic Books didn’t involve dodging a book that was flying across the room or anything thrilling like that. I had never been to Attic Books before, and I hadn’t even known it existed, let alone that it was haunted. When I was heading down to the basement, I was on a high. I love shopping for books, and used books are the best kind—because they’re affordable, they have character, and you can find some real gems that aren’t in print anymore. However, as soon as I stepped down into the basement, I wanted to leave. Now I’m not saying my legs were aching from all the walking, or I was tired, or I wanted to look at newer books. I needed to leave. My entire body was itching to get out of there. It was overwhelming, but not overpowering. Of course, I didn’t let myself leave immediately, because my friend had gone ahead and I was afraid she would get the good sales before me. Instead of listening to my gut, I ventured deeper into the basement. I tried to browse the shelves, but I couldn’t focus on the titles. All I wanted to do was get out. I kept glancing towards the stairwell. I kept wondering if I should ask my friend if we could take off. The feeling grew even stronger. I finally asked my friend if we could leave, and it took all my will power not to run up those stairs. In hindsight, I remember not liking the smell of the basement, but to me it smelled mildly of mildew—I didn’t detect any cigar smoke. I think we were down there for a total of thirty seconds, but I can’t be sure. It felt a lot longer.

When I was upstairs, I immediately felt better. The need to get moving, to escape had evaporated entirely. I didn’t want to leave anymore. I browsed upstairs a bit, took a Snapchat of a hilarious book title for a friend, and then I saw it. Tomes of Terror. A book about haunted bookstores and libraries—featuring Attic Books on page 39. Needless to say, I bought it immediately after chatting with the salesperson. But I didn’t go back into the basement.

I’m pretty sure I’m not “sensitive” to ghosts or whatever, because I’ve been in plenty of “haunted” places and not felt a darn thing. Although, it’s possible that when I was in those places, like Fort Henry in Kingston, I was pleasantly terrified, and I wouldn’t have noticed if I had any weird feelings. I had no idea Attic Books was haunted when I first got there. To be honest, I’d thought I wanted to leave because of the slight mildewy scent (which is still a possibility, even though the place is considered to be haunted). I’m pretty torn over my feelings about this. I rarely feel that intense need to flee. I’ve only experienced it when I’m walking the streets alone at night and I see a shadow following me, when a sudden gust of wind makes a tree branch strike my window, or when I have to clean the shower.

So what do you think? Do you think I sensed something, or do you think that my allergies were spooking me? Let me know in the comments.

Despite my lack of “sensitivity”, I do have a few other spooky personal ghost stories to tell—and they involve a lot more than just a feeling. The Attic Books anecdote is the only one that’s book related, so this was the best story to start off this blog. (Although I did experience a strange incident involving binders—it’s a little dull, but depending on how desperate I get for content, you might end up hearing about it.) It’s interesting, because considering my stories, you’d think I should be a believer, but I’m still a skeptic. There have been a handful of bizarre things that have happened to me, things for which there are no logical explanations (other than me being insane). But I’m still not convinced that ghosts exist. If you have had any ghostly encounters – share them in the comments! I’d love to hear them.  Maybe you can convince me…

Back to Attic Books. I do have another pretty credible theory. I think this “Roland” is a mischievous staff member, someone who sneaks down to the basement during his break to smoke and mess with the books.  But that doesn’t explain why some staff members have reported to see the books fall off the shelves, or smell the cigar when there was no one there.

Less is often more with ghost stories like these, because it leaves a lot up to speculation. If something truly egregious had happened, we wouldn’t allow ourselves to believe. But falling books, flickering lights, and the occasional scent of cigar smoke? These are all things we could easily ignore in our day-to-day lives. These are all things that could happen to any one of us, and we might not even notice…

 

References 

1. Baxter, Mary. “Haunted London: Attic Books.” OurLondon.ca, October 25, 2012. https://www.ourlondon.ca/community-story/1359645-haunted-london-attic-books/.
2. Leslie, Mark. Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries. Dundurn, 2014.
3. Reaney, James. “Enduring Affair with Hotel London.” The London Free Press, November 17, 2011. http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment/columnists/james_reaney/2011/11/16/18978436.html.