The History of the Library
The Flagstaff Public Library is a public institution dedicated to preserving the town's history and knowledge. Its own history intersects with several threads of Flagstaff's broader story, connecting the building to the same eras and events that shaped the other stops on this tour.
A library is, by definition, a place that holds the past. Books, records, archives, and the accumulated knowledge of a community are stored within its walls. In Flagstaff, the library holds more than paper and ink.
The building sits in downtown Flagstaff, part of the same historic corridor that includes the hotels, the theatre, and the other landmarks on the tour route.
The Haunting
Some visitors to the library feel the past is still very much present in the building. The library's history intersects with several of Flagstaff's most persistent unexplained accounts.
This is a subtle, atmospheric stop. Not dramatic. The kind of place where you notice something just slightly wrong and cannot quite explain it. A book in a different position. A sound from a section that was empty a moment ago. A chill that passes through you and then is gone.
The same archives that Susan Johnson used to research the stories on this tour are housed in a building that has its own. There is a narrative loop there that the guide will not let you miss.
The Research Behind the Story
There is a particular irony to this stop: the same archives Susan Johnson used to research the stories on this tour are housed in a building that has unexplained stories of its own. The library is both the source of the research and a subject of it.
Johnson's methodology draws on the very collections housed in this building: court records, Arizona Daily Sun archives, first-person accounts, and materials from the Arizona Historical Society.
Learn more about Susan Johnson's work at susanjohnson.org.
Tour
Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour
Duration
75 minutes, ~1 mile
Meeting Point
Wheeler Park, 212 W Aspen Ave
Schedule
Daily 7 PM, Fri-Sat 7 PM & 8 PM
Walk the Full Route Tonight
7 stops. 75 minutes. Stories you will not hear anywhere else.
Part of the Freaky Foot Tours family