Today was the most special event of the year. It’s my absolute favorite activity
in Indianapolis. Tonight was the “Music of the Night” concert at Crown Hill Cemetery. I look forward to this every year, all year long. Charles Manning is our phantom organist. He plays all sorts of Halloween-themed songs such as Toccata and Fugue, Dance Macabre, Ghostbusters, and selections from Faust, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the concert finished with music from Phantom of the Opera. Mr. Manning is joined by Eric Wickens and Brooke Fitzwater, who sing portions of the concert.
The concert is held at the Gothic Chapel in the heart of the cemetery. It is a lovely chapel, built in 1875 and recently restored. It’s beautiful all year round, but it takes on a special glow during October. Corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins, and chrysanthemums decorate the entrance, and pumpkins adorn the alcoves in the main room.
After the concert, we are treated to snacks and hot apple cider. Then we bundle up and head outside for a moonlit tour of the cemetery. The tour is called “Skeletons in the Graveyard” and we visit some of the more famous and infamous people buried at our cemetery and learn interesting trivia and history about their lives. We visited president Benjamin Harrison, Col. Eli Lilly and his family, James Whitcomb Riley (poet), and the Irsays (owner of the Colts), among others. Tonight’s tour was especially fantastic because we had a full moon to light our way. It was a marvelously beautiful evening.
Blessings to you,
Sarah
anordinarymiracleday 