INDIANAPOLIS — The Circle City Ghostbusters do more than dress up in authentic costumes from the hit 1984 movie, they are also working to make a difference in Indianapolis.
"Kids and adults love seeing us, especially the adults. They see this and they're like, 'Oh man, I love that movie,'" said Josh Chitwood, a member of Circle City Ghostbusters.
There are nearly 30 members in the local Ghostbusters crew and not a single person involved misses any detail when it comes to their uniform, tools, and gear.
“We try to keep it as authentic as you can get. Some guys can tell you every part, the proper straps that you have to have, the proper frames. There are guys that custom does that,” Chitwood said. “The flight suits, we get these from Army/Navy surplus stores which is what they have in the movie, we have our belt gizmo, we have the proton pack itself. This is the biggest part of the get-up, a lot of guys spend a lot of time on these."
And, for their mutual love of the film is how the members found each other. Most of them put on their first Ghostbuster costume when they were kids.
"Just about everybody in our group if you ask them, 'How long have you been doing this?' They'll say, 'Since I was three or four years old,'" said Andrew Beymer, with Circle City Ghostbusters, “And I've got a piece from my very original Ghostbusters costume right here.”
For these die-hard fans, they get to play Ghostbusters in real life, at least, as real life as it gets. Some members, like Jacob Bartlett, never breaks character.
“Well, someone has to keep this city safe from the paranormal. It’s a tough job, but someone has got to do it.” Bartlett said. "October is always our busiest month. The veil between our world and the spirit world is starting to thin as you probably know or may know, and that brings all the ghosts out and that means we make all the money.”
When it comes to making money, Circle City Ghostbusters don their ensembles all in the name of charity.
Through events and appearances, the group raises between $10,000 and $15,000 each year for local organizations. They’ve worked with Daysprings, Gleaners, Make-A-Wish, The Children's Museum, and more.
“That's the fun part about it is the charity," Chitwood said. "Seeing that what you are doing is helping others."
And of course, there is the bonus of bringing some joy to kids and a bit of nostalgia to adults.
"Everybody loves the Ghostbusters, that's one of the reasons I think we all still do this," Beymer said. "There are costumes where people are like, 'Oh, that's pretty cool,' but when you are dressed up as a Ghostbuster people shout the catchphrase at you. It's kind of amazing the cultural caches the movie still has 35 years later. Kids, parents, they all just love the Ghostbusters," Beymer said.
The group is a Sony recognized fan club and this weekend they will be at the Irvington Halloween Festival passing out posters for the new Ghostbusters film.
The money raised this weekend will go towards future events to help area charity organizations.
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