For alumni who have not visited campus in a while, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library may look very different than the one they remember.
The current library building opened in 2015, replacing Lupton Library and creating a new hub for studying, collaboration and student life. Over the past decade, it has also become home to one of UTC’s most beloved Halloween traditions.
Every October, the library is filled with costumes, candy, decorations and students eager to take part in the annual Halloween party. What began as an open house introducing students to library resources has grown into a campus favorite that brings together students, faculty and staff for an afternoon of fun.
“It’s become kind of a stalwart of the campus Halloween experience,” said Nora Ketron, director of access services, associate professor of practice and a two-time UTC graduate.
Nora knows the difference firsthand. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2007, years before the current library existed, and later returned to UTC to earn a graduate degree while working in the library.
“The Halloween traditions that we know and love today definitely were not part of my undergraduate experience,” she said.
Originally, the Halloween event was designed to showcase the library’s different departments while enjoying games, refreshments and a costume contest. Over time, however, the celebration developed a life of its own.
“This year, it’s just going to be a party,” Ketron said. “We want people to have fun and feel comfortable in the library space and kind of hang out with us.”
Maddie Howell, a 2024 UTC alumna who now serves as Access and Outreach Services Specialist, sees that sense of belonging as the event’s biggest success.
“If students can build a relationship with the building and the atmosphere, they’ll be more confident when they’re here to study,” Howell said. “We’ve got so much more than just academic stuff.”
A Halloween Tradition of Its Own
For many attendees, the annual costume contest is the star of the show.
Over the years, participants have arrived dressed as everything from Disney villains and characters from The Wizard of Oz to elaborate pop-culture creations. Nora still remembers a student whose Five Nights at Freddy’s costume looked like it came straight from a movie set.
“It was astonishing,” she said.
This year, students competing in the costume contest will have the chance to win Halloween-themed boo baskets, while faculty and staff participants will compete for prizes provided through the Chancellor’s Office.
Another library tradition is the appearance of Mr. Bones, the library’s resident skeleton mascot staff members move Mr. Bones to different locations throughout the building and challenge students to find him for a piece of candy. Over the years, he’s been spotted reading books about skeletons, anatomy and other topics seemingly relevant to his lifestyle.
Abbey Davis, who has worked at the library since the move into the current building, remembers one of her favorite Mr. Bones moments.
“His hand fell off one year,” she said. “So I sat him beside an anatomy book with a picture of a skeleton hand like he was trying to figure out how to put it back on.”
For Savannah Beach, a 2022 UTC graduate and mid-shift access services and resource sharing specialist, one of the best parts of the celebration is seeing the creativity on display.
“I love seeing how detailed people can be,” Beach said. “And getting informed about people’s niche interests when they explain their costumes.”
Every Campus Has a Ghost Story
Of course, no October story would be complete without a ghost story.
UTC has long had its share of campus legends. A 2007 University Echo article explored stories connected to buildings such as Hooper Hall and Patten Chapel, preserving ghost tales that had circulated on campus for years.
Nearly two decades later, library employees believe UTC may have gained a newer legend.
They call it the Ground Floor Ghost.
Unlike Hooper Hall or Patten Chapel, the library is barely more than a decade old. Yet staff members who spend time on the ground floor have accumulated a collection of unexplained stories.
“It sounds like someone standing on a stool and getting back off,” Davis said.
The noise has become so familiar that multiple staff members independently described it the same way.
Others have reported hearing what sounds like a hole punch operating repeatedly, only to discover no one nearby. Books occasionally appear where they shouldn’t. Stools are found in unexpected places.
According to Beach, some mornings begin with the sense that someone – or something – has been busy overnight.
“I’ll walk past a stool and then it seems like something moves behind me,” she said. “As soon as I turn around, nothing’s there.”
More than once, staff members have arrived to find stools lined up neatly in a row.
Howell recalled hearing whispers while working alone. Davis has found books mysteriously scattered across the floor, including a group of Edgar Allan Poe titles that appeared overnight. Both Howell and Davis have witnessed books unexpectedly fall from displays.
One Halloween season, a stack of decorative books used as part of a display suddenly crashed to the floor while employees stood nearby.
“Nobody was near it,” Beach said.
Whether the explanations are mundane or paranormal remains up for debate.
A New Piece of UTC Folklore
Part of the mystery is that nobody has been able to identify a convincing origin story.
Historical maps show little development on the property before the library was constructed. Before becoming home to the library, the site served primarily as open land and later a parking lot.
Yet the stories persist.
Ketron points out that the library sits in a part of Chattanooga rich with history. Orchard Knob, the Tennessee River and generations of local history are all nearby.
“We’re right in the thick of local history,” she said.
For now, the Ground Floor Ghost remains less a frightening presence and more an unofficial library mascot.
Howell has even created Ground Floor Ghost buttons to celebrate the legend.
“If people are talking about it, then they’re talking about the library, which we appreciate,” she said.
Perhaps that’s fitting for a building that has spent the past decade creating traditions of its own.
For today’s students, Halloween at the UTC Library means costumes, candy, community and a chance encounter with Mr. Bones.
For alumni returning to campus, it offers a glimpse of how the library has evolved since 2015.
And if they happen to hear an unexplained creak coming from the stacks?
Well, the library staff already have a theory.