If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood – and it’s a floating grey lady shushing you in a library – who ya gonna call? Certainly not the Ghostbusters, if their hilarious first encounter is anything to go by!

Forty years after its release, the opening library scene from the 1984 blockbuster Ghostbusters remains one of the most unforgettable – and utterly terrifying – moments in comedy-horror history.

Filmed in the grand reading room of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, the sequence introduces us to Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as bumbling parapsychologists Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler – three academics who’ve just been booted from their university jobs for chasing phantoms.

Their first proper gig? Investigating reports of a ghost haunting the iconic Beaux-Arts landmark, where books fly off shelves, card catalogues explode in a blizzard of paper, and a terrified real-life librarian (played by Alice Drummond) flees in panic after encountering something truly supernatural.

What follows is pure cinematic gold: a perfect blend of spine-chilling horror and side-splitting comedy that sets the tone for the entire film – and left millions of 80s kids hiding behind the sofa.

The scene begins innocently enough. Our heroes arrive armed with gadgets that look like they were cobbled together in a mad scientist’s garage. Murray’s Venkman – ever the sarcastic slacker – immediately starts cracking wise, interviewing the shaken librarian with lines like: ‘Did you or any member of your family ever experience paranormal activity?’

But things quickly turn eerie. As they descend into the stacks, they discover ‘symmetrical book stacking’ – just the way Egon likes it – and drawers full of cards mysteriously flung open. Then comes the money shot: the ghostly figure of an elderly librarian (portrayed by actress and astrologer Ruth Hale Oliver) floating serenely between the shelves, oblivious to the intruders.

Venkman, in classic deadpan style, approaches her casually: ‘Hello! I’m Peter. Where are you from? Originally?’ The ghost turns, fixes him with a stern glare, and delivers the immortal hiss: ‘SSSHHHH!’

It’s a moment of pure tension – until Ray (Aykroyd) excitedly shouts ‘Get her!’ in an attempt to capture the spirit. Big mistake.

In an instant, the mild-mannered spectre transforms into a grotesque, skeletal horror – mouth agape in a silent scream, skin stretching grotesquely as she roars at the trio. The Ghostbusters? They don’t fight. They don’t fire proton packs. They run for their lives, screaming like schoolchildren as they bolt up the stairs and out of the building.

Bill Murray leads the chaotic retreat, panting: ‘This is it! This is definitely it!’ as they burst onto the street. It’s comedy perfection – three supposed experts in the paranormal reduced to quivering wrecks by a cross librarian from beyond the grave.

Behind the scenes, the moment was even more chaotic than it appears. Much of Bill Murray’s dialogue was improvised – a hallmark of his genius that director Ivan Reitman encouraged throughout filming. According to co-writer Dan Aykroyd, up to 80 per cent of the movie’s lines were ad-libbed, with Murray rarely sticking to the script.

One happy accident? A real bookcase toppling over during setup – the crew kept it in because Murray’s quick-witted reaction (‘Listen! You smell something?’) added to the spooky atmosphere.

The transformation itself was a triumph of 1980s practical effects. Ruth Hale Oliver – a Hollywood astrologer who published her first book at just 15 – provided the serene ‘human’ ghost form. But for the terrifying reveal, special effects wizards at Boss Film Studios (founded by Star Wars veteran Richard Edlund) created an animatronic puppet based on a life cast of her face.

The result? A nightmarish distortion that still holds up today, achieved without a single pixel of CGI. No wonder it scared the living daylights out of audiences in 1984.

The library ghost – officially known as the Grey Lady or Eleanor Twitty in expanded lore – became an instant icon. She’s since returned in video games, comics, and even a cameo in 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, where she once again reduces Ray to a trembling mess.

But why has this five-minute sequence endured for four decades? Because it nails the film’s genius formula: genuine scares undercut by razor-sharp humour. It’s the moment we realise these aren’t fearless heroes – they’re just three clever blokes in over their heads, much like the audience.

Fans still flock to the New York Public Library to recreate the scene (much to the annoyance of actual librarians), and ‘Get her!’ has become a meme staple on social media. Even Improv Everywhere staged a viral prank there in 2010, recreating the chaos with fake Ghostbusters.

As one Reddit user recently confessed: ‘That library ghost terrified me as a kid. I couldn’t go near a card catalogue for years!’ Another added: ‘Bill Murray running away screaming is peak comedy. Who needs heroics when you have tactical retreats?’

With the franchise still going strong – and talks of more sequels swirling – the library scene remains the ultimate proof that sometimes the scariest thing isn’t the ghost… it’s realising you’re completely unprepared for it.

Did this scene give YOU nightmares back in the day? Or do you still quote ‘Get her!’ with friends? Tell us your Ghostbusters memories in the comments below – and whatever you do, keep the noise down in libraries. You never know who’s listening… 👻