In a tiny town in Central Indiana, not far from Indianapolis, lie the remains of one of the most notorious haunted places in Indiana, the legendary House of Blue Lights. While the house itself that earned this ominous title fell victim to decay and neglect, the desolate stretch of land remains.
The tale of the House of Blue Lights begins with a millionaire named Skiles Test. The brilliant but eccentric Test constructed his house out of glass block and white tile, and the whispers that followed him alluded to madness. The masterpiece of the millionaire’s strange house was the giant glass swimming pool, which was lit from underneath with rows and rows of bright lights. One could see it glowing at night through the windows, always burning brightly.
Test was, so the story goes, deeply devoted to his lovely wife. Tragically, she met an untimely end under mysterious circumstances and Test fell into a deep depression. He refused to let the body of his beloved leave the house they had shared and could not bear to face life without her. So he had a glass coffin built and placed it in the living room. He dressed her in a formal blue gown, as blue was her favorite color, and placed her in the glass coffin, her final resting place. He left the coffin in the living room, which had three wide picture windows so his wife could look out at the peaceful surrounding woods.
But Test didn’t end his tribute to his mate there. He places blue lights throughout the living room to forever light up her presence, and decorated the outside of the house and the thick fringe of trees on his property in bold blue lights as well. He replaced the pool lights and all of the flood lights outside with blue bulbs. As the house was made up largely of glass, it glowed late into the night and drew whispers and curiosity from Test’s neighbors.
Residents of the sleepy town would drive by the mansion at night just to get a glimpse of what they had dubbed the “House of Blue Lights.” Some claim they watched at night as Test placed a chair beside the body of his wife and ate his dinner and shared his day with her. The stories began to spiral out of control when tongues began wagging about being shot at by the crazed millionaire.
Test and his dead wife soon began to attract more visitors and spies than just the neighbors. People would drive from all over the Hoosier state just to catch a glimpse for themselves. Some reported hearing the low, mournful hum of quiet music, and some swore they barely escaped with their lives after being chased away by a vicious pack of dogs.
Test finally succumbed to old age and heartbreak in the 1970s. Everything he owned was put into an auction, and his land became known as Skiles Test Park. The large crowd that the auction drew demanded to see the glass coffin, and were told that there was no such coffin in the house–or anywhere on the surrounding grounds.
Disappointed visitors left the auction without the view of the millionaire’s doomed wife and her makeshift casket they had come for. But many who were brave enough to glimpse Test’s house while he was alive still claim that he was real, his wife was real, and her coffin was real. To this day, some of the park’s visitors insist that an unearthly blue glow radiates from the very grounds where Test and his wife built their long life together.
For more eery tales and creepy places to visit this Halloween, check out this list of haunted houses in Indiana.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
my name is jay bolinger i grew up down the street from the house of blue lights.i was born august of 1964.rite around when skiles test died.my big brother and his freinds use to try and get me to go to the house of blue lights i was allways a wimp and would never go.one day when i had got a little older i decided i would check it out.after that we would go everyday hang out and smoke.that was probably in the early 70s.
Skiles Test died in March of 1964. The auction was held that May, not in the 1970′s as stated in the above text. Also, the house was demolished by the city of Indianapolis in 1979. There are no physical remails of the house at the location, it is now a city park.
where exactly is it located?
Terry, it’s in the northeast quadrant of Indianapolis, across from the Fallwood Apartments, 5200 block of East Fall Creek Parkway N.
While a student at Indianapolis John Marshall High School, some cheerleaders and football players went to the house after losing to Chatard and eating at Pizza Hut and the experience haunts me to this day:
Shadows were cast in many directions without light sources; temperatures changed rapidly; and an erie presence was all around. It was a real haunted house.
my friends, sister and i are going tomorrow night.
how’d it go?
it is so true, I do runs through there for XC and I’ve seen some strange stuff. my father claims to have seen Tests wife himself.
this story is true i have been there and i have seen it for myself