By Kalena Reynolds | Opinion Editor
Adrenaline pumped through my veins at 7:45 p.m. on a Tuesday as I stood outside the back doors of the Armstrong Browning Library. While I seemed to become increasingly jittery with every passing minute, partially due to the frigid temperatures, I began to question my confidence in the events I had decided to participate in: ghost hunting at the Armstrong Browning Library.
I often find my curiosity guiding me into situations far unexpected from the status quo, from palm readings to reiki sessions, I’ve had my fair share of eclectic experiences, this one no different. However, unlike the others, I knew I couldn’t tackle this one alone. So I recruited the help of Dr. Cynthia Little, a lecturer in the educational psychology department.
Now I know what you’re probably asking — why did you take a professor ghost hunting? Aside from teaching, Little is a parapsychologist and paranormal investigator. She also owns “Waco Ghosts,” a company providing paranormal services to the community, such as “investigations of haunted locations, guest speaking, ghost hunter training” and “courses on paranormal investigating.”
Little arrived around 7:55 p.m., lugging a small duffel bag on her side. While Jennifer Borderud, assistant dean for Special Libraries and director of the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum, escorted my colleague and me into the otherwise vacant basement gift shop, my hair stood on end.
I had heard rumors from various students during my time at Baylor that the Armstrong Browning Library was haunted, and finally, I decided it was time for answers.
Borderud led us to the second floor. We decided to set up shop in the McLean Foyer of Meditation, which has the “Cloister of the Clasped Hands,” and is an area known as the most romantic spot on the Baylor campus, according to the library website.
I couldn’t help but feel like a moth drawn to a flame, eager in anticipation when Little began to unpack her duffel bag filled with ghost hunting devices, including EMF (Electromagnetic Field meter) devices, trail cameras, pendulums, dowsing rods and a variety of other things.
As Little explained how each device works, she offered to let me hold one of the EMF meters. The EMF meters “contain an advanced sensor precisely designed to detect fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. Paranormal investigators and theorists believe that the presence of certain entities results in disturbances in these fields. EMF meters locate these changes in electromagnetic fields.”
Little also said one of her main tools is the video camera on her phone, as whenever she finds one of the ghost-hunting devices “triggered” in some way, she pulls out her phone and starts recording her surroundings.
We wasted no time as we made our first round in the McLean Foyer of Meditation, holding the EMF meters in hand. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was quickly curbed as neither mine nor Little’s EMF meters picked up any signals, so we began our journey on the third floor.
As soon as we got off the elevator, my EMF meter began showing strong signals of a nearby presence; however, Little quickly dismissed my excitement, explaining spaces near elevators always have strong electromagnetic fields.
Eventually, we found our way into the Austin Moore-Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon, a room containing a letter tray, mirror, fan, sofa table, chairs and a multitude of other items from Browning’s personal collection.
While I had been in the library a handful of times, it was always the salon room that left me with a lingering, eerie feeling deep in my consciousness. I still remember the first time I entered the room. It was the dead of summer, the heat pouring down and I had decided to explore the campus during a break in the orientation schedule.
Even in the middle of the June heat, the room felt cold and electric. Four years later, the room still feels the same.
My suspicions of the room were quickly confirmed as my EMF meter began to flutter slightly. “Look!” I exclaimed as I stayed close to Little.
Eventually, my colleague, LTVN broadcast reporter Jacob Stowers, pointed out a particularly odd phenomenon occurring in the room. While every space in the library has a thermometer to ensure artifacts are stored in prime conditions, the salon room was 66.6 degrees — an eerie coincidence.
The peculiarity piqued Little’s interest, and quickly she grabbed her phone and took a video of the Salon room.
Eventually, we moved on from the third floor, back down to the basement, where Little told me she had experienced ghostly phenomena before, specifically by the gift shop. As we each walked around with our EMF meters, we encountered little activity.
My meter wavered slightly near the gift shop, which was no surprise to Little, and she once again took her phone out to video the room.
Around 9:30 p.m., we decided to close out our adventures and pack up. Yet the supernatural events weren’t over yet.
Once arriving back home, Little began emailing me. She said she was rewatching the videos we took and noticed a spooky occurrence in the back of one of them.
The video Little took of the thermometer in the salon captured a supernatural voice in the background, and while it’s difficult to make out what the voice is saying, it very clearly belonged to a woman.
While my suspicions were confirmed for the room, I couldn’t help but wonder who or what was in the salon with us? Was it Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself or another supernatural being? What were they saying?
While these are answers I will probably never have, I do know one thing for sure: something exists beyond this world within the walls of the Armstrong Browning Library.
