Andrew Bayne Memorial Library – Investigation

Andrew Bayne Memorial Library

34 N Balph Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15202

 

Investigation

 

About ten minutes north of Pittsburgh, PA rests a small town on the banks of the Ohio River; Bellevue. Inside this old town sits a public library and park known as the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library and Park. It got its namesake from its previous owner of the Pittsburgh-based millionaire Andrew Bayne, and after his passing, the property was passed down to his daughters: Jane and Amanda. The property was split, Amanda and her husband built the current library and former mansion, and Jane alongside her husband built a house across the park. Upon their passing, and no children for either of them to pass the property along to, they donated the buildings and land to the town of Bellevue.

 

The library was officially opened in 1927 beginning with Amanda’s personal, and impressively large book collection. The library was eventually expanded, opening up the floor plans to create more room for the growing book collections. The property itself grew over time with the addition of a local pool, walking paths, and public gardens. The library grew to over 900 members and was expanded even more by 1948 and locally manufactured and donated stained glass windows were installed in 1997. Over time, the property was altered, tearing down the pool to make way for basketball courts and playgrounds, and Amanda’s beloved Birch trees were torn down during construction.

 

 

Most paranormal experiences and stories are rather positive in nature and are simply reminders of Amanda’s long and happy life in the mansion and on the land. A female has been seen wandering the halls and staring longingly out of windows, particularly the attic windows. She has been seen in a shimmering white outline wearing a long flowing dress and hat. This figure has been rumored to be that of Amanda.

 

Electrical devices like computers and printers have been said to act up turning on and off on their own. Light switches and fans have also been recognized as turning on and off on their own, also being attributed to this same spirit. It’s said that it’s Amanda again making her presence known in the afterlife, letting everyone know that they are guests in her home.

 

 

With the amount of first hand stories and even the sheer amount of books written on the property, there’s no wonder why we were expecting big things to come of this investigation. We met at the mansion at approximately 8:00 PM. We met the incredible tour guide and a member of the library committee (and retired library employee) in Linda. She shared the history of the building and first hand stories she’s been told by her personal friends and coworkers. We began our set up about a half hour or so later and were able to begin our investigation around 9:00 PM. We were informed that we were allowed at the property until about 5:00 AM, but completed our investigation right around 2:00 AM the next morning. During our time there we were joined by Gabe, Raya, and Kayden, our junior investigator. We managed to use nearly all of our equipment during this evening including four hardwired cameras which we recorded with our stationary camera. We had one handheld camera, one K2 meter, one SB7 spirit box, one Ovilus, one Rempod, one recorder, one FLIR thermal camera, two IR lights, one temperature gauge, one EMF pump, one Phasma Box, and one laser grid pen. We had planned on using our light up balloons but never did get the opportunity.

 

Throughout our evening, we did experience sporadic moments of paranormal activity, but also were able to spend some time debunking some scenarios.

 

 

Beginning with the tour of the building, there was a definite odd feeling and heaviness to the Attic area, particularly the small side room. There were some odd moments of the Walkie Talkies going off on their own throughout the evening, one moment in particular coincided with us asking the spirits to mess with them again and the Walkie Talkies went off right after. Continuing with the electrical oddities, the printer went off twice that night, even though we do believe that we debunked the printer at the bottom of the staircase as it turning on and off every once in awhile, the printer in the main library area also went off and even produced an odd print out in the middle of the night. Linda, who stayed in the office the entire time, did not have access to the printer nor did she print anything to it that night.

 

We, at first, believed that we captured a thermal image of a figure in the window which we were ultimately able to debunk but we did experience a few shadows and dark figures moving in the hallways and into rooms, in particular on the second floor. In the second floor hallway, we recorded some Rempod activity and, inside the second floor room (thought to be Amanda’s Bedroom), we captured some EVP’s and recordings that were very intriguing, even without utilizing our devices like the Spirit Box or Phasma Box. Even though at the time of our investigation we did not think we captured much, after our evidence reviews, we felt that the most activity occurred in the Attic in both the Main and Side Room, the second floor Hallway, and Amanda’s Bedroom on the second floor. We recorded voices through the Phasma and Spirit Boxes in all of these rooms as well as some odd noises during our time in each. While reviewing our stationary cameras, we realized we caught some light anomalies flashing across the Attic and Amanda’s Bedroom.

 

 

Below are recordings, videos, pictures, and thermal images from our paranormal investigation of the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library. We labeled locations from each recording and video including communication or paranormal evidence we believe we captured.  Once you listen to the recordings and watch the videos, reach out and let us know what you think.

 

As always, you have been warned, some of this is not for the faint of heart and can be slightly explicit:

 

Attic Main Room

 

In this area, tales of phantom footsteps and shadows appearing and disappearing are overshadowed (pun intended) by the full figured apparition of Amanda spotted here peering longingly out of the window of the left storage room. Employees have reported seeing her here and even called the local cops in the past, only to have the building swept head to toe revealing no one (at least not living) to turn up. The aforementioned footsteps have been heard almost regularly by employees, some who simply give Amanda a welcoming greeting. Electrical anomalies have been regularities here and Amanda has been named the culprit as she just likes to let guests know that it’s still her home.

 

 

During our first EVP session, we captured an odd quiet knocking while we sat around the table. We did confirm that no one was moving or tapping to create that noise. We followed this up with a Phasma Box session where we recorded some intelligent phrases based on our conversations with them, Dan’s name repeated back to him, and even laughter.

 

Photos:

 

• We didn’t capture much in our photographs in this area.

 

 

Recorder 1 – EVP:

 

• After we introduced ourselves and asked anyone with us to step forward, we heard two very quiet knocks at about the :04 marker.

 

 

Recorder 2 – Phasma Box:

 

• We explained that we are guests in the building only to hear a voice proclaim “Mine” at :04.

 

 

Recorder 3 – Phasma Box:

 

• After we didn’t hear or experience much activity, we heard a mocking laugh at about :05.

 

 

Recorder 4 – Phasma Box:

 

• At about :03, we heard Dan’s name repeated back to us followed by an odd phrase of “We have more” at :30.

 

 

Recorder 5 – Phasma Box:

 

• The word “Loud” could be heard at :02.
• After we asked how many spirits are with us, we heard the number “Eight (8)” at about :28.

 

 

Recorder 6 – Phasma Box:

 

• At approximately :04, we captured the unprompted question of “Lost something?”
• “Thank you” was heard at :15 and “Just one (1)” at :35 in response to us saying we hear both a male and a female voice.
• After a little static, we asked if they’re trying to say something, and at :52, we captured “Yup.”

 

Recorder 7 – Phasma Box:

 

• We asked if they lived in the building in the past, and we heard the response of “At first” at :04.
• After we asked what their name was, we captured “Brad” at :22 and “Lucille” at :28. Neither name has been associated with the library to our knowledge.

 

 

Recorder 8 – Phasma Box:

 

• We heard a response of “Yes” at :09, after we asked if Amanda is here with us.
• “I’ll be back” was heard at :11 as if explaining that Amanda was leaving.

 

 

Recorder 9 – Phasma Box:

 

• As we attempted to make small talk and simple conversation, we heard “My sister” at :07. Amanda’s sister lived across the property in a not as spectacular mansion.

 

 

Recorder 10 – Phasma Box:

 

• At about :02, we heard the word “Driveway.”
• “Just me” was heard at :20 as if in response to our question asking if there are any intelligent spirits there.
• “Goodbye” was then captured at :47 followed by “Hallways” at :59.

 

 

Recorder 11 – Phasma Box:

 

• As if picking up residual voices, we heard “In between” at :04 followed by “Fighting” at :06.

 

Handheld Video 1 – EVP:

 

• Unfortunately, our camera was not on during much of the EVP session as we were still in the process of getting a good angle. We didn’t capture much of anything in this video.

 

 

Handheld Video 2 – Phasma Box:

 

• After we said that we are guests we heard a voice say “Mine” at :23.
• We heard a mocking laugh at 1:24.
• At 2:12, we heard Dan’s name repeated back to us.
• We then heard the phrase “We have more” at 2:39.
• The word “Loud” was heard at 3:21.
• We asked how many spirits are with us and heard the number “Eight (8)” at 3:47.
• At 4:18, we captured the question of “Lost something?”
• “Thank you” was heard at 4:29.
• “Just one (1)” was then captured at 4:49 after we said we hear both a male and a female voice.
• We asked if they’re trying to say something, and at 5:06, we captured “Yup.”
• After we asked if they lived in the building in the past, we heard “At first” at 5:13.
• After we asked for their name, we captured “Brad” at 5:31 and “Lucille” at 5:37. Neither name has been associated with the library.
• We recorded “Yes” at 6:18, after we asked if Amanda was here.
• “I’ll be back” was captured at 6:20 as if explaining that Amanda was leaving.
• As we attempted conversation, we heard “My sister” at 7:06 as if referring to Amanda’s sister who lived across the property.
• At 7:26, we heard “Driveway” followed by “Just me” at 7:44 in response to us asking if there are any intelligent spirits there.
• “Goodbye” was then captured at 8:11.
• The word was heard “Hallways” at 8:23, which ultimately guided us to the next room.
• Picking up residual voices, we heard “In between” at 9:43 and “Fighting” at 9:45.

 

 

Attic Small Room

 

There hasn’t been much noted in this room in the past, however, during our walk through of the library, three of our investigators felt an odd sense here; one even felt a sense of vertigo while another had to leave the room after feeling overwhelmed. Ironically, this is Linda’s favorite room where she feels most comfortable and at ease.

 

During one of our Spirit Box sessions, we thought we captured a FLIR thermal image of a figure peering out the window. Later in the night, we successfully debunked this being an odd reflection of one of our investigators. However, while we investigated this area, the strange Walkie Talkie activity began echoing up from the second floor library where we stored our equipment. We utilized the Spirit Box here and did manage to record some communication beginning with a confirmation that the device was in fact working. We also heard some phrases that lead us to believe that we weren’t quite welcome in the area.

 

Photos:

 

• We didn’t capture anything in our regular still photos here.

 

 

Recorder 1 – EVP:

 

• At about the :02 mark, we heard a single Walkie Talkie echo from the floor below us.
• We then heard a laugh at about :08.

 

 

Recorder 2 – EVP:

 

• After Derrick rejoined the group following him checking out the noise, the Walkie Talkie went off again at :06.

 

 

Recorder 3 – Spirit Box:

 

• We made mention that the spirits could speak with us through the radio frequencies, and at :04, we heard “It’s working” as if referencing the new device at their disposal.

 

 

Recorder 4 – Spirit Box:

 

• At :21, we heard “Studio” after we asked what the room was before it was a library. The only reference to this that we could find was that the building was once apartments and this possibly referenced a studio type apartment.

 

 

Recorder 5 – Spirit Box:

 

• As if we ran out of favor in this room, we heard “Go outside” at :01 followed by a little bit of a drawn out phrase of “You’re not wanted” at :41.
• “Leave” was then heard at 1:07.

 

 

Recorder 6 – Spirit Box:

 

• After we asked if the spirits could manipulate the frequencies provided through the spirit box, we captured the phrase “I think so” at :13.

 

 

Recorder 7 – Spirit Box:

 

• At about the :04 mark, there was an odd bang.
• “Exhausted” was then heard at :10.

 

 

Recorder 8 – Spirit Box:

 

• We asked if they knew what town we’re in, and at :07, we captured the response of “No.”

 

Recorder 9 – Spirit Box:

 

• At :04, we heard the word “Faster” after we adjusted the spirit box settings.

 

 

Recorder 10 – Spirit Box:

 

• As if confused, we heard the phrase “You’re kidding” at :05 followed by “Stop” at :14.

 

 

Recorder 11 – Spirit Box:

 

• Sounding like we picked up a response to another question, possibly residual, we heard “He told me when to start” at :06 then “I did” at :11.
• The word flashlight was then caught at :14.

 

 

Handheld Camera 1 – EVP:

 

• At :14, we heard a Walkie Talkie alerted from the floor below us followed by a laugh at :20.
• After Derrick returned from him checking out the original noise, the Walkie Talkie went off again at 2:45.

 

 

Handheld Camera 2 – Debunking:

 

• After attempting to recreate the FLIR thermal image which was captured during our spirit box session, we successfully revealed that the body seen in this picture was in fact one of our investigators’ reflections in the window.

 

 

Second Floor Bedroom

 

Even though this room, sitting off to the side of the main stairwell on the second floor, is not actually recorded as Amanda’s Bedroom, it is referred to quite regularly as her bedroom as it is the largest room in the upper floors and holds two large closets.

 

 

This room is where we began hearing the printer go off downstairs and the Walkie Talkie activity began to pick up further. Our EVP recorded an odd phrase followed by some activity captured on our Phasma Box. We believe that the Walkie Talkie and printer activity was in fact Amanda messing with the electronics available to remind us that it was still her home.

 

Photos:

 

• Most of the activity hear was audible and we did not capture anything in our regular flash photography.

 

Recorder 1 – EVP:

 

• At :05, we captured an odd phrase that’s nearly inaudible. It sounds to us like it says “Hallway, all the way.”

 

Recorder 2 – EVP:

 

• The printer strangely went off at about :05.

 

 

Recorder 3 – Spirit Box:

 

• After we asked if that was them who was playing with the printer downstairs, we heard “Not me” at :09.

 

 

Recorder 4 – Spirit Box:

 

• The Walkie Talkie was alerted at about the :06 mark.
• We asked if that was them messing with the Walkie Talkie and, at :35, we captured what sounded like “You’re welcome.”
• An odd knocking could then be heard at :44.

 

 

Recorder 5 – Spirit Box:

 

• After some silence, we heard the question of “What?” at :08.
• We asked what other electronics they could set off, and at :13, we captured the Walkie Talkie going off.

 

 

Recorder 6 – Spirit Box:

 

• At :05, we heard the name “Amanda.”

 

 

Recorder 7 – Spirit Box:

 

• After we said that we felt like there was something in the hall, we heard “Leave” at :06.

 

 

Recorder 8 – Spirit Box:

 

• At :06, we captured a knocking from the hallway.

 

 

Handheld Camera 1 – EVP:

 

• Unfortunately, we were unable to capture the same voice in the recordings as this camera was not running at that time.

 

 

Handheld Camera 2 – Spirit Box:

 

• We began running this camera a little late but still did hear the word “Leave” at 2:41 after we said that we felt like there was something in the hall.
• At 3:26, we captured a knock from the hallway.

 

 

Second Floor Hallway

 

This Hallway has been said to have shadows appear and disappear into and out of rooms surrounding it. Footsteps have also been said to echo down this Hallway and lead to the staircase. Shadowy figures have even been seen walking down the Hallway and occasionally peering out of the rooms almost curiously at any visitors.

 

 

As we were in Amanda’s Bedroom, we felt as though we were called out into the hallway quite clearly through the Spirit Box. While we spent some time here, we captured some significant Rempod activity followed by a very clear welcoming into the area with a “Hi.” The Walkie Talkie activity continued while we were here and, at the end of our session in the area, we heard our names captured through the Spirit Box.

 

Photos:

 

• We did capture some Rempod activity here via our cell phone pictures, but other than that, we didn’t gather any other pictures out of the ordinary.

 

 

Recorder 1 – Spirit Box:

 

• The Rempod was immediately alerted, heard at :01 and :26.
• After we said hello, we captured “Hi” at :29.

 

 

Recorder 2 – Spirit Box:

 

• As we noticed a light moving, the Rempod went off at :02, then again at :09, :25, :39, :49, and finally at 1:00.

 

 

Recorder 3 – Spirit Box:

 

• We asked who said hi earlier and, at :08, we heard “Me.”

 

 

Recorder 4 – Spirit Box:

 

• Unprompted, we captured the word “Child” at :07.

 

Recorder 5 – Spirit Box:

 

• After we asked who used to live in the building, we heard “Give up” as a response.

 

Recorder 6 – Spirit Box:

 

• At :03, we heard the phrase “Good riddance” after we mentioned we were going to move on.
• We again asked who messed with the Walkie Talkies and heard “Me” at :18.
• After asking if they can mess with it again, we captured “Yes” at the :21 mark.

 

 

Recorder 7 – Spirit Box:

 

• Wildly enough, after we asked if they could say our names, and they did.
• Starting at :10, we heard “Dan.”
• At :14, we captured “Gabe.”
• “Kayden” was recorded at :16 followed by his mother’s name, “Raya,” at :19.
• “Derrick” was finally heard at :22.

 

Handheld Camera 1 – Spirit Box:

 

• The Rempod was alerted which is when we began recording then caught “Hi” at :01 after we said hello.
• After seeing a light move, the Rempod went off at :44, then repeated at :51, 1:07, 1:21, 1:31, and finally at 1:42.
• After we asked who said hi earlier, at 3:40, we heard “Me.”
• We captured “Child” at 4:04 then “Give up” at 4:34 after we asked who used to live in the building.
• At 5:40, we heard “Good riddance” after we mentioned we were going to move on.
• We asked who messed with the Walkie Talkies and heard “Me” at 5:55.
• After asking if they can mess with it again, we recorded “Yes” at 5:58.
• After we asked if they could say our names we heard “Dan” at 6:27, “Gabe” at 6:31, “Kayden” at 6:33, “Raya” at 6:36, and finally “Derrick” at 6:39.

 

 

Basement Wreath Room

 

Even though there has never been much reported from this area, including the employees and Linda herself, we still decided to spend some time down here. At first the area felt like there was a presence with us, but as we continued our investigation and Spirit Box session, we didn’t seem to capture much out of the ordinary.

 

Photos:

 

• There was nothing abnormal or paranormal in this area captured via pictures.

 

Recorder 1 – EVP:

 

• There was nothing out of the ordinary heard here.

 

 

Handheld Camera 1 – EVP:

 

• Nothing paranormal was recorded here.

 

 

Second Floor Whisper Room

 

In this seemingly guest bedroom off of the second floor hallway, we’ve heard stories of shadowy figures and phantom footsteps occurring frequently. We named it the Whisper Room based on the large painting on the wall inside the room which depicts a figure held to a pair of lips apparently “shushing” the would be library guests. Even the last group of investigators seemed to capture some odd apparitions moving in this area; needless to say, this peeked our interest.

 

During our time spent in this room, we had the Rempod alerted only to have this debunked by our Walkie Talkie frequency. The Ovilus did produce a few words, but the most intriguing aspect of this session was the tapping on the window after we asked about their trees being cut down against their dying wishes.

 

Recorder 1 – EVP

 

• At :04, the Rempod was alerted.

 

 

Recorder 2 – EVP

 

• The Ovilus read the word “Visit” at :08 and the word “Ella” at :15.

 

 

Recorder 3 – EVP

 

• The Ovilus read “Aim” at :05.

 

 

Recorder 4 – EVP

 

• After we asked if they were upset that their beloved trees were cut down, there was an odd tap on the window at :09.
• This same noise was then repeated at :36.

 

 

Handheld Camera 1 – EVP

 

• The Ovilus read the word “Visit” at 2:46 and “Ella” at 2:53.
• The Ovilus then read “Aim” at about the 3:28 mark.
• After we asked if they were upset with their trees being cut down, there was an odd tap on the window at 4:07 and at 4:34.

 

 

Stationary Camera 1

 

• In the Attic, on the bottom left of the screen, a light can be seen at about 6:50.
• Another light anomaly could be seen in that same bottom left screen in the Attic at 18:15.
• At 25:44, off screen, the Walkie Talkie could be heard going off.
• In the Attic, on the bottom left, another light was seen at 25:50.

 

 

Stationary Camera 2

 

• At 3:31, in the bottom left screen, in the Attic a light anomaly can be seen moving toward the camera.
• The Walkie Talkie can be heard off screen at 5:11.
• Back in the Attic, in the bottom left screen, two lights can be seen at 5:48 and again at 6:14.

 

 

Stationary Camera 3

 

• Early on, at :32, a light can be seen moving in front of the camera on the lower left screen in the Whisper Room.
• More lights were spotted in the same screen in the Whisper Room at :41 and again at :46.
• Back in the Whisper Room, in the lower left screen, at 7:03, another light anomaly can be seen moving across the screen.
• Another similar light was seen in the same Whisper Room at about 11:48.

 

 

Stationary Camera 4

 

• In the lower right frame, in the Whisper Room, a light can be seen moving across the camera at 1:43.
• The top right screen, in the Attic Small Room, a black anomaly can be seen moving across the image at 4:53 and 4:58.
• The upper left frame, in Amanda’s Room, as we were in there nonetheless, shows an off light moving toward the camera at about 18:03.
• Almost right after, at 18:13, in the lower right screen in the Whisper Room, a light moves across the camera.

 

 

Stationary Camera 5

 

• In Amanda’s Bedroom, the upper left screen, we captured light anomalies at 2:27 and 4:15.
• In the bottom right screen, in the Whisper Room, we captured a light moving across the screen at 5:47.
• Back in Amanda’s Room, at 5:50 and again at 6:02, we caught lights streaking across the upper left screens.

 

 

Upon completing a thorough review of the evidence we gathered from our overnight paranormal investigation at the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue, PA, we can confidently state that we experienced a minor amount of other worldly activity. Some experiences related directly to stories we’ve heard like those of the spirits playing games with electronics as our Walkie Talkies, Rempod, and the printer went off throughout the night. We did experience some odd feelings in the Attic but most of our paranormal experiences were actually realized only upon reviewing our recordings and video after the fact. We did record numerous words and phrases, mostly residual but a few intelligent, utilizing our Spirit Box and Phasma Box.

 

Most active locations throughout the library would seem to be in the Attic in both the Main Room and Side Room as well as on the Second Floor in Amanda’s Bedroom and the Hallway. The Attic, in both areas, began with an odd feeling and some strange noises but ultimately led to some verbal communication captured through the Phasma Box and Spirit Box. The Second Floor felt more warm and welcoming, and seemed to be a jumping off point for more electrical interference with the Rempod, Walkie Talkies, and the printer downstairs. After recording some residual and intelligent communications here, we began to hear things telling us to leave as if we wore out our short stay.

 

There do seem to be a few different energies here in the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library, and even though historically, Amanda is said to be the only spirit remaining here, we definitely felt and recorded a more masculine and dominant voice, as if a protector of Amanda. Could this perhaps be her husband or her father? Amanda seemed to be more welcoming and friendly, and even playful especially with our electrical devices.

 

We didn’t seem to get much paranormal activity during the time we spent there but we did record plenty of recordings and video evidence showing otherwise. The experiences recorded in the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library definitely outweighed the original disappointment of our first instinct of no paranormal activity but we do feel as though there was more that the library had to offer. After some research and speaking with Linda, we feel as though there may be a lack of more activity based on the missing presence of children. Even though she never had any children, Amanda had a soft spot for them and, even today, seems to be more prone to reaching out to children in her home. However, as things are beginning to open back up, Kids Story Time and more children activities are still suspended during the COVID quarantines and shutdowns. To us, this may be a big reason why Amanda has been sitting back, quiet. Once things open backup and kids make their way back into the building, we’d love to spend another night at the library to see if we can prove or disprove this theory. Regardless, we do feel as though we experienced paranormal activity, whether it was Amanda or some other entity watching over the historic and beautiful building.