Our Spooky Haunted Book Trailer Playlist

Halloween is only a month away, so it's time to do some fun reading about ghosts, hauntings, poltergeists, spirit communications, and such like.  Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library (MPL) has a paranormal book trailer playlist on YouTube for nonfiction books on these and related subjects.  See the entire video playlist here.

Click on the videos below to watch book trailers for these recommended reads.  Many of these items are available to checkout from MPL's Evergreen Indiana catalog.

 

RECOMMENDED READING

 

HOOSIER HAUNTINGS

These books discuss haunted places, ghosts, poltergeists, and spirit communications in Indiana.

 

 The Feeders at Night, by Aldo Gonzalez

(MPL Book Trailer 307)

(An Indiana Haunted House)

Haunted Histories in America, by Nancy Hendricks

(MPL Book Trailer 660)

(Includes Indiana Haunted Places)

 

The People in the Attic, by Doretta Johnson
(MPL Book Trailer 691)

(An Indiana Haunted House)

 

SPIRIT COMMUNICATION & THE AFTERLIFE

These books discuss evidential communications people purportedly have had with their deceased loves ones and friends, as well as other communicators.  Some communications allegedly describe the afterlife.  Some (such as A. Campbell Holms' book) offer comprehensive, encyclopedic coverage of all psi phenomena.

 

The Articulate Dead, by Michael E. Tymn

(MPL Book Trailer 710)

 

The Facts of Psychic Science, by A. Campbell Holms

(MPL Book Trailer 597)

 

 The New Revelation & The Vital Message, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

(MPL Book Trailer 146)

 

Six Books About Animals & the Afterlife

(MPL Book Trailer 609)

What Happens When You Die, by Robert Crookall

(MPL Book Trailer 708)

 

 

 Four Books About Precipitated Spirit Portraits

(MPL Book Trailer 355)

 

The Psychic Life of Abraham Lincoln, by Susan B. Martinez, Ph.D.

(MPL Book Trailer 184)

Four Afterlife Research Books by Rev. Charles L. Tweedale & Violet Tweedale

(MPL Book Trailer 818)

 

The World Unseen, by Anthony Borgia

(MPL Book Trailer 473)

The Supreme Adventure, by Robert Crookall

(MPL Book Trailer 406)

 

 

Conversations Beyond the Light, by Dr. Pat Kubis & Mark Macy

(MPL Book Trailer 81)

 

 

 A Study in Survival, by Roger Straughan

(MPL Book Trailer 109)

Unfinished Symphonies, by Rosemary Brown

(MPL Book Trailer 32)

HAUNTED PLACES, GHOSTS, & POLTERGEISTS

These books talk about specific haunted places, ghosts or earthbound spirits, possession/obsession, and poltergeist phenomena.  A couple of books suggest that spirits assisted archaeologists in finding unknown, lost ruins or artifacts.

Ghosts & Earth Bound Spirits, by Linda Williamson

(MPL Book Trailer 531)

Thirty Years Among the Dead, by Carl A. Wickland, M.D.

(MPL Book Trailer 153)

 

Poltergeist, by Colin Wilson

(MPL Book Trailer 63)

 

Poltergeists, by Alan Gauld & A. D. Cornell

(MPL Book Trailer 611)

This House is Haunted, by Guy Lyon Playfair

(MPL Book Trailer 152)

Two Books About Haunted Borley Rectory, by Harry Price

(MPL Book Trailer 823)
 

The World's Most Haunted House, by William J. Hall

(MPL Book Trailer 215)

True Ghost Stories, by the Marchioness Townshend of Raynham & Maude ffoulkes

(MPL Book Trailer 1)

 

 

The Gate of Remembrance, by Frederick Bligh Bond

(MPL Book Trailer 414)

The Mystery of the Buried Crosses, by Hamlin Garland

(MPL Book Trailer 100)

 

 

Bass Building Demolition

We've previously blogged about the George W. Bass Building, which was irreparably damaged by a tornado on April 8, 2020.  While walking through downtown Mooresville over my lunch break, I noticed that the structure is in the process of being demolished.

Bass Building Demolition Under Way (September 22, 2022)

(Click Photos to Enlarge)

(Photos by William R. Buckley)

 

It has been two-and-a-half years since the building collapsed, and although Mooresville citizens are undoubtedly pleased that the ruins are finally being removed, we are also saddened that another piece of local history is being carted away.  Since the structure couldn't be salvaged, however, removal was the only sensible recourse.

We've heard on the town grapevine that a parking lot will be constructed on the Bass site.  While that's beneficial for downtown businesses and customers, it seems a rather pedestrian use of the land.  But nobody asked my opinion, so I'll just sit quietly in an out-of-the-way corner someplace.

You can read all of our previous blog posts about the Bass Building here.

Farewell, Bass Building.  You gave us 130 years of wonderful history.  George W. Bass, wherever you are, would be proud of that.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2022:   A week after taking the photos above, I returned downtown to shoot some additional photos showing the progress of the demolition.  The concrete structure in the middle of the rubble was the Citizens Bank vault when the bank was located here (1931-1966).  Click the images to enlarge.

UPDATE OCTOBER 15, 2022:  The Bass Building is gone.  These photos (below) were taken on Friday, October 14, 2022.  Since it appears that grass seed has been planted (note straw covering), perhaps the land will now be used as a tiny park space, rather than as a parking lot as rumors previously reported.  An outdoor eating area would be nice.

A Tale of Two Simons

Longtime Mooresville resident, renowned painter and Indiana State Banner designer Paul Hadley painted a watercolor rendering of Simon Moon's cabin, which now hangs along with other Paul Hadley paintings at Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library.

"Simon Moon's Cabin," by Paul Hadley

(click photos to enlarge)

 

It should be a simple matter to learn more about Simon Moon, whose cabin was commemorated in Hadley's watercolor.  But you'll find a convoluted historical trail that has confused researchers for decades.  That's because there were TWO Simon Moons associated with our local and regional history.

Simon Moon (1786-1879) was a Quaker (Society of Friends) who, during the 1830's, settled land in Morgan County, Indiana (first in Gregg Township, then in Brown Township). He lived near Long Ridge, a few miles southwest of Mooresville.  "Our" Simon Moon (let's call him the "Bethel" Simon Moon for sake of comparison) is often mistaken for a relative, also named Simon Moon (1784-1835), who, on May 6, 1834, founded the town (now city) of Westfield, Indiana (in Hamilton County, north of Indianapolis), along with fellow Friends Asa Bales (Mooresville's first postmaster in 1826) and Ambrose Osborne.  All had relocated to Indiana from North Carolina.  We know that the "Westfield" Simon Moon was married to Hannah (Stout) Moon (1789-1844), and both are buried in the Old Friends Cemetery Park in Westfield, while the "Bethel" Simon Moon and his wife, Lydia Moon, are both buried in the Bethel Friends cemetery (see grave markers).  This has confused historians for many years, since the "Westfield" Simon Moon had once lived with Asa Bales in Mooresville before moving to Hamilton County.

Confusing one Simon with another was not uncommon in the 19th century.  Quakers habitually named offspring with identical Biblical names, so within an extended family tree, there could be many Daniels, Simons, Sauls, etc., all with the same surname and, perhaps, no distinguishing middle names.  Muddying the waters further was a Quaker practice (common during the early 19th century and earlier) of not marking grave sites with named headstones.

Both Simons knew each other.  It was a smaller world back then.  Many of these settlers met one another at religious gatherings or in the ordinary course of social visits or business.  These regular (sometimes everyday) interactions mix-up the historical records when one is searching for a particular person, only to discover another individual with an identical moniker who frequented the same geographical areas.

How can we sort out the two Simons?  Thankfully, Richard L. Moon, the "Bethel" Simon's fourth great-grandson, has written a short book explaining the differences between him (i.e., the "Bethel" Simon) and the "Westfield" Simon.  Richard's book presents the evidence persuasively and compellingly, showing land ownership, deeds, maps, Friends meeting records, family trees, and other documentation that clearly indicate two separate individuals who happened to share the same name.

 

Click image (above) to read a digital

copy of Richard L. Moon's book

(in PDF format)

 

Besides being available (free-of-charge) as a digital (PDF) book that you may access online, a printed copy of the book may be checked-out from Mooresville Public Library's Evergreen Indiana (E.I.) catalog, if you have an E.I. library card.

Morgan County "History Buff"alo Returns

 You can't celebrate Morgan County's Bicentennial (1822-2022) without Brutus.

 MPL's Ms. Catherine with Brutus (August 12, 2022)

(CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

 

Brutus, the official Morgan County (Indiana) Bicentennial Bison, is visiting Mooresville Public Library (MPL) during the month of August, 2022.  Get to know the big fella.  We have a bunch of photos.

 "Whoa, Big Fella!"

MPL Executive Director Diane Huerkamp & Morgan County Historian Don Adams coax Brutus to graze in the Grand Hall Directors' Alcove

 

Say, Brutus, did you make that carpet stain?  Bad bison!

   Heading East & West Across the Hoosier Plains

Let's take a peek at those signs, shall we?

What's Brutus' neck tag say?

 

More close-ups?  Sure!

"How ya doin' out there?"

"Wouldn't mind some grass or hay.  Just saying."

 

There's one more REALLY IMPORTANT sign:

 

Does Brutus look familiar?  If you happened to drop by the Library during the 2016 Indiana Bicentennial celebration, you might have seen Brutus wearing different colored fur.  We blogged about his 2016 visit (click here), and Cauli Le Chat, MPL feline roving reporter (2010-2019), also talked about it (click here).

Brutus in 2016 during the Indiana Bicentennial Celebration

Brutus welcomes photo ops, so stop by and take some "selfies" with Morgan County's official Bicentennial Bison.  Just don't climb on or touch him.  He's a friendly dude, but we don't want to get him riled up.  Stampedes we don't need inside the Library.

Returning to Roost (or Roast)

About a year ago, we posted on the Mooresville Public Library's Facebook page about the old Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant that was located on the northeast corner of South Indiana and East South Streets in Mooresville from the late 1960s through spring 2011.  Since earlier this year (2022), a new KFC restaurant has been under construction about a half-block south, at the far north end of the Village Shopping Center (just south of the McDonalds restaurant).  Learn more here.

2022 construction photo by Peter Blanchard, Martinsville Reporter-Times, February 4, 2022

(Click Images to Enlarge)

New KFC Restaurant on South Indiana Street (Looking North)

(Photo Above & Next Eight Photos by William R. Buckley) (August 11, 2022)

 

In the photo above, you can see KFC's original location in the middle-right background.

New KFC Restaurant on South Indiana Street (Looking South)

(Intersection Cross-Street is South Street)

The photo above (looking south) was taken next to KFC's original location on the northeast corner of South Indiana and East South Streets.

So, what's now (2022) located at the old KFC site (360 South Indiana Street)?  Let's have a look.

Sal's Famous Pizzeria Express Is Now Located on the Old KFC Site

(Looking North Across East South Street) 

Sal's Famous Pizzeria Express (Looking Southeast Across South Indiana Street)

Originally, the KFC restaurant was situated at 360 South Indiana Street, just northeast of its new (2022) location.  Here's what it looked like when it closed in 2011, from about the same vantage point as the picture above:

KFC Restaurant Closed (Spring, 2011)

(After Over 40 Years at This Location)

(Looking South)

(Photo by William R. Buckley, May, 2011)

 

Kentucky Fried Chicken had been a Mooresville landmark on South Indiana Street for decades.  This was where my wife was first employed, if you don't count babysitting.  It was upon this establishment's floor in the mid-1970s that fruit drink was spilled, removing the tile's finish.  (In fairness, any sugary or carbonated beverage would have done that, if left too long on the floor.)  Cherished coming-of-age stories have been exchanged over the years about working there, when we lived in more carefree, prosperous times (isn't that the way we often see the past?).  In those days, long ago, you could get fried chicken AND beef & ham sandwiches there.  Employees occasionally exchanged chicken buckets, slaw, mashed potatoes, etc. for pizza (from staff working at a nearby pizza parlor), which was obviously frowned-upon by management.  There were many regular customers who would phone-in their carryout orders--you could set your watch by them, always on the same days and times.  Sometimes, employees could take home extra chicken wings for their families (and dogs or cats) to enjoy.

 

Take a look at this vintage photo below, which my wife, who, let us not forget, was born and bred in Mooresville (or, maybe, "breaded" is a better word, since she worked with the chicken batter), has identified as circa 1973 or 1974.  My limited knowledge of C-41 print photography color processing confirms this estimate.

KFC Restaurant on South Indiana Street (circa 1973-1974)

(View Looking North)

 

Drop by the new place sometime.  Use the drive-through or come inside.  You will get the same friendly service you would have received if you had visited a third of a century ago, when my wife dressed in something like this.

KFC Ad from 1974 Mooresville High School Yearbook, Wagon Trails

(Not My Wife in This Photo)

 

A few years before my wife worked at KFC, uniforms looked like this.

 

Vintage KFC Uniform (circa late 1960s)

That's not my wife in that photo, either.  She has red hair, and her posture is straighter.  She's also much prettier.  Plus her hands don't detach at the wrists.