On Gravestones, Graveyards and Ghosts
I've been traveling, taking tours and exploring the sights in Kentucky and Indiana. This research will fit well into my next book.
If you’ve been following me on Threads, you know I’m moving into a new genre, Paranormal Thriller. My books are set in the 1970’s in the real world, and my character Daphne Ann Post has the ability to foresee some people’s futures. By the end of book one, she will also see ghosts. As the series progresses, I want her to refine those abilities and learn to trust the adults in her life. I want her to learn to use her sixth sense to help people.
I’ve always been sensitive to the other side. I’ve had experiences that would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. So writing Daphne’s character isn’t that much of a stretch for me. Also, I’m curious about the other side. I ask questions and I want to learn about what goes bump in the night. In short, I want to see more ghosts.
Last night my husband and I returned from a two week road trip to Tennessee and back again. Some of our destinations included Indianapolis, Bloomington Indiana, Nashville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. Along the way, we stopped at haunted sites and graveyards.
While in Indiana, we drove to the famous haunted bridge in Avon Indiana. The 120 year old bridge is a short drive from Indy, and located in Washington Township Park. We walked under the bridge and could see small stalagmites forming on the underside. The story is that one man working on the bridge (in 1906) fell into the wet concrete and drowned. Some say you could even see his saw blade sticking out. When the train rumbles by, you can hear him moan.
Hubby and I didn’t see a saw blade, and we weren’t lucky enough to have a train pass by while we were there.
One of the most interesting places I came across is The Hannah House of Indianapolis, considered one of the most haunted places in the city. They rent rooms for the night, host paranormal investigations and allow you to conduct seances. The house wasn’t open when we visited, but I really got the creeps walking around the property. The story is, after making his money in the Gold Rush, Alexander Hannah built the house around 1858. He lived there with his wife who became pregnant with their only child. The baby was stillborn.
Though there is no evidence to support this claim, Alex was said to be involved with the Underground Railroad. When someone knocked over a lantern in the cellar, several people died. Rather than get caught assisting slaves, Alexander supposedly buried the victims’ bodies on the property. I haven’t read about anyone investigating the truth of the story, nor have I found out if anyone has used GPR to locate the bones of the victims.
If the story is true, no wonder their ghosts still wander the grounds. I want to return to the Hannah House to do a paranormal investigation of my own. Because weirdly, I took several close up photos of the second story windows and they are not on my phone.
In Kentucky, we stopped for a couple days in Mammoth Park. A National Park, it contains the longest cave system in the world and some say it’s haunted as well. With over 400 miles of caves, we were sure to set up a tour of this amazing place. It is definitely a little creepy going down in the dark bowels of the earth with total strangers.
Above ground, there are 4 historic cemeteries where residents of the area are buried. The Old Guide’s Cemetery houses the remains of one of the earliest cave tour guides. One of the most famous guides, Stephen Bishop, was a slave when he first began giving tours. When he became a free man, he still gave tours of the caves. His legacy is that his stories and history are still told today.
Here’s a photo of the Old Guide’s Cemetery and the Joppa Missionary Baptist Cemetery.
On our way home, we managed to get a tour of the Indiana Medical History Museum. This building was once part of the Indiana Central State Hospital for the insane. The facility we toured was once the lab where doctors did autopsies and studied deceased people’s brains. The hospital was closed in 1968 when updates to medicine and technology improved greatly.
This tour of medical history was pretty fascinating. (see photos) If you’re in the Indianapolis area, or writing historical fiction, I highly recommend it. For those with weak stomachs, you may want to skip the first room where brain slices from back in the day still float in liquid containers for all to observe.
My favorite was the herbal garden. Organized with varieties of medicinal plants and herbs, this gave me all kinds if inspiration for my garden next year. It was also a good reminder of how many poisonous plants there are.
Here are some photos of the museum.
These were only a few of the stops we made on our two week trip. If only there had been more time. Last night, my own bed felt so good.
What a fun trip with fodder for fiction! Did you want to take those skeletons home for Lucianna?
Looks like you had a great location. And lots of potential material for books.