It’s that time of year again in the Irv: Halloween season. Houses are sprouting spider webs and ghost circles, windows of businesses are being prepped for seasonal artwork, children (and some adults) are carefully planning their costumes, candy and treats are being stockpiled, and the finishing touches are being made for this year’s Halloween Festival. No question about it, there is no place in the Hoosier state that does Halloween better than Irvington. But why does it matter and what does it mean? For most, Halloween is a passing distraction, a momentary escape from the weariness of day-to-day life. But for most, it’s a chance to be a kid again, if only for one night.
For my part, Halloween in Irvington means ghost stories, folklore and history. I’ve investigated, documented and talked about the ghosts of Irvington for over twelve years now. What makes Irvington special to me is the abundance of ghosts who “reside” here. Many of these ghosts step right from the pages of our history books: Abraham Lincoln, John Dillinger, America’s First Serial Killer H.H. Holmes, D.C. Stephenson, Thomas Carr Howe, Bona Thompson, Madge Oberholtzer and Johnny Gruelle of Raggedy Ann fame. All of these, and more, can be found in Irvington. There are also the dozens of spirits of average, everyday people who called this community home that may still be found here.
A 2013 poll by the Huffington Post revealed that 45 percent of Americans believe in ghosts. The results are in line with previous polls, including a 2009 CBS News study, which showed that “nearly half of Americans say they believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations.” While skeptics deny the existence of ghosts (based on lack of concrete evidence) polls and surveys continue to show that the public strongly disagrees. The 2009 CBS poll revealed that an astonishing 78 percent of Americans believe in life after death, but that number is inflated due to theological beliefs. The 2013 poll backed the number down to 64 percent expressing a belief in life after death and 59 percent believing they’ve never actually seen a ghost. Furthermore, 43 percent of believers think that ghosts or spirits cannot harm or interact with living people.
These numbers can be complicated to be sure and should be considered consistent with the beliefs of generations past. What has changed is the acceptance of the belief in ghosts due mostly to the positive affirmation by the modern, mainstream media. Admitting to a belief in ghosts no longer carries the stigma it did as recently as a generation ago. In short, ghosts are hip, trendy, sexy and readily accepted; no longer an object of derision. Turns out, if you believe in ghosts, you’re in pretty good company.
The idea of ghosts as evidence of life after death can be traced back to ancient Egypt and beyond. Egyptians believed that death was merely a transition to a higher level of existence. There was widespread belief in ghosts in ancient Egyptian culture in the sense of the continued existence of the soul and spirit after death, with the ability to assist or harm the living. Over a period of more than 2,500 years, Egyptian beliefs about the nature of the afterlife evolved constantly. Many of these beliefs were recorded in inscriptions, papyrus scrolls and tomb paintings.
Religions the world over show belief in ghosts. Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism all teach that ghosts exist. The Bible and the Torah are both full of ghosts as are the writings of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Celts. There is no period at which the ancients do not seem to have believed in a future life after death. Ghosts appear in many stories handed down to us from ancient Greece through storytellers such as Pliny, Homer, and Virgil. Interwoven with tales of mythical gods and heroes, the ghosts of ancient Greece were very much a part of its culture. However, confusion prevails when you try and sort those beliefs out.
Take for example the elaborate mythology of the Greeks, who believed that the spirits of the departed lived on in the tomb alongside the body. As cremation gradually gained favor, the idea took shape that the soul existed independent of the body, residing in a hole in the center of the earth, where it lived on in eternity with other souls. One need only refer to Dante’s Inferno as lingering proof of this belief through the ages.
Cicero relates the general belief that the dead lived on beneath the earth, and that special provision was made for them in every Latin town in the form of a deep trench which was regarded as the entrance to the lower world for the dead. These provisions clearly show an official belief that there was a thin barrier between the dead and the living. Thus, the spirits of the departed still belonged to the city of their birth, and took an interest in their old home. The spirits could even return to it on the days when “the trench of the gods of gloom lies open and the very jaws of hell yawn wide.” Their rights were to be respected, if evil was to be averted from the State. In fact, the dead were gods with altars of their own, and Cornelia, remembered as the perfect example of a virtuous Roman woman, could write to her sons, “You will make offerings to me and invoke your parent as a god.” Sound familiar? Does “Trick or Treat” ring a bell?
More importantly, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, and political theorist, details the belief that the dead never really leave their earthly abode. Although well over 2,000 years old, his rule most aptly applies to Irvington. Cicero uses the belief in life after death as an argument for immortality. Ergo the ghosts of Irvington are immortal. Okay, okay, so I’m no Cicero, but you get the point.
If the voices and opinions of the ancients don’t sway you, perhaps a more contemporary list of notables who either believed in or claimed to have seen a ghost might: Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Andrew Jackson, Harry S. Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, Winston Churchill, Hugh Grant, Daniel Day-Lewis, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, Vincent Price, Peter Sellers, Roger Moore, Mick Jagger, and Lady Gaga to name but a few. Okay, maybe Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga don’t surprise you, but some of those names surely do.
So why do the ghosts of Irvington matter? Ghost stories are oral tradition. Oral tradition is folklore. Folklore are myths. Myths become history. Need proof? Isaac Newton was never hit in the head with an apple, George Washington never threw a silver dollar across the Delaware, chopped down a cherry tree, and he didn’t have wooden teeth, Betsy Ross didn’t create the first flag, Paul Revere never yelled “The British are coming,” Vikings didn’t wear horned helmets, King Arthur wasn’t real and Columbus already knew the earth was round. Yet, many accept these myths as historical facts. Ghosts are the same way. Whether you believe or not, every October, the ghosts of Irvington help make this community a special place.
“Local tales and superstitions thrive best in these sheltered, long settled retreats; but are trampled under foot, by the shifting throng that forms the population of most of our country places. Besides, there is no encouragement for ghosts in most of our villages, for they have scarce had time to finish their first nap, and turn themselves in their graves, before their surviving friends have traveled away from the neighborhood, so that when they turn out of a night to walk the rounds, they have no acquaintance left to call upon.” — Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
When in doubt, fall back on the masters. Happy Halloween!
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” published in 2014. Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
