Published on October 1st, 2011 | by Jill

Emmanuel College Library

Emmanuel College Library stars as The Haunted Library.

We looked at more than a dozen libraries before casting the Emmanuel College Library as O’Deary Library.  The moment we saw the library, we knew it was the perfect setting for Ruby Skye P.I.: The Haunted Library.

The library is an example of neo-gothic architecture.  You can see the high ceilings and big stone windows that give the library its old and spooky feeling.  It really does look like it could be haunted!

The library is extremely cool.  One of the features we loved about it is the staircase in the wall that leads up to the library’s balcony.  In episode 2 of The Haunted Library, you’ll see Ruby come up those stairs with a flashlight.  Later in the episode, you’ll see her walking along the second floor balcony looking down on the main library area.

To complete the library’s transformation from a place of quiet religious study into the quirky O’Deary Library for the web series, we brought in a number of props.  Look at the pictures and see if you can guess which ones we brought into the library to make it seem like it belonged to Ava O’Deary.

The history of the library

The Emmanuel College Library is a beautiful old library.  It is found on the University of Toronto’s Victoria University campus.  It is home to a large collection of religious books, including many special collections and rare books.  The library is on the third floor of Emmanuel College which was designed by architect Henry Sproatt in 1932.

Victoria_College_U_of_T_Ruby_Skye_PI

Emmanuel College is a theological college at the University of Toronto.  Theology is the study of religion and Emmanuel College is associated with the United Church of Canada.  The college is one of seven colleges devoted to religious studies at U of T.  The college was founded in 1928.

In 1985, the British band Tears for Fears shot a music video for their song Head Over Heels at the Emmanuel College Library.  See if it looks like a haunted library in that video.

 

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About the Author

is the creator of Ruby Skye P.I. She loves a good mystery... as long as it's not the case of the missing iPhone. She lives in Toronto.



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