Indiana is home to beautiful geography, world-renown college basketball, and friendly folks. It’s also home to some of the most haunted places in the Midwest.
Indiana has haunted cemeteries, hotels, libraries, and even long-forgotten railroad tunnels where decapitated specters walk.
Some of the most paranormal places in The Hoosier State include the Story Inn, the 100 Step Cemetery, and the Central State Hospital.
If you’re looking for the most haunted places in Indiana, you’ll find no shortage of spooky options.
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1. The Story Inn, Nashville, Indiana
Address: 6404 Indiana History 135, Nashville, Indiana
The Story Inn is a quaint spot to spend the night, enjoy a meal, and maybe even encounter a ghost.
The Story Inn launched in 1851 and is still open today for lodging and food. But stay here only if you dare….guest records dating back decades describe various unexplained phenomena throughout the premises.
The most famous ghost is The Blue Lady. She’s possibly the wife of Dr. George Story, a doctor associated with a timber crew from the area. She’s said to appear if you light a blue light and call out her name.
The restaurant is on the ground floor, and the guest rooms are on the second.
If you want to increase your chances of something supernatural happening, book a stay in The Blue Lady Room.
2. Avon Haunted Bridge, Avon, Indiana
Address: Near County Road 625 East, Avon, Indiana
If you drive under the Avon Haunted Bridge, make sure to honk your horn, or else you might hear the eerie sounds of restless spirits.
Why is this bridge haunted? Local legends offer varying explanations, all dating back many decades:
- A rail worker died drunkenly stumbling into wet cement during the bridge’s construction.
- After slipping off the tracks, a young mother and her sick baby fell to their death.
- Several workers fell off the track into the White Lick Creek.
Locals say that the first story has the most historical validity. Whether or not any of the tales are true, locals agree the best time to experience anything supernatural is at night. You can either drive or walk under the bridge.
The Avon Haunted Bridge is on Avon’s County Road 625, located about half a mile south of US Highway 36.
3. The Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana
Address: 21 N 1st Avenue, Evansville, Indiana
The Willard Library, incorporated in 1881, is the oldest library in Indiana. It’s also widely considered one of the most haunted. Both employees and visitors to the library have reported ghostly encounters dating back to the 1930s.
The most well-known resident apparition is The Gray Lady. She’s been spotted throughout the library, including inside an elevator, basement hallways, and among the stacks.
Some people who have claimed to see her include librarians, police officers, a local weather forecaster, and a contingent of visiting professors from the University of Southern Indiana.
Aside from the infamous Lady, the library is also home to various other spooky phenomena. People report cold spots, furniture that moves on its own, strange smells (especially perfume), and more.
The library is open to the public throughout the year. If you visit in October, you can take a guided ghost tour. Even out-of-towners can get into the fun by checking out the library’s dedicated Ghost Cam.
4. The 100 Step Cemetery, Brazil, Indiana
Address: South of US 40, Brazil, Indiana
Known officially as Carpenter Cemetery, the 100 Step Cemetery is a local legend among the residents of Brazil, Indiana, and the surrounding area.
Records for the area date back to the 1860s, and rumors about the supernatural have persisted for decades. One of the most famous sources of information is a 1996 personal account from local student Christy Casassa.
The cemetery has a path leading up a hill into an open field. As the name implies, the path consists of 100 stone steps.
The legend surrounding the steps is elaborate and unnerving. If you walk up the path in the dark, you should count each step aloud. When you reach the top, the legend says an apparition will appear and show you a terrifying vision of how you will die.
After you see the vision, you must walk back down the path, counting each step as you go. If you get to the end and your returning step count is different from the original count, the prophecy will come true. If the step count differs, then you’re safe.
Remember that, whether or not you encounter anything supernatural, the 100 step path is tricky to navigate, especially in the dark.
5. Central State Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana
Address: 202 Steeples Boulevard, Indianapolis, Indiana
Any abandoned hospital is bound to have plenty of frights, but Central State Hospital takes it to another level. First opened in 1848, it was originally known as the Indiana Hospital for the Insane.
At its peak, the hospital kept 13,000 patients inside the walls, and many of them were institutionalized for little more than acting differently than society expected. Early electroshock, insulin shock, and what we would now consider torture were regularly used to deal with mental illness.
Urban explorers have reported a considerable range of unexplained events, including moving shadows, bizarre sounds, screams, moans, and problems with electrical devices.
The hauntings at the abandoned hospital vary from shadows moving that can’t be explained, to childlike voices asking visitors questions and even a disembodied voice explaining to a local WRTV camera crew how to open a window, telling them to pull down from the top rather than the bottom.
6. Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site, New Albany, Indiana
Address: 914 E Main Street, New Albany, Indiana
The Culbertson Mansion is a 25-room building with a sinister and macabre history. It was originally built in 1867 by William Culbertson, who, at the time, was the richest man in Indiana. Culbertson and his family lived in the mansion for roughly 30 years.
After his death, his wife sold the mansion in 1899, and it changed ownership several times. In the early 1900s, a man named Dr. Webb both lived in the home and ran his medical practice from inside.
Shockingly, one day Dr. Webb murdered his entire family. When police investigated the scene, they found an elaborate torture chamber in the basement.
In 1985, the mansion, now a designated historical landmark, began hosting an annual haunted house. Requiring over 100 volunteers, the haunted house is certainly worth checking out, but it’s arguably pretty mild compared to the “real” scares reported over the years.
Among the typical occurrences reported, such as cold spots, flickering lights, and mysterious footsteps, there is also unexplained cigar smoke believed to belong to a deceased family member that Dr. Webb murdered.
One policeman has refused to answer calls from the Mansion after meeting someone or something when answering a call but afterward was told that no one else was working.
Public tours are available from Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am until 5 pm.
7. The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
Address: Notre Dame, Indiana
One of the most prestigious universities in the country also has a long and storied history of hauntings. Generations of students and faculty have described spooky happenings occurring across campus, including slamming doors, strange noises, and disembodied footfalls.
The most active spot on campus is Washington Hall. Local legend says the hall is haunted by George Gipp, a former Notre Dame football player who died on school grounds in 1920.
Not only is George active, but he can also get quite aggressive, allegedly pushing students in the back. He’s the man behind the phrase “Win one for the Gipper.”
He is just one form that the spirit takes, but he’s also one of the most active and can get quite aggressive, allegedly pushing students in the back while they walk across campus at night from late-night studying to their dorms. Is this aggression, though, or is it simply George trying to hurry people home?
Columbus Hall is another location known for spooky specters, although their presence is felt in strange noises and shadows appearing and disappearing. The ghosts who roam around this area are said to be the spirits of Native Americans, as the hall itself is supposedly built on an ancient Potawatomi burial ground.
8. Edna Collins Bridge, Clinton Falls, Indiana
Address: West County Road 450 North, Clinton Falls, Indiana
The Edna Collins Bridge is one of nine covered bridges in Putnam County. Initially built in 1992, it’s the youngest bridge of the bunch, which is why it’s nicknamed “Baby Bridge.” It’s 80 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 14 feet high.
The sad tale behind the haunted bridge focuses on Edna Collins, a young girl who often swam nearby Little Walnut Creek.
According to legend, her parents would park on the bridge and honk the car horn three times when it was time to pick her up. Unfortunately, one day they found Edna had drowned in the creek. Locals say the mother took her own life not long after close to the same spot they found Edna.
Summoning the ghost of Edna requires a specific routine. First, you must park on the bridge and turn your car’s engine off. Then, you need to honk three times—just like Edna’s parents would when picking her up. If Edna decides to try to get in the car with you, you could see her ghostly outline, hear laughter or see tiny handprints on the windows and hood of your vehicle.
9. The Nicholson House, Indianapolis, Indiana
Address: 1500 N Delaware Street, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Nicholson House is considered one of the most haunted locations in the entire state. Formerly known as the Rand Family Home, stories about ghosts are common and recent.
In 1997, the entire mansion was moved from Southport Road to a new location to preserve it as a local landmark. During the moving process, a reporter from a local paper took a photo of the house, which showed an individual standing in an upstairs window.
The only problem is that the house was empty when they took the picture. Walking through the house, visitors have heard screams and disembodied footsteps, smelled decaying flesh, especially when lingering for too long near the upstairs bedroom, and even seen blood running down the walls that vanish without a trace.
Owners have tried to explain the origins of the bizarre behavior, from a former resident who committed suicide to the house being a stop on the Underground Railway and a group of enslaved people burning alive in the basement.
Visitors claim to have encountered screams, disembodied footsteps, fishy smells, and more. Possible origins of the ghostly behavior include a former resident who committed suicide or a group of slaves who burned alive in the basement.
10. Finch Cemetery, Portland, Indiana
Address: 6243 S 325 West, Portland, Indiana
The Finch Cemetery is another one of Indiana’s famous haunted cemeteries. It’s located in the Jay County Conservation Club near the city of Portland.
The most famous resident of the cemetery is a boy named Cinderella. Many late-night visitors claim to have seen the boy sitting in a tree not far from his gravestone, looking as though he was any child playing except with otherworldly bright green eyes. They’ve also heard mysterious noises or heard wind when they couldn’t feel it.
Local lore says you should count the number of headstones on the way to Cinderella’s grave and then count them again on your way back. Many people say you’ll see 13 stones on the way there but only 11 on the walk back!
The cemetery is rumored to have gravestones disappear and shift daily. If you’re lucky you’ll experience one of these shifty gravestones.
The Finch Cemetery is another one of Indiana’s famous haunted cemeteries set within the Jay County Conservation Club of Portland.
11. Hannah House, Indianapolis, Indiana
Address: 3801 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Hannah House is a stately two-and-a-half-story, 24-room mansion built in 1858 by Indiana State Legislator Alexander Hannah, and it’s considered by some to be the most haunted building in the Midwest.
The ghost story behind Hannah House is a tragic tale. During the Civil War, enslaved people running for freedom found refuge in the house. However, while sleeping in the basement, an oil lantern was accidentally knocked over, and the resulting fire killed the entire group.
The bodies were buried quickly on the property to sweep the incident under the rug. Visitors to Hannah House claim to have seen these poor people wandering the grounds and the house causing doors to open and close without warning. Other apparitions include the owner, Alexander Hannah, and the smell of decaying flesh.
Other apparitions noted included Alexander Hannah and an older woman.
The House is currently open for weddings, rentals, and tours. They even offer a Private Paranormal Experience for groups of up to ten people in size.
12. Tunnelton Tunnels
Address: Tunnelton Road, Guthrie Township, Lawrence County, Indiana
Indiana doesn’t have a ton of tunnels, but some of the ones you’ll find in the state have fascinating haunted histories.
The most famous haunted tunnel is the Tunnelton Tunnel, also known as the Big Tunnel. It’s an old railway tunnel first created back in 1859.
The most popular story involves a former railway worker who was beheaded in an accident during construction. Visitors claim to see him wandering through the tunnels with a lantern in one hand and his severed head in the other.
Another spooky tale involving the tunnels is that they were built underneath an old cemetery. During construction, several graves supposedly fell through the ground, and the spirits of those buried are said to haunt the tunnels even today.
Those looking to see the decapitated rail worker have also heard screams lingering near the tunnels believed to be the spirits of those whose eternal sleep was disturbed.
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