Footsteps with no one behind them. Books sliding off shelves on their own. A door near the president's office that rattles for no apparent reason. Staff at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, say these encounters have been part of working there for decades, and they know the presence behind them by one name: André Dettonville.
According to FOX4KC, Anna Bernard, communications manager at the UMKC library, says library staff have reported paranormal encounters mostly at night, when they are alone in the building. Night-shift workers have described hearing footsteps, seeing multiple books fly off shelves, and finding a door near the president's office rattling on multiple occasions. Bernard has said the library's ghost is not too ornery, more a persistent presence than a menacing one.
A Name Scrawled on a Chalkboard
The legend traces back to when the library built a special annex for storing thousands of books, and library patrons reportedly began hearing mysterious bumps and creaks in that annex in the 1960s, per Bernard's account relayed to the station. A similar version of the story, reported by actualitte.com, places the legend's start at the end of the 1960s, after historical collections were relocated into the newly built annex, with reported phenomena including lights switching off without explanation, dull thuds from the shelving, and inscriptions that mysteriously appeared on blackboards. At some point, as the legend is recounted by Bernard, patrons found a chalkboard message reading, “I am André Dettonville.”
From there, the story goes that André Dettonville is rumored to have been a mid-1600s explorer and scientist who died in a mountaineering accident during a scientific expedition in the French Alps, per Bernard. The actualitte.com account similarly describes the supposed ghost as a French explorer said to have died in a mountain accident during a scientific expedition in the Alps sometime in the 1650s. Staff lore holds that Dettonville's spirit is believed to have attached itself to a book because he could not complete his mission, eventually finding a home at Linda Hall Library after passing through several library collections worldwide. One theory described by Bernard suggests Dettonville disliked being placed on a shelf in the annex, which may explain the disturbances.
The Pascal Connection
The name has a documented twist: André Dettonville is said to be a pseudonym used by French mathematician, scientist, physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes Pascal as a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, inventor and theologian who helped pioneer probability theory, and notes that Pascal, who suffered chronic ill health throughout his life, died in 1662. The FOX4KC report adds that Pascal died at age 39, that the cause of his death remains debated, and that he likely died from carcinomatous meningitis following a malignant stomach ulcer. Pascal was also renowned for work in geometry, physics and probability theory, invented the first mechanical calculator, and wrote Pensées, which grappled with life's major questions including God and human nature, according to the Colson Center, as cited in the station's report.
Pascal's scientific legacy extends beyond the stacks of Kansas City. In September 1648, he had his brother-in-law, Florin Périer, carry out an experiment on the Puy de Dôme to observe how altitude affected mercury levels in a barometer, according to actualitte.com's account of his work.
Rare Books and a Vault Full of History
Whatever the truth behind the name, the Linda Hall Library's holdings are undeniably real and extensive. The library's vault contains thousands of rare books and historic collections, accessible to approved visitors, personnel and researchers, and FOX4 described the library as having been “interlaced” with supernatural phenomena for about 80 years. Among the items still sitting on Linda Hall Library shelves is Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, a mid-17th-century journal.
That connects directly to the library's founding story. Linda Hall Library made its first major purchase in 1946, acquiring hundreds of books from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to FOX4KC. Separately, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences confirms that its library was the first collection Linda Hall Library acquired in 1946, a collection that includes Benjamin Franklin's 1769 work Experiments and Observations on Electricity. Linda Hall's own account states the library's special collections existed at the time of its 1946 opening, and that it acquired the American Academy's library including publications from foreign academies and societies.
The Linda Hall Library notes its History of Science collection now contains over 50,000 volumes documenting the histories of science and early modern intellectual thought, with the oldest title being a 1472 printing of Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia. A 1995 transfer of the Engineering Societies Library later added hundreds of additional early books to the holdings.
Staff Hope the Ghost Writes Again
As Halloween approaches, Bernard has said staff hope for another chalkboard message from André — hoping he leaves another note soon, much as the legend describes him doing decades ago. The reported haunting has been associated with the library since the 1960s, and the institution has chosen to revive the legend as Halloween nears.
No historical documentation has been offered to verify André Dettonville's existence, expedition or death, and the full nature of his connection to Pascal's pseudonym remains unresolved in the available accounts. For now, the story persists mostly through the memories of the people who work the night shift among the stacks — and the hope that, come this Halloween, he might leave them another message.
