During the 1950s and 60s, an urban legend caused one homeowner to put a fence around his property when people were constantly showing up to see his house in person.

The Most Popular Urban Legend in Indiana

Every place has its urban legends, and Indiana is no exception. Britannica describes urban legends as nothing more than local folklore.

Urban legend, in folklore, a story about an unusual or humorous event that many people believe to be true but that is not true.

Recently, Explore named each state's most popular urban legend, and they named the House of Blue Lights as Indiana's. Many of the stories you hear about local lore are harmless, some are even fun.  But Indiana's most popular urban legend had very real-life implications for one Hoosier.

The House of Blue Lights

On any given night in the 1950s and 60s, curious thrill-seekers would flock to one Indianapolis home because it gave off a mysterious blue glow.  The legend surrounding the infamous blue-lit house was one of a man whose beloved wife died, so he did what any normal person would do: he wrapped her casket in blue lights and propped it up in the house as a symbol of his mourning.

I don't think it needs to be said, but just in case it does, this never happened.  I mean, yes, there was a home owned by a man named Skiles Test that people flocked to, and yes, his house may have had a slight glow to it, but it wasn't due to a light-wrapped coffin. In fact, all of Skiles' wives outlived him.

The true mystery surrounding what would become the urban legend known as “The House of Blue Lights” wasn’t the location of Skiles Test’s dead wife — in truth, his wife and two ex-wives long outlived him — it’s how and why the legend came to be in the first place. - Historic Indianapolis

The Real Reason The House Glowed Blue

Skiles Test was known as a local eccentric millionaire, and he had a huge home that had some quirks to it.  According to Historic Indianapolis, he loved the color blue and each year would put up blue Christmas lights.  Behind the house was a huge swimming pool, and to keep bugs away, Skiles had several blue bug-zapping lights.  These lights all contributed to the "blue glow" that the house was said to give off.

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A  Legend Turns Into a Real Problem

Historic Indianapolis says that when the rumors first started, Skiles found them funny and entertaining, but that changed around the middle of the 1950s.  Skiles' house became a popular destination for curious thrill-seekers, and it got so bad that he even had to put a fence around his property to try and keep people out.

Unfortunately, trespassers continued to get more and more bold, leading to Skiles to have some stress-related issues.

The House is Gone, But the Legend Lives on

Skiles passed away in 1964, and the legendary "House of Blue Lights" was demolished in the 1970s.  The legend of Skiles Test and his glowing house is still talked about today.  Historic Indianapolis has a great in-depth article about the full story of Skiles Test and the House of the Blue Lights that goes into much more detail, and has incredible photos. You can see the full article from them here.