Last year, I noted a library scene and ghost featured in the all-female Ghostbusters remake (or is it considered a reboot? Discuss). At the time, I compared the librarian ghosts from both the 1984 original and the 2016 trailer, and mused:
If that is indeed a library scene and librarian ghost, I am intrigued by the updates. Definitely a younger, sexier version of the ghost!
I wasn’t able to see the 2016 remake last summer, but I did recently check out the DVD from my local public library.
Long story short, no, that is not a librarian ghost sighting in the remake. {Insert sad trombone sound here.} This Ghostbusters remake lands in the Class V category, films that may have library scenes but no reel librarians.
However, there are some interesting library-related bits of trivia still to explore in this remake. Buckle up!
Opening scene in a library:
The opening scene in the remake begins at a mansion, the “Aldridge Mansion Museum.” (Definitely not as memorable as the original film’s opening scene in the New York Public Library, which I analyzed in-depth in this post.) A tour guide is leading a group of people through the first level of the mansion, which he describes as “the only 19th century home in New York City preserved both inside and out.”
He leads the group into a center atrium, surrounded on all sides by bookcases and iron railings on the second level. He then relates the story of the resident ghost, Gertrude Aldridge, who allegedly stabbed all the house’s servants one night. (Her character was based on the real-life Lizzie Borden.)
It is an impressive private library, although the word “library” is not mentioned at all during the tour. However, there is an “Announcements” sign by the guest book that includes “library hours,” as well as a large sign beside the velvet ropes in the atrium, which reads, “Aldridge Family Library, circa 1830.”
Library locale:
The “Aldridge Mansion” filming location looks to be the Ames Mansion at Borderland State Park, especially when you compare the photo above to this interior photo of the Ames Mansion library. The idea of the “Aldridge Mansion” being the “only 19th century home in New York City preserved both inside and out” is loosely based on the Merchant’s House Museum in Manhattan, which is open to the public. The IMDB.com Trivia page for this film also suggests that “Aldridge Mansion” may be named for the original film’s costume designer, Theoni V. Aldredge.
The Aldridge Mansion’s historian, Ed Mulgrave (played by Ed Begley Jr.) seeks out help from Erin Gilbert (Kristin Wiig), because of a book she wrote years ago, Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal.
However, Erin is not pleased to see him and is astounded that he has a copy of her book. (She thought she burned “both copies” years ago!) She is trying to earn tenure as a physics professor at a serious academic institution and does not want to be discredited by her background in the paranormal. In an effort to get her book off of Amazon, she visits her former friend and book’s co-author, Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), who agrees to take the book down in exchange for an introduction to Mulgrave. This brings us back to the Aldridge Mansion… and back to the library ghost!
Library ghost:
As Erin, Abby, and Abby’s fellow scientist, Jillian Holtzmann (played with kooky relish by Kate McKinnon), walk into the center atrium and library, we get to see more of the space, which is filled with mannequins dressed in old costumes, antique furniture, red velvet ropes, old lamps, and more.
The three scientists realize they are about to witness a real-life apparition, er, ghost. And out of the basement floats a spooky figure, dressed in a striped Victorian dress. She looks just like the portrait hanging on the second-floor railing of the library, so this ghost is very clearly the spirit of the daughter Gertrude. She’s definitely NOT a librarian — although based on her hairstyle and clothing, she does look like a younger version of the librarian ghost from the original, doesn’t she? Gertrude the Ghost does make a return in the final battle showdown, and she is also featured in the credits.
As Erin tries to communicate with her, the ghost projects green goo all over Erin. The ghost then flies out of the house, with the three scientists rushing out to try and track her movements. Abby has been filming this entire scene, and the video clip of Erin screaming, “We saw a ghost!” makes it to YouTube and Reddit… ending with Erin getting fired from her teaching position.
That, of course, leads to the formation of the Ghostbusters, with Erin, Abby, and Jillian joining forces with public transportation worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones)!
Additional library sightings:
More “library” sightings in the film include:
- One early call leads them to a hotel and rock concert. When they arrive, a man is being led out on a stretcher and mumbling in Spanish. Erin attempts to translate what the man is saying and ends up (mis)translating, “There’s a chicken frying itself in the library.” Patty has no problem correcting her, “That is NOT what he said.”
- When the Ghostbusters are driving to the rock concert, they pass by the New York Public Library, where the original film opens.
- During the title sequence, there is a brief ghost of Columbia University Library. A few scenes of the original Ghostbusters (1984) were filmed at Columbia University — although Columbia made a deal back then to keep their name out of the film!
Additional book-related trivia:
There are also a couple more interesting trivia bits concerning books and research tied to the film:
- A little over an hour into the film, Jillian brings out a research atlas with a map of ley lines in New York City. This is relevant to the film’s plot and the Ghostbusters trying to figure out where all the paranormal activity is originating from.
- The book that Abby and Erin co-wrote, Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal, was published for real as a movie tie-in book!
What are your thoughts?
Have you seen the Ghostbusters original and remake? Were you also disappointed that there was no additional librarian ghost in the remake? Please leave a comment and share.
Sources used:
- Ghostbusters. Dir. Paul Feig. Perf. Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones. Columbia Pictures, 2016.
- “Ghostbusters (2016): Trivia.” IMDb.com. N.d. Accessed 11 Sept. 2016.
- LaJoie, Eliza. “Inside the Ames.” The Sun Chronicle, 1 June 2011.
- “Ley line” via Wikipedia is licensed under a CC BY SA 3.0 license.
- “Lizzie Borden” via Wikipedia is licensed under a CC BY SA 3.0 license.
- “Merchant’s House Museum” via Wikipedia is licensed under a CC BY SA 3.0 license.
- Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “A Closer Look at the Reel Librarians in the Original ‘Ghostbusters’.” Reel Librarians, 26 July 2017.
- Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “‘Ghostbusters’ Remake Trailer + Potential Librarian Ghost Sighting.” Reel Librarians, 9 March 2016.
REEL LIBRARIANS 
I was moderately disappointed in the remake myself, although that’s partly because I had heard a lot of hype beforehand, and probably had set my expectations too high: It wasn’t a bad movie, it just wasn’t the original. I stand by my year-old observation that the mansion they are touring resembles the Frick or the Morgan in NYC, although I think you have tracked down the exterior and the name correctly. I was hoping for a bit more of a library ghost, but I don’t really blame them for changing things.
Is it a reboot? I guess I’d say “attempted reboot.” At least in my mind, to be a true reboot, it would need to have a sequel, thus having successfully “rebooted” the franchise. Apparently, there isn’t going to be one, although maybe there’ll be a new cartoon series or something, and that would count.
Thanks for your comment! I didn’t love the remake, either, which was a letdown. Plus, they didn’t include an actual librarian ghost, so yeah, another letdown.