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Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
Lorraine Warren left the basement overwhelmed. The librarians who followed her report it never quite quieted down.
601 College St, Clarksville, TN 37044
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to visit as part of the APSU campus; the building is a public university library.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Modern university library with elevator access; campus has paved walkways.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1964 · Civil War Union Field Hospital Site · APSU Campus History Since 1806 · Montgomery County Institutional Heritage
Austin Peay State University's main campus at 601 College Street sits on land with one of the longest continuous institutional histories in Clarksville. The site has been occupied since 1806, predating the university itself by over a century, and passed through several educational and civic owners before Austin Peay's establishment as a state normal school in 1927.
During the Civil War, the structure known as Stewart Hall — then a dormitory on the campus's predecessor institution — was converted for use as a Union Army field hospital. Clarksville's position on the Cumberland River made it an important Union supply and medical hub after its capture in February 1862, and Stewart Hall became part of the overflow medical infrastructure for treating casualties from the Western Theater campaigns. The building's basement served as the primary treatment and surgical area during the period of military use, a detail that has anchored most of the paranormal accounts associated with the site.
Stewart Hall was eventually demolished and replaced by Woodward Library, which now occupies the same footprint. The library serves APSU's approximately 10,000 students and is open to Clarksville community members. Nothing of the Civil War-era structure remains visible above ground, though the site's history is documented in university and city historical records.
Sources
The most documented singular event in Woodward Library's paranormal history involves a visit by Lorraine Warren, the Connecticut-based paranormal investigator known nationally for her work on cases that inspired several major horror films. Warren visited the APSU campus and specifically entered Woodward Library's basement, where — according to accounts documented by the Customs House Museum and corroborated in local news coverage — she was overcome by what she described as visions of injured and dying soldiers crowding the space, consistent with the building's Civil War hospital history. She reportedly cut the visit short and declined to remain in the basement.
The library's Printing Services area has accumulated the most staff-specific accounts independent of the Warren visit. Workers there have reported hearing voices in adjacent offices when those offices are confirmed empty, receiving phone calls on internal lines from extensions that show as unoccupied, and finding equipment in different states from how it was left between shifts. The Clarksville Online's 2023 Halloween feature documented firsthand accounts from multiple library staff members, none of whom were willing to work the lower level alone after dark.
WKRN's reporting on APSU hauntings contextualized the Woodward Library accounts within the broader campus history, noting that the 1806 site predates most of Clarksville's current architecture and has cycled through more institutional identities than any other block in the city.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Woodward Library is a working university library open to the public. The building sits where Stewart Hall, a Civil War-era dormitory converted to a Union field hospital, once stood. The basement is the area associated with the strongest paranormal accounts.
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