There are lots of frightful haunts scattered around Indiana, and it's no surprise that a high concentration of psychic energy would collect around the capital city.
From the ghosts that still linger on the Central State grounds to the objects that appear out of nowhere at the Rivoli, it's about that time when spirits come out to play. Here's a list of where you can catch them.
Central State Hospital
At its peak, Central State Hospital housed as many as 3,000 patients at the Westside complex. The relaxed definition of "insane" at the time brought anyone from the developmentally disabled to the homicidally violent together, receiving a range of cruel and crude treatments from electroshock therapy to lobotomies. Ghost hunters have reported hearing patients' voices inside the walls of the hospital and occasionally around the grounds. Now you can live there full-time, as areas have been converted into apartments, a co-working space, and a coffee shop.
French Lick Resort
The legend of French Lick Resort's original owner is something out of a Hollywood production. Thomas Taggart was as emblematic at the resort as the resort was to the town, and his spirit apparently still watches over the hotel. Taggart's larger-than-life persona lives on in the sounds of hoofbeats in the ballroom, where Taggart would enter parties on horseback, and the smell of cigar smoke in the service elevator, which is known to run between floors at night with no one inside the cabin. Guests also claim to see mists in certain parts of the hotel, with staff often receiving phone calls from empty rooms late into the night. Some guests also report a face occasionally peeking over the top of the dome in the largest atrium on the property.
Indianapolis Athletic Club
The IAC holds a dubious place in nationwide fire safety standards. Before the fire that claimed three lives in 1992, the Indianapolis Fire Department had few official policies for fighting high-rise fires. There was no standardized equipment or training on how to use oxygen masks. There weren't even radios for every firefighter, which most certainly contributed to the series of mistakes that killed two firefighters, John J. Lorenzano and Ellwood "Woody" Gelenius, and civilian Thomas Mutz, a guest at the club. Rumor has it that the spirit of the two firefighters watches over the Athletic Club, keeping guests and residents safe from the fire they were unable to fight.
Hannah House
The Southside mansion has quite a history. Built by Alexander Moore Hannah in 1858, the house was used as a stopover on the Underground Railroad and helped move slaves to freedom on the north side of the Mason-Dixon. Several slaves were killed when a lamp was kicked over in the basement, and it's rumored that Hannah simply buried the charred bodies in the basement rather than admit to being a part of the Underground Railroad. Guests report everything from cold spots to whispering voices to seeing faces and mists in photos taken throughout the home.
The Slippery Noodle Inn
We've told you about The Noodle before, as one of John Dillinger's favorite haunts. Bar staff have reported everything from furniture and glassware moving on its own, to cold spots and hearing an occasional voice. Supposedly, the ghost of a patron murdered by another in 1953 still hangs around the bar, looking to get payback. Ghosts of sex workers from the former brothel upstairs may or may not be responsible for harassing male patrons, and occasionally, guests will catch a glimpse of an apparition or see a door open on its own.
Photo: The Brazil Times
100 Steps Cemetery
If you ever find yourself near Brazil, IN, know you're near possibly the most haunted cemetery in Indiana. Urban legend says, "if you can count 100 steps while walking to the top of a staircase at the cemetery at exactly midnight, the former caretaker will appear and share a vision of your time and manner of death." (The Brazil Times) Are you brave enough to take the walk?
Rivoli Theater
Perhaps the most "active" haunted place on our list, staff and visitors report paranormal activity that sounds like the ghosts at the Riv are just trying to carry on as usual and do their jobs. Faucets turn on and off as if someone is filling mop buckets. Toilets flush on their own. Cigarette butts appear, lit and smoking, in ashtrays all over the theater. Some guests report seeing apparitions dressed for opening night at the theater. It's being restored now, and there's no doubt that workers are having their own experiences with the theater's ghosts.
Photo: Wikipedia
Roads Hotel
Stay an evening in this historic hotel, and risk a night full of terrors: Doors opening on their own, footsteps in the room, voices whispering to you while you sleep… don’t be surprised if you see a shadow or two moving around at the foot of your bed, too!
Photo: USA Today
The 200 Demon House
In 2011, Latoya Ammons and her children lived a literal nightmare in this home. Her children, possessed by demons, began levitating, speaking in indecipherable languages, and even walking on the ceiling (in front of police and nurses, no less)! An exorcist declared there were 200+ demons in the home before Ammons and her family finally fled.
Photo: Find A Grave
Stepp Cemetery
Tucked away in Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Stepp Cemetery is infamous for ghostly apparitions, including a woman who mourns her lost child. This small cemetery has become a hotspot for paranormal activity, with visitors reporting eerie feelings and unexplained sounds.
Photo: Asher Walton House
The Asher Walton House
Located down the street from the Roads Hotel, The Asher Walter House has a long, haunting history that has earned it a spot on Indiana's list of the most haunted places. Spend a night there and experience the paranormal for yourself.
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