Long after the doors are locked and the last books have been checked out, someone, or something, is hanging out at the Gainesville branch of the Hall County Library System.

It turns on the lights, plays with the elevator and removes magazines from the shelves. Library assistant Gail Hogan said she has felt the presence for years.

At an after-hours event for teens, she shared her first-hand experience with the ghost known as the Lady of the Library.

"I think it's interesting that when I was hired they never told me there was a ghost here," Hogan told the teens.

But she was more curious than frightened by the pulled-out drawers and misplaced materials. She began to research sightings of the Lady of the Library, whom she calls "Miss Elizabeth."

"I want to get the facts behind the story," she said.

After bringing the young visitors up to date on her findings, Hogan led the young visitors on a tour of the darkened library.

Julian Hershey, 18, of Gainesville, had heard about the library's ghost before. He was curious, but not nervous. Not really, anyway.

"I am kind of looking down the corridors, just to check," he said.

The first stop was the children's section, where Miss Elizabeth was recently felt.

As Hogan was shelving books one day, she became aware of a presence walking past the aisle. But when she went to help the person, there was no one there.

"This was one of the times the hair on my arm stood up," she said.

It wasn't long before the entire group was on edge as Hogan led them past the shadowy aisles of books and wound them through the abandoned offices. Every noise, every motion became suspect — creaking of vents, a sliver of light reflecting on a book cover — was it the Lady of the Library?

Hannah Voyles, 13, of Flowery Branch was certain she caught a glimpse of the ghost near the dark bookshelves.

"I saw a figure of a woman walking, with her finger pointing, looking at books," she said. "I feel pretty creeped out."

Previous sightings of the ghost describe her as a woman with long, dark hair, wearing a long skirt. One theory Hogan shared is that she was the wife of a Confederate soldier or captain. Maybe she watched him leave from the porch of the Brown house that once stood where the library is now.

After the tour, paranormal researchers Denise Roffe and Diane Culpepper planned to show the young visitors some of their own ghost findings on photos and special recordings.

Hogan said that later the pair would use their instruments to see if they could detect the Lady in the Library.

When one young visitor asked how Miss Elizabeth died, Hogan admitted she did not know.

"I have to tell you, I still don't have all the answers," she said.