Famed writer Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ghost is said to walk here at night, carrying a candle and wearing a white gown. She has also been seen looking out an upstairs window. There is a statue of Browning in front of the library, and although its arms are at its sides, on some nights a shadow makes it appear that she is standing with her arms held high above her head.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 710 Speight Avenue
Waco, TX
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 31.54314045117361, -97.12002398888546
- County:
- McLennan County, Texas
- Nearest Towns:
- Waco, TX (1.6 mi.)
Beverly, TX (1.8 mi.)
Beverly Hills, TX (2.5 mi.)
Bellmead, TX (3.6 mi.)
Robinson, TX (5.2 mi.)
Woodway, TX (5.6 mi.)
Lacy-Lakeview, TX (6.0 mi.)
Northcrest, TX (6.6 mi.)
Hewitt, TX (7.1 mi.)
Hallsburg, TX (9.7 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
I went to summer school at Baylor in 2013 and I stayed in Allen which is directly across the street from the library. One night after playing piano real late with the lights off, I felt creeped as if someone was watching me, so I stopped playing and headed towards my room. When I opened the door to the hallway on the first floor of Allen, I saw a lady in a white gown run into what I thought was a room, her gown swaying as she made her immediate turn. I went to go see who it was, and to my surprise, there was no door where she ran in. Just a blank white wall. I just found out today that the Armstrong browning library was haunted with a lady in a white gown. Now I have an explanation for what I saw that night.
I worked at Armstrong Browning Library between 1998 to early 2000’s. I never experienced any haunting experiences nor have I had an uneasy feeling. Occasionally I would work events at night and I would help close the building. If there was any apprehension it is going up the elevator and the elevator slowly opens or closes when you reach the top floor. Upstairs is pitch black when either turning the lights off in the evening or before turning them on when opening the building for the weekend. On that floor is where Elizabeth’s personal belongings are kept in a room that is shown during the ABL tour. In the hallway is a door that leads to the balcony overlooking the McLean Foyer of Mediation. The only thing that creaks at night and makes noise is the old elevator. Another thing is the sounds outside amplifies in the building and at night it seems louder because all else is quiet.
The statue outside is not any Browning person. The following is from the ABL website: http://www.browninglibrary.org/index.php?id=45950
Pippa, Bronze
Artist: Waldine Tauch, 1957
Location: Front of the Armstrong Browning Library
This bronze piece features a life-size representation of Pippa, the main character of Browning’s Pippa Passes, a play in which Pippa expresses her innocent certainty of finding love in the world. Medallions illustrating the four acts of the play are visible behind Pippa, and at the base of the statue is Pippa’s famous line:
“God’s in His heaven, All’s right with the world.”
The statue was commissioned by the Tuesday Club of Brady, Texas, and by Mr. & Mrs. John Leddy-Jones of Dallas. It was presented to the Library on November 1, 1957.