Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Vanderdark Morgue


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete per WP:SNOW. I'm actually surprised that this wasn't deleted sooner as sheer promotional puffery. Since it's been around since 2011 and looks to be a clear hoax (in that the family in the article did not exist and was created to promote a fairly non-notable Halloween attraction, I'm going to archive it as a hoax at List of hoaxes on Wikipedia. No need to drag this out, considering that the consensus to delete is fairly clear. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡)  05:08, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

The Vanderdark Morgue

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I was able to retrieve the two dead links here and here but it's minimal at most and this all seems more like local folklore with unsourced claims and a Halloween-like story. My searches found nothing aside from here. I'm inviting taggers. SwisterTwister  talk  03:59, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Architecture-related deletion discussions.  SwisterTwister   talk  04:13, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Kentucky-related deletion discussions.  SwisterTwister   talk  04:13, 24 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Delete - I've wondered if this article was a joke even as I did a few edits. I'm thinking this is a made-up Halloween story that turned into (at best) folklore.  But certainly none of these sources are serious, and so this article must go.  I doubt anyone would miss it.  Stevie is the man!  Talk • Work 04:13, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Hey,, thanks for commenting. I saw you in the history but I don't usually notify people with cleaning and other passing edits but now that I look, you've would've been a good one to notify as you made recurring edits. I'm assuming you had this part of your watchlist. :) SwisterTwister   talk  04:24, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * It wasn't on my personal watchlist, but I monitor the Louisville and Kentucky project watchlists, and I have a script that makes prods/xfDs show up in a vivid color. Stevie is the man!  Talk • Work 04:36, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Clearly, many other implausible statements exist throughout the article, but these facts should help demonstrate the obvious: This article is fiction, made up to provide a backstory for a local Halloween attraction in Louisville. Over the years, fictitious articles presented as fact to support a real-life entity have been deleted as hoaxes - see Articles for deletion/Gray McKenzie, List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/The Tarsus Club, List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Yuri Gadyukin and List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/3G Boyz for examples, along with this noticeboard discussion on the Tarsus Club hoax and this AfD: Articles for deletion/Yuri Gadyukin. Calamondin12 (talk) 12:51, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Delete Keep and re-name Baxter Avenue Morgue as that name is what it currently is. Has been written up quite extensively in books and articles spanning many years.   CHANGED to "Delete" as the article in its current form is hardly about the Baxter Avenue Morgue, although I wouldn't be opposed to an article about that topic being created as long as its properly sourced. --Oakshade (talk) 01:43, 25 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Nearly all the current content would have to be wiped out to make way for a serious article. On top of that, three of these sources are very local and the remaining one non-authoritative -- they need to be more spread out for this to be considered notable. At best, a new article could be created given additional usable sources can be located. Then, this page could redirect to that article.  Stevie is the man!  Talk • Work 06:12, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Delete. The basic problem with this ghost story of Faulknerian complexity is that the article is fiction presented as reality. A few of the more plainly demonstrable examples:
 * Although the extreme southern segment of Baxter Avenue was once called Von Borries Avenue, the block on which the morgue is located has always been Baxter Avenue, as this 1884 map from the University of Louisville shows. The address "451 Von Borries Avenue" has never existed.
 * Victor Vanderdark is described as "very much a public figure," yet his supposed disappearance in 1932 is never mentioned in any reliable sources.
 * The surnames Vanderdark and Pongieu appear to have no use outside this article. Figures central to the story like "Caspar Vanderdark" generate no Google hits at all apart from the article.


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.