A True Ghost Story: The Haunting of Edward E. Petri Jewelers

Edward Petri came to New York from France in the early 1900s. A watchmaker by trade, Petri went to work at Tiffany & Company in New York City. He then moved west to Indianapolis and continued his craft with jeweler, Julius C. Walk. However, Mr. Petri had a dream, one that he realized in November of 1921 when he opened the Edward E. Petri Jewelry Company on Monument Circle. The store was located on the second floor of a new building on the Circle, the Guaranty Building. The Guaranty Building, however, was not ready to open its doors in November, but Mr. Petri insisted that if he was going to locate in that building, he needed to open for the Christmas season! Owners of the building reluctantly agreed and even put Petri's very own heating and cooling system in the store. Little did anyone know that, years later, the ghost of Edward Petri would continue to roam his jewelry store.

For the next 45 years, Mr. Petri, a true French aristocrat, could be found in his store on Monument Circle. He furnished his store with French flair, from the French provincial jewelry tables to the chandeliers that lit his store. Very popular with his clients, Petri was said to have a great sense of humor. Later, Mr. Petri's ghost would show his sense of humor through his French décor.

In 1966, Petri was in his 8's and decided it was time to retire. He sold his venerable store to Mr. Thomas, a feisty bird in his own right. Ten years later, Petri passed away, and many started believing that his ghost came to visit. Twenty years later, my husband walked into Edward E. Petri Company. Knowing that Petri had a national reputation for handcrafting the finest platinum jewelry, Charles knew Petri was the place for him to begin his apprenticeship and career as a fine jeweler and platinum smith. Charles did not know that Mr. Petri's ghost would watch over his career.

As Charles learned his craft from the old-timers in the shop, he began to hear the stories of Mr. Petri. The workers often felt they had friendly visits from the Parisian founder, ghostly visits. Charles never experienced Mr. Petri's ghost. That was soon to change. In 1996, after a nine year apprenticeship, we bought Edward Petri Company.

During our first years of ownership, Charles worked night and day. It was during our first Christmas season that Mr. Petri's ghost first made his presence known. Often, Charles would work all night long, creating the handcrafted pieces that would be gifts for the lucky. As Charles worked against the clock one evening, the ghost of Mr. Petri came into the shop. To make his presence known, he casually gave a tug one of the shop's cabinets, the one above the steamer with the squeaky hinges from years of rising steam. The cabinet that required a very firm pull to open! Charles knew he had finally met Mr. Petri's ghost. These middle of the night visits continued, and Charles felt protected by Mr. Petri's ghost.

Mr. Petri's ghost soon made his presence known to the current employees. One morning, upon opening the store, the Parisian chandeliers did not turn on at the flip of the switch. The main showroom contains two stunning antique chandeliers from France. Charles was baffled because it was unlikely that all the bulbs burned out simultaneously. After getting a ladder to get a better view, Charles discovered the problem. The light bulbs had been unscrewed and removed from the chandeliers and set on the rim on the fixture! The picture of the chandeliers is included. It could only be Mr. Petri's ghost. Charles was the last one out the prior evening and the alarm had not been triggered to indicate anyone's presence overnight; except, perhaps, the ghost of Mr. Petri.

Upon further inspection, Charles was convinced that Mr. Petri's ghost may have saved the jewelry store and the Guaranty Building from devastating fire. Charles discovered that the wiring on Petri's antique French chandeliers had become worn and frayed and needed to be rewired. The ghost of Mr. Petri alerted us in the best possible manner. Mr. Petri's ghost made sure Charles saw the wiring.

Later, our entire family enjoyed one of our affable ghost's tricks! I had taken our children downtown to pick up Charles. We were going to enjoy a special treat, having dinner downtown. The occasion was the first Colts Monday Night Football television premier. Our Mayor had asked all downtown stores to turn on all of their lights and leave them on. Then, when the aerial shots of the city were shown on live, national TV, our fine city would be awash in light. Apparently, Mr. Petri's ghost did not like the wastefulness of having our lights on overnight. Upon locking up, we all commented, "Don't forget to leave the lights on!" From the street, we saw our store's lights glowing and off we went to dinner. Preparing to head home, we drove past the store and looked up to the second floor. Mr. Petri's ghost had turned off the lights. Charles and our daughter ran upstairs to turn them back on. From the car, my son and I watched the lights come back on. As we waited for them to come back to the car, the lights went back off, right as they emerged from the building! Mr. Petri's ghost had struck again! Before getting back to the car, Charles saw me pointing back up to the store. Gazing up, he saw the lights were off. Upstairs they trudged, only to find the light switch in the down, off position! Our daughter shrieked and ran, as this was her very first personal encounter with Mr. Edward E. Petri's ghost.