Spooky Hoosier Books, Part One

October is nearly here, so we've got Halloween on the horizon.  That means it's time to read some spooky books.  Mooresville Public Library has plenty available to checkout, both fiction (call numbers FIC and the first three letters of the author's last name) and nonfiction (call numbers 133 and 398, generally, although there are other places to find them, too).  Since this blog focuses upon Indiana-related (or, more precisely, Morgan County-related) subjects, I'll share the works of a few Hoosier paranormal writers.

Let's begin with Morgan County authors.

The Feeders at Night, by Aldo G. Gonzalez

(MPL Book Trailer #307)

Following a divorce, Aldo Gonzalez needed a new start and a new home.  The house he found offered features not included in the real estate multiple listings.  First, there were barely discernible footsteps and voices when no one else was present.  Then, the horror escalated.  Supernatural forces seemed to be feeding off the author.  You'll want to read this real-life terror with the lights on.  Check it out from the library's Evergreen Indiana catalog.

 

Haunting at Sycamore Lake, by Karl C. B. Muilliwey

(MPL Book Trailer #14)

Attorney Karl C. B. Muilliwey (a pseudonym) investigated a haunted house near Union City, Randolph County, Indiana, in 1992-1993.  The author, who now lives near Mooresville, presents the evidence that an unseen spirit entity, who committed suicide in the barn on the property, lingered on the premises, wreaking havoc but causing little actual harm to the buildings or inhabitants.  Muilliwey began as an open-minded skeptic but was finally convinced of the reality of the paranormal phenomena and their apparent spirit-source.  Checkout the book with your Evergreen Indiana library card.  Here's the catalog listing.  Or you can buy a copy (Kindle eBook or paperback) from Amazon online.

Shelf Doll & Other True Paranormal Tales, by Karl C. B. Muilliwey

(MPL Book Trailer #110)

Muilliwey's son was the primary investigator in a poltergeist case near Centerton, Morgan County, Indiana.  Muilliwey intended to write a short book about the case (hence the book trailer above), but publication fell through, and so we are forced to settle with this article we included in this blog.  The purported spirit entity lived inside a doll on the shelf of a teenager's bedroom, and it was considerably more malevolent than Muilliwey's Sycamore Lake discarnate.  We're hoping that someday this case will appear in book form.

 

The People in the Attic, by Doretta Johnson with Jim Henderson

(MPL Book Trailer #691)

Beginning in 1987, Doretta Johnson and her family experienced a truly horrifying house haunting in Madison, Indiana.  Her 1995 book (written with Jim Henderson) will chill your bones.  From the safety of your armchair, it makes a marvelously spooky read.  Learn more here.  Evergreen Indiana cardholders may place a hold on the book here.

 

Looking for Carroll Beckwith, by Captain Robert L. Snow

(MPL Book Trailer #3)

Of course, most of the spooky Hoosier books available to checkout from Mooresville Public Library were written by Indiana authors living outside Morgan County.  Here are a few popular titles.

Captain Robert L. Snow, a retired Indianapolis police homicide commander, made a surprising discovery:  He remembered details from a previous life as painter James Carroll Beckwith (1852-1917) that he could not reasonably have learned through ordinary means.  As a police detective, Snow was highly skeptical, but he was also open-minded in his investigations.  He chronicles his journey from extreme doubt to eventual conviction (in the truth of the matter, not in the criminal sense).  The book is available in the library's Evergreen Indiana catalog.

 

Four Books About Precipitated Spirit Portraits, by Various Authors

(MPL Book Trailer #355)

In a previous blog post, we discussed the Bangs sisters of Chicago, psychic mediums who specialized in precipitated spirit portraits.  These were purported portraits of deceased individuals that "painted themselves" without apparent human intervention.  Camp Chesterfield, a spiritualist camp near Anderson, Indiana, displays several of these portraits in their Hett Memorial Art Gallery and Museum.  (Read a PDF copy of the book, or, if  you prefer paper, drop by the MPL Indiana Room and peruse one of its copies.)  Many psychical researchers investigated the Bangs sisters and determined that their phenomena were genuine.

We featured Indianapolis resident May Wright Sewall's Neither Dead Nor Sleeping in a previous blog post.  Sewall (1844-1920) was best known as an advocate of women's suffrage, education, and world peace.  Few of her contemporaries knew that she was also interested in survival of bodily death, and she researched the subject for many years.  She reported her findings in this 1920 book, published posthumously and reprinted in 2008 by Cather Press.  It's available to checkout from the library's Evergreen Indiana catalog.

In my next blog post, we'll continue showcasing further haunted Indiana books by Hoosier writers.   There will be plenty of scares to go around!