During this time of turmoil, I thought I would share some stories about ghosts being helpful. The idea came to me when I was exploring the Indiana State University Folklore Archives. While I entered the archives with the purpose of finding nefarious ghosts, I was pleasantly surprised to find the tag for “helpful ghost.”
These stories, told by Hoosiers, are summarized below. Click the links to read the story in the teller’s own words.
- When a girl moved into a new house, her brother told her it was haunted. Allegedly, a boy (Raymond) that lived there fell from his tree house and died. His ghost was not scary but helpful. He turned off the water when the bathtub was too full and turned on lights when needed.
- Another helpful ghost boy alerted a family of a furnace fire. He appeared in the parents’ room, waking them up from their sleep. They realized then, their furnace was on fire. The family named him “Charlie the Good Ghost.”
- A girl shared how her dead stepfather showed his presence to his family. Her mother, having to raise five children alone, was very stressed. Whenever she was dealing with anxiety, pennies would fall onto the kitchen floor. They believed it was their stepfather’s way of saying everything would be alright.
- Legend tells of a man named Jack who died in a chainsaw accident in Kokomo, Indiana. A tree fell on him when he attempted to cut it down. Jack’s ghost will appear at the sound of a chainsaw to warn users of their danger.
Isn’t that nice? If you’d like to read another story about a friendly Midwest ghost, I recommend my post “Ghost Bakes Fluffy Biscuits.” This helpful ghost did chores around the house.
Do something nice today! 🙃
Notebook of Ghosts 
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