Article Archives: Bumps in the Night

John Dillinger, the Ballplayer

April 8, 2021 | by Al Hunter

Despite John Dillinger’s meteoric rise to infamy and spectacular headline grabbing death, his Indianapolis boyhood was unexceptional. He attended public schools for eight years in the Circle City and was a typical student. His teachers recalled that he liked working with his hands, was good with all things mechanical and … Read More

A Spring Training Trade You’re Not Gonna Believe!

April 1, 2021 | by Al Hunter

Spring training 2021 is over and while the exhibition games lacked intensity, were meaningless and the stats didn’t count, they were nonetheless eagerly devoured by baseball fans everywhere who endured the long winter because they knew, come April 1st, the game will come alive again in earnest. Not since World … Read More

Sylvia Likens Revisited, Part 2

March 25, 2021 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in November of 2009. The story contains graphic descriptions of child abuse. Reader discretion is advised. During the high-profile trial, Baniszewski denied responsibility for Sylvia’s death, pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. She blamed the crime on her wild children and cried that she was … Read More

Sylvia Likens Revisited, Part 1

March 18, 2021 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in November of 2009. The story contains graphic descriptions of child abuse. Reader discretion is advised. I hesitated revisiting this saddest of all chapters from 1965 Indianapolis crime. I grew up in Indianapolis in the 1960s not far from the site of the torture-murder of an … Read More

The House of Blue Lights, Part 1

March 11, 2021 | by Al Hunter

This column originally appeared in May 2010. The House of Blue Lights is one of the famous ghost stories in the annals of Indiana paranormal history, although it’s really more of an “Urban Legend” than a ghost story. In the legend and lore of Indianapolis, few names evoke such vivid … Read More