The Librarian that Never Left: The Haunting of the Great Library

We’ve spoken at length in the past about the Great Library ghost that former Head Librarian George Johnston reportedly saw in the 1960s. In this blog post, I would like to speculate that the studious ghost may in fact be Hugh Nelson Gwynne, Head Librarian of the Great Library from August 1842 to December 1872. During his tenure as Head Librarian, he also acted as the Secretary and Sub-Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada (now Ontario).

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “what, exactly, makes them think that Hugh Gwynne is the ghost?” Especially since no description was given of the ghost in Johnston’s story. The ghost was seen again in more recent years, this time by a caretaker late at night. He entered the Great Library through the American Room and saw a man in a white shirt sitting near the fireplace. Thinking that the library was still open, the caretaker didn’t pay attention to the gentleman. He soon realized his mistake as it was 11 p.m. and the library had already been closed for an hour. When he went back to tell the gentleman he’d have to leave the library, no one was there and they were unable to find anyone else in the building.¹

This is not a lot to go on, but there are some details about Hugh Nelson Gwynne that make him a likely candidate. The first and most obvious fact is that Gwynne died in Osgoode Hall. While I was unable to find the cause of his death, I did discover that he died in the Secretary’s office in December of 1872, which is most likely the site of our current Treasurer’s office. Already this seems like a good start for Gwynne being our potential ghost, since Johnston saw the figure disappear through the door to the Benchers’ Quarters, where the Treasurer’s Office is located.

According to James Cleland Hamilton, author of Osgoode Hall: Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar, “Mr. Gwynne was of more than medium stature, his fine head crowned with snow-white hair, which protruded from under a russet wig. He was clean shaven, observant, and ready in reply and repartee. A bachelor, with high treble voice, wearing a gown when on duty…”.² Hamilton was quite enamoured by Gwynne, writing a whole chapter on the man as well as dedicating his book to him. Gwynne is portrayed in the chapter as the “most notable character of the Hall” and was always ready to debate with students or scholars on the Classics, which at the time formed part of the bar exam material. It is easy to imagine that he wanted to linger close to the books that he enjoyed so much, even in the afterlife!

One other fact that I found eerie when I came across it is that George Johnston had a painting of Hugh Gwynne hanging in his office. We aren’t sure where this painting is now, but we do have a picture of Gwynne. This portrait lived in the library offices for quite a while, along with those of other Head Librarians across the years. Maybe Gwynne is connected to these portraits, and that is why he is still being seen by staff members today.

All of this to say, if you come into the library and see a gentleman with a shock of white hair and white shirt sitting near the statue reading intently, don’t disturb him! It may just be our erstwhile Head Librarian, doing some research.

Happy Halloween everyone! 🎃

1. Story taken from “Chilling stories for crip fall days,” by Elise Burnet, Blog Historical Gems, October 11, 2016 ↩︎
2. Osgoode Hall: Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar, by James Cleland Hamilton, Toronto : Carswell, 1904, pg. ?? ↩︎

*Cover image was created with Canva AI using a photograph of the Great Library and the portrait of Hugh Nelson Gwynne.*