Who's really haunting the Pink Palace on St. James Court?
The story goes that Mr. Avery is haunting the house at 1473 St. James Court, but is there a possibility another spirit is lingering around instead?
As everyone knows, sometimes things get haunted. It just happens, ya know? The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the sky is blue, the water cycle makes it rain, planes somehow fly, and sometimes, despite one’s best efforts, people, places, things, etc. get haunted. Such is life.
Now as topical as it is to write about hauntings during the month of October, I'm also bringing this up because I live close to a house that is allegedly haunted. Although, truthfully, aren’t all houses a little bit haunted? But I digress.
This house is a well known fixture in Louisville, and specifically on St. James Court. It’s an eye-catching pink, tall, commanding house at the end of the court that’s affectionally named the Pink Palace.
The Pink Palace has a storied (and spooky) history and it’s currently up for auction. The house was listed on the market a couple of years ago for the low, low, low, how low can you go price of $735,000. If that number is any indication, it’s probably a safe bet to say the house will go for more money than I’ll ever see in my lifetime or my next several lifetimes.
For some time the conventional wisdom in the world of paranormal research is the Pink Palace is haunted by a man known as Mr. Avery.
However, after doing some digging (maybe too much than what was warranted) I think I’ve developed a solid case that the Pink Palace is not haunted by Mr. Avery but someone else.
The Story of Mr. Avery
The story of Mr. Avery is largely drawn from work done by David Dominé in his book Phantoms of Old Louisville: Ghostly Tales from America's Most Haunted Neighborhood.
In his book, Dominé interviews a woman named Jenny Dickerson who lived in the house’s cellar during the 1960s and 70s while she was a student at the University of Louisville.
Jenny recounts one night seeing the spectral image of a man, first in the kitchen and then again in the bathroom while she’s taking a bath.
When she first sees the spirit, she describes him as about 6 feet tall, wearing an old-fashioned duck suit, a black string tie, white hair, clean shaven, aristocratic-looking, and she could see right through him (not in a metaphorical sense but a literal one).
If that sort of sounds like Colonel Sanders, the man of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, you’re not wrong for thinking that. Jenny said he also resembled the famous colonel but the ghost’s face was different.
I concluded, therefore, that I had seen a ghost, which, of course, seemed the most logical explanation under the circumstance. It was quite an earth-shattering moment for me, because I had never believed in that kind of thing, and now I had seen one for myself, and had to believe.
Kudos to Jenny for coming to terms with the supernatural so quickly. Fox Mulder would be proud.
Jenny goes on to say no one had told her anything about a man named Avery and the name just came to her and it stuck ever since.
Later that night, Jenny saw Avery again as he’s standing in the doorway to the bathroom while she’s taking a bath. She says she wasn’t afraid of him but she was afraid of something else, but didn’t know what.
Her uneasy feeling led her to get out of the bathtub, grab her towel and bathrobe, and make a beeline to the door.
No sooner had she done that, a cement block crashed through the window and landed in the bathtub.
Two burglars were trying to break into my apartment, that’s what happened. They had taken a big cement block and threw it through the window that was right above the bathtub…It would have killed me, without a doubt.
From this interaction with Jenny, the story of Mr. Avery, a kindly ghost who appears before residents of the home and warns them of impending danger, was born.
There’s also another instance, not included in the book, where Mr. Avery appeared before residents in the kitchen to warn them about a fire (a result of the kitchen’s faulty wiring).
The Real Mr. Avery
All of this begs the question, was there actually a Mr. Avery who lived at 1473 St. James Court?
Yes. Does he resemble Colonel Sanders? I’m leaning toward yes on that front too.
Photo of George Avery, published in The Courier-Journal, July 26, 1911. Accessed via Newspapers.com
The April 23, 1893 issue of The Courier-Journal notes a Mr. and Mrs. George Avery “are now occupying their new residence, the Casino, out in St. James Court.”
The “Casino” referred to one of the house’s several iterations. Let’s go through them right quick:
Construction on the house began sometime in late 1891
It originally started as a casino, which back in those times didn’t necessarily refer to a den of gambling (although gambling could still be happening) but a place where affluent people could relax
Well it was more so a combination casino and gentleman’s club, like a combination KFC/Taco Bell, except with more men drinking, playing cards, and having sex with prostitutes
In 1893, the Averys’ were said to be the first private owners of the house
To balance out the house’s earlier debauchery, The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union became the tenants in 1910. The temperance union were the ones who painted the house pink
George Avery was a well known businessman in Louisville and Vice President and Secretary of the Avery Plow Company. When he married his wife Kate Shindler Jewett, The Courier-Journal noted that “he has kept out of matrimony so long that his friends looked upon him as almost a confirmed bachelor.”
According to Farm Collector, the Avery Company (also known as the B.F. Avery Plow Company) was formed by Benjamin Franklin Avery (George’s father) and Daniel Humphrey Avery in Louisville in 1847.
The company became one of the largest farm equipment makers in the country, according to a Library of Virginia archives blog, and the company manufactured horse-drawn farming implements and motor-powered tractors. The company was bought out in 1951 and production at the company’s Louisville plant stopped in 1955.
George Avery, 59, died July 24, 1911 at his chateau in Gaillefontaine, France. He had been sick for some time before leaving Louisville for France on a six week trip, but was reportedly feeling better before the trip. He suddenly died of heart disease, surrounded by several family members.
George graduated from Male High School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Geneva Technical Institute. Talk about one hell of a resumé.
The July 26, 1911 issue of The Courier-Journal says that George was “a man of an inventive turn of mind” and he perfected new devices for the farm implements made by the Avery Company. Even before his father did, George was president of the firm and was for the rest of his life, seldom absent from the office before growing increasingly sick.
He supposedly knew every man employed by the company and the relationship between him and his employees was “always of the kindliest nature and the men at the plant were greatly affected by the news of his death.”
He was also widely known in his industry, organized local clubs, was a member on several boards and associations, went to church, donated to charity, spent a lot of time reading, and was a patron of art and music.
Is George Avery the spooky spirit of St. James?
Now ghosts are often believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they had strong ties to in life. In Mr. Avery’s case, it’s easy to argue that as one of, if not the first private owner of the house, he had a strong connection with the Pink Palace. (Although he allegedly sold the house four years later in 1897)
Let’s say George Avery is the ghost that haunts the Pink Palace. If that’s the case, why him? Ghosts for whatever reason don’t want to cross over into the Great Beyond. Those reasons could be negative, like seeking revenge, melancholy, feeling throngs of regret, or even just fear of passing on to something unknown.
Thomas W. Laqueur, a professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley, writing in Princeton University Press, says that revenants, dead who have returned to our world, are generally not a cherry bunch.
They come back because something is wrong: some debt from life needs to be repaid or vengeance taken; or their bodies were insufficiently cared for; or their souls were ill-remembered. Friendly ghosts such as the cartoon character Casper are an extreme rarity.
In reading about George Avery’s life, and no one could really ever have the full details about him, it seems like he lived a rather fulfilling, satisfying life. Why would he want to stick around?
But, there remains a solid argument that George Avery is haunting the Pink Palace.
Maybe his rather sudden death caused some confused state and that’s why he hasn’t passed over. Although, he had been sick for some time and even if it was sudden it shouldn’t have come completely out of left field.
Maybe he was angry at being robbed of his life sooner than he would’ve wanted or he wanted to stick around and watch over his family. But if he wanted to do that, why return to the Pink Palace? By 1911, none of his family was living there. Unless he just wanted to live it up with The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
It is, however, common to encounter spirits in places like a previously owned home, so perhaps Mr. Avery made the thousand mile trek across the Atlantic Ocean back to Louisville and took up residence in his old house.
But to me, I think George Avery led a comfortable and successful life and it doesn’t make sense as to why he of all people would continue haunting our mortal plane.
If not Mr. Avery then who?
If we start under the assumption that 1473 St. James Court is, in fact, haunted, then if it’s not George Avery who would it be?
I think the next contender is Judge James Parker Gregory. Does he look like Colonel Sanders? Not so much (??).
Photo of James Parker Gregory, published in The Courier-Journal, May 10, 1940. Accessed via Newspapers.com
Born Dec. 12, 1862 in Boyle County, James was elected judge of Jefferson County for two consecutive terms from 1889 to 1905, according to The Encyclopedia of Louisville.
He spent his entire life in the law field:
Received his law degree from UofL in 1896
Became a partner at the firm of Kinney, Gregory, & Kinney in 1894
Became an instructor at the Jefferson School of Law in 1911
From 1910 to 1916, he was judge of the Jefferson Circuit Court, Criminal Division
He published his own book of criminal law procedure and forms in 1918
In 1932, he was appointed by local attorneys to serve on the city’s civil service board
He lost the Democratic primary election for circuit court judge in 1933
Interestingly, he served under Colonel John B. Castleman (noted racist and lover of parks) in the Spanish-American War. He also served as a first lieutenant of infantry in World War I.
James became owner of the house, supposedly, in 1927 and he lived there with his wife Ruth until his death on May 9, 1940 at the age of 77.
(Also look at The Courier-Journal out here saying this man “expires.” Reduced to nothing but a carton of milk)
What I think most supports my theory that it’s Judge James Parker Gregory haunting the house is that he actually died in the house.
I mean, come on, that’s like Ghost Haunting 101 kinda stuff. A man suddenly dies in his home, he’s not very pleased about it, so he decides to stick around defying God and the natural order of the world.
And just six months prior to his death, James was elected judge of the chancery branch of the Jefferson Circuit Court. He lost his last election and was probably rearing and ready to go for round two and then he dies.
As The Courier-Journal notes James:
…became ill with a heart ailment in November following strenuous campaigning in the primary and general elections…
To recap: man works hard to win election, man wins election, man then dies, man is full of sorrow and regret and probably anger and decides to haunt his home.
Plus, one account says that his wife Ruth and their daughter Alice continued living in the house until 1943.
At this point, he’s just checking off all the boxes.
I’ll even take it a step further and say that Judge James Parker George saw his daughter Alice reflected in Jenny Dickerson and that’s why he protected her. That bit is speculation (I mean all of this is speculation), but after typing it out it doesn’t strike me as completely far fetched.
Now Thomas Laqueur said the friendlier ghosts, like Casper, are extremely rare. But I mean no one’s really cornered the market on paranormal research so maybe James and George are just rarities.
How does this affect the value of the house?
I know the question on everyone’s minds at this point is how the house being haunted affects its value in this auction.
Oddly enough, there is academic and legal literature on whether or not you should tell a potential buyer if the house you’re trying to sell them is haunted.
The 1991 case, Stambovsky v. Ackley, also called the Ghostbusters ruling, held that sellers of a house must disclose to potential buyers the fact that a house was haunted.
Here’s the main gist of it from Wikipedia:
Seller who had undertaken to inform the public at large about the existence of poltergeists on the premises to be sold was estopped to deny existence of poltergeists on the premises, so the house was haunted as a matter of law and seller must inform the purchaser of the haunting.
“Haunted as a Matter of Law” was also the name of my high school band.
George Mason University School of Law professor Ilya Somin writes that the supposed presence of ghosts has no tangible effect on the quality of a house, but there are many things that affect the value of a house that are intangible and based on a potential buyers’ preferences, including potential hauntings.
There’s also a great primer on the topic from JStor Daily about the laws and mythologies of hauntings.
In my opinion, the Pink Palace being haunted by a seemingly friendly ghost who’s trying its best to make sure you don’t die should drastically increase its value.
Brinks Home Security? Nah, give me George Avery/Judge James Parker Gregory Home Security.
In conclusion
Whoever is haunting 1473 St. James Court seems to be a helpful spirit and someone who just wants to look after the residents of the home.
Whether it’s George Avery or Judge James Parker Gregory or a different person altogether haunting the Pink Palace, I hope one day they can cross over into the afterlife and find peace knowing even after death they helped others in some way.