The Haunted Library of Rhodes University, Grahamstown (Makhanda)

If you find yourself wandering the quiet streets of Grahamstown at night, the silhouette of Rhodes University rises dark and solemn against the sky. By day, the campus is filled with laughter and hurried footsteps as students rush between lectures. When evening falls, however, the old library seems to take on a life of its own.

The building is grand, its older wing heavy with history. Tall bookshelves stretch into shadow, wooden floors creak with each step, and the corridors feel endless. Students who linger too long whisper of an unseen presence that lingers among the stacks.

Those who have stayed past midnight speak of cold drafts sweeping past them, as if someone has brushed by. Books have been known to topple from the shelves in sudden bursts, not one or two but clusters, as though pushed by invisible hands. The unlucky few who have studied alone in the upper levels tell of steady footsteps pacing between the rows. When courage drives them to investigate, the aisles stand empty.

The most unsettling tale belongs to the balcony. Many claim to have looked up from their desks to see a tall, shadowy figure standing there, silent and still. It never moves, only watches. By the time anyone dares to climb the staircase, the balcony is deserted.

No one can say for certain who haunts the library. Some insist it is the ghost of a librarian who spent so many years among the shelves that she refused to leave even in death. Others believe it is a student who met a tragic end during their time at Rhodes, doomed to wander the stacks in an eternal search for knowledge.

The story of the haunted library is not locked away in dusty archives. It lives on in whispers and retellings. Local folklore collectors have recorded similar tales, and Grocott’s Mail has written about the ghosts of Grahamstown, including Rhodes landmarks like Selwyn Castle and St Aidan’s. Paranormal blogs mention the footsteps in the library and the maid of Selwyn Castle, keeping the stories alive for new generations. Makana Tourism even includes Rhodes on their ghost walks, proving that these tales are part of the town’s living heritage. Online forums contain scattered posts from people who describe odd sensations in university libraries, short anecdotes that may not be proof but add to the mystery.

Even today, many Rhodes students avoid staying alone in the library after dark. By daylight, the building is a place of study and discovery. When the sun dips below the horizon, it becomes something altogether different. The silence grows heavy, the whispers seem to come from the walls themselves, and the shadows are never quite empty.