Chetham’s Library, located in Manchester, England, is famed to be one of the finest surviving examples of a 17th-century public library, holding a vital place in the city’s rich history. However, this revered institution is also the protagonist of a chilling ghost story that has lingered in local folklore for centuries. The spectre in question is purported to be the spirit of a local clergyman named John Dee, who is said to haunt the aisles of the library after dark. John Dee, who lived in the latter half of the 16th century, was a humanist scholar renowned for his interest in the supernatural. Alongside his regular duties as a clergyman, Dee was said to have been fascinated by the occult, often dabbling in alchemy, divination, and various forms of spiritualism. Such proclivities led to an infamous incident where Dee – along with his assistant Edward Kelley – purportedly made contact with an angel during a seance in one of the library’s intimate reading rooms. This otherworldly encounter allegedly left a permanent mark on the library, with generations of librarians and visitors reporting mysterious phenomena, including unexplained noises, moving books, and even sightings of a ghostly figure said to resemble Dee. Around the wooden desk where Dee and Kelley held their fateful seance, a circular burn mark is still visible – purportedly the result of an angelic manifestation. This table, along with the eerie tales surrounding it, encapsulates the unique melding of rich history and local folklore that makes Chetham’s Library a truly singular destination. It’s a piece of Manchester’s history that incorporates scholarship, mystery, the supernatural, and the inexplicable, all coalescing to form a tale that has intrigued generations.