While his tragic death may be relegated to history books, the ghost of Mingo Jack -- who was lynched in Eatontown in 1886 -- is alive and well in a new documentary.
The movie, which has been submitted to the Garden State Film Festival, centers on the racially-motivated killing of Samuel "Mingo Jack" Johnson and whether his ghost is a presence in the old lock up near Wampum Pond where he had been dragged before his death.
The group behind the documentary call themselves Paranormal Rangers and explain on their Facebook page that they are a "research group with the goal of documenting and authenticating claims of unexplained phenomena."
A fundraiser will be held on March 3 by the Mingo Jack Remembrance Group who are trying to erect a memorial to honor the memory of the 19th century former slave. It will take place at the Eatontown Community Center at 2 p.m.
The committee will raffle off a mountain bike and two front seat covers for a vehicle.
The group estimates the memorial to cost $1,200.
The event will be attended by members of the borough's Historical Society and Eatontown Borough Council President Anthony Talerico.
Scott Derek
3:57 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
There is a former local resident named James Stone who has been trying to get a marker in the area that Mingo Jack was lynched.