Recommended music: Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells [I already used Elmer Bernstein’s Library track for the Mattel figure]
It’s #SomethingElseSunday, and we’re “ready to believe you” as we check out the Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series Library Ghost!
The Library Ghost, also called Dr. Eleanor Twitty or the Gray Lady, is an important character in the original 1984 Ghostbusters film. Even though she only appears at the beginning, her arrival sets the whole story in motion.
The character’s sudden transformation from a serene, reading phantom into a monstrous, roaring entity scares Peter, Ray, and Egon right out of the New York Public Library. This encounter provides the team with definitive, firsthand proof that full-body human apparitions exist.
Shortly after this encounter, the trio is fired from Columbia University. After witnessing the Gray Lady, they realize paranormal investigation is a viable, untapped market. This leads them to mortgage Ray’s house, buy the firehouse, and officially start up the ghost-busting business.
The library sequence sets the tone for the entire franchise, blending comedy with genuine horror. It also serves as the baseline for ghost behavior and classification, showing that even a seemingly peaceful spirit can become dangerous when provoked. Though the Ghostbusters fail to “get her” during their first chaotic attempt, the Library Ghost sparks the transformation of three eccentric academics into the city’s supernatural saviors.
In the original 1984 Ghostbusters film, the calm, reading version of the Library Ghost was played by Ruth Hale Oliver. Although she acted occasionally, she was better known in Hollywood as an astrologer and writer, publishing books such as The Basic Principles of Astrology. She was also the mother of Susan Oliver, a television and film actress from the 1960s.
Oliver played the calm, human-like Gray Lady at the beginning of the scene, but the scary, monster-like transformation that followed was achieved with a complex puppet by the special effects team. Her original performance was revived for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in 2024.
Though Mattel never produced a standalone Library Ghost action figure in their 6-inch MattyCollector line, they released a companion figure inspired by the scene, packed with the “Ready to Believe You” Egon Spengler. Diamond Select Toys upped the game with their 7-inch scale Library Ghost figure sculpted by Gentle Giant. It offers more detail than the Hasbro version and features 16 points of articulation.
Thankfully, Hasbro released this 1/12-scale Ghostbusters Plasma Series Library Ghost as an exclusive unlock tier for the Plasma Series Ectomobile HasLab crowdfunding campaign. Unlike the Mattel and DST versions, this is the first official figure of the character to feature the serene librarian, and not the monster-like appearance.
Featuring seven points of articulation on the semi-transparent body, the likeness is accurate to the film, unlike the canceled Mattel version, which was planned to be based on the Ghostbusters video game. While she has limited articulation, there are no legs, and she can still deliver a “sshh” signal when Venkman says, “Hello, I’m Peter, Where Are You From? …Originally?” 😄
She includes a clear display stand, an open library book, and a smaller stack of books than in previous releases. Because the figure was only available to project backers and not retail, she is trickier to find on the secondary market, but I’m so glad to finally have this rendition of the character in my Ghostbusters collection.
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Dale's Toys 