Indiana’s 12 Scariest Haunted Spots You Shouldn’t Visit Alone

It has beautiful scenery, nice people, and college basketball that is known all over the world. Some of the scariest places in the Midwest are in this area.

Indiana has haunted cemeteries, hotels, libraries, and even long-forgotten train tunnels where ghosts of people who have been killed walk.

The Central State Hospital, the Story Inn, and the 100 Step Cemetery are some of the most haunted places in The Hoosier State.

You can choose from a lot of scary places in Indiana if you want to find the most haunted ones.

1. In Nashville, Indiana, at The Story Inn

6404 Indiana History 135, Nashville, Indiana Address

There is a cute place to stay the night, eat, and maybe even see a ghost at the Story Inn.

The Story Inn opened in 1851 and is still a place to stay and eat today. But only stay here if you’re brave… Guest records from decades ago talk about strange things happening all over the property that can’t be explained.

The Blue Lady is the most well-known ghost. She might be married to Dr. George Story, a doctor who works with a wood crew from the area. People say that if you shine a blue light on her and call her name, she will show up.

The guest rooms are on the second floor, and the kitchen is on the first.

Book a stay in The Blue Lady Room if you want to make it more likely that something strange will happen.

2. The Avon Haunted Bridge is in Avon, Indiana.

Address: Near County Road 625 East, Avon, Indiana 

If you drive under the Avon Haunted Bridge, you should honk your horn. If you don’t, you might hear the scary sounds of ghosts moving around.

What’s up with this bridge? Different stories from the area, all from many years ago, give different explanations:

• A train worker lost his life when he tripped over wet cement while building the bridge.
• A young mother and her sick baby died when they fell off the tracks.
• There were a lot of falls off the track into White Lick Creek.

People in the area say that the first story is most likely to be true. No matter which stories are true, everyone in the area agrees that the best time to see or feel something supernatural is at night. You can walk or drive under the bridge.

Avon’s County Road 625 is where the Haunted Bridge is. It’s about a half mile south of US Highway 36.

3. This is the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana.

Address: 21 N 1st Avenue, Evansville, Indiana

Since it opened in 1881, the Willard Library has been around longer than any other library in Indiana. A lot of people also think it’s one of the most cursed. Since the 1930s, both library workers and tourists have said they have seen ghosts in the building.

The Gray Lady is the most famous ghost that lives there. People have seen her all over the library, in an elevator, in the basement halls, and among the books.

Police officers, libraries, a local weather forecaster, and a group of visiting professors from the University of Southern Indiana are among the people who say they have seen her.

Besides the famed Lady, the library is also home to a number of other creepy things. There have been reports of cold spots, furniture that moves on its own, strange smells (especially perfume), and more.

Anyone can use the library at any time of the year. There is a ghost walk you can take in October if you go. People from out of town can join in the fun by watching the library’s Ghost Cam.

4. The One Hundred Step Cemetery in Brazil, Indiana

Address: South of US 40, Brazil, Indiana

The 100 Step Cemetery, which is officially called Carpenter Cemetery, is a tale among people who live in Brazil, Indiana, and the nearby towns.

The area has been recorded since the 1860s, and ghost stories have been going around for decades. A personal report from local student Christy Casassa in 1996 is one of the most well-known sources of information.

There is a path in the graveyard that goes up a hill and into a field. The path has 100 stone steps, as the name suggests.

The story behind the steps is complicated and scary. It’s a good idea to count out loud each step as you walk up the road at night. The story goes that when you get to the top, a ghost will appear and show you a horrible picture of how you will die.

You have to walk back down the road and count each step as you go after seeing the vision. The prediction will come true if you get to the end and the number of steps you took back is different from the number of steps you took in the beginning. You’re safe if the step count is different.

Remember that the 100-step path is hard to find your way around, especially at night and whether you see anything strange or not.

5. In Indianapolis, Indiana, Central State Hospital

Address: 202 Steeples Boulevard, Indianapolis, Indiana

If a hospital is left empty, it’s going to be scary, but Central State Hospital is really scary. It was first opened in 1848 and was called the Indiana Hospital for the Insane.

At its busiest, the hospital housed 13,000 patients. Many of them were there for no good reason—they were acting in a way that wasn’t what society expected. In the past, people with mental illness were often treated with insulin shock, electroshock, and things we now think of as torture.

Urban visitors have seen and heard a lot of strange things, like moving shadows, strange sounds like screams and moans, and problems with electrical devices.

At the empty hospital, strange things happen, like shadows moving for no reason and childlike voices asking guests questions. One time, an unidentified voice told a WRTV camera crew how to open a window by pulling down from the top instead of the bottom.

6. Indiana’s Culbertson Mansion is a state historic site in New Albany.

Address: 914 E Main Street, New Albany, Indiana

There are 25 rooms in the Culbertson Mansion, and it has a dark and scary past. The first owner, William Culbertson, who was the richest person in Indiana at the time, built it in 1867. The house was home to Culbertson and his family for about 30 years.

He died in 1899, and his wife sold the house. It has since been owned by different people. Back in the early 1900s, a man named Dr. Webb lived in the house and ran his medical office from there.

It’s shocking that one day Dr. Webb killed his whole family. The cops found a well-designed torture chamber in the basement when they went to the scene of the crime.

The home, which is now a historical landmark, started having a haunted house every year in 1985. The haunted house, which needs more than 100 volunteers, is definitely worth seeing, but it might not be as scary as some “real” scares that have been recorded over the years.

Strange things like cold spots, flickering lights, and sounds have been reported before. Now, cigar smoke that hasn’t been explained is thought to belong to a dead family member that Dr. Webb killed.

When taking a call from the Mansion, one police officer met someone or something and then was told that no one else was working. That officer then refused to answer the call.

The tours are open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

7. The College of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana

Address: Notre Dame, Indiana

It’s no secret that one of the best colleges in the country has a long history of ghosts. For generations, students and teachers have talked about scary things happening on campus, like doors slamming, strange noises, and footsteps that don’t seem to be coming from people.

Washington Hall is the busiest place on campus. George Gipp, a former Notre Dame football player who died on school grounds in 1920, is said to haunt the hall by local folklore.

George is always on the go and is known to be very angry, as shown by reports that he pushed students in the back. “Win one for the Gipper” comes from him.

He is just one form that the spirit takes, but he is also one of the most busy and can get very angry. It is said that he pushes students in the back as they walk across campus at night from studying late at night to their dorms. But is this anger, or is George just trying to get people to go home faster?

Another place where scary ghosts are said to live is Columbus Hall, where strange noises and shadows that appear and disappear can be felt. It is said that the hall was built on an old Potawatomi grave ground, so the ghosts that haunt this area are the spirits of Native Americans.

8. The Edna Collins Bridge is in Clinton Falls, Indiana.

Address: West County Road 450 North, Clinton Falls, Indiana

Nine covered bridges can be found in Putnam County. The Edna Collins Bridge is one of them. It was built in 1992, making it the youngest bridge in the group, which is why it’s called the “Baby Bridge.” It’s 80 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 14 feet tall.

EDNA Collins was a young girl who liked to swim near Little Walnut Creek. The sad story behind the haunted bridge is about her.

The story goes that when it was time to pick her up, her parents would park on the bridge and honk the car horn three times. They found Edna dead in the creek one day, which was sad. People in the area say the mother killed herself not long after they found Edna.

To call up Edna’s ghost, you have to follow a certain set of steps. To begin, you need to park your car on the bridge and turn off the engine. Then you need to honk three times, like Edna’s parents do when they pick her up. You might see Edna’s ghostly outline, hear her laughing, or find tiny handprints on the windows and hood of your car if she tries to get in.

9. This is the Nicholson House in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Address: 1500 N Delaware Street, Indianapolis, Indiana

People think that the Nicholson House is one of the most eerie places in the whole state. It used to be called the Rand Family Home, and ghost stories are popular and new.

The mansion was moved from Southport Road to a new spot in 1997 so that it could be kept as a neighborhood landmark. A reporter from a nearby newspaper took a picture of the house while it was being moved. The picture showed a person standing in an upstairs window.

They took a picture of the house, but it was empty when they did it. People who have walked through the house have heard screams and footsteps that don’t belong to anyone, smelled rotting meat, especially when they stayed too long near the bedroom on the second floor, and even seen blood running down the walls that disappear without a trace.

People who own the house have tried to explain the strange behavior by saying that a past resident killed themselves, the house was a stop on the Underground Railway, or there were slaves burning alive in the basement.

People who have been there say they have heard screams, seen ghostly footsteps, smelled fishy things, and more. The phantom activity could have come from a former resident who killed themselves or a group of slaves who were burned alive in the basement.

10. The Finch Cemetery is in Portland, Indiana.

Address: 6243 S 325 West, Portland, Indiana

Another well-known ghost cemetery in Indiana is the Finch Cemetery. It’s in the Jay County Conservation Club, which is close to Portland.

A boy named Cinderella is the most well-known grave holder in the graveyard. A lot of people who came late at night say they saw the boy sitting in a tree near his gravestone. He looked like any other child playing, except that his bright green eyes were from another world. They’ve also heard strange noises or felt wind but couldn’t feel it.

People in the area say that you should count the gravestones twice: once on your way to Cinderella’s grave and then again on your way back. Many say that on the way there you’ll see 13 stones, but on the way back you’ll only see 11.

It is said that gravestones in the graveyard move and disappear every day. You might meet one of these shady gravestones if you’re lucky.

The Finch Cemetery is another well-known ghost cemetery in Indiana. It is located in the Jay County Conservation Club of Portland.

11. Hannah House in Indianapolis, IN

Address: 3801 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana

Some people think the Hannah House is the most haunted building in the Midwest. It’s a stately two-and-a-half-story house with 24 rooms that was built in 1858 by Indiana State Legislator Alexander Hannah.

The ghost story about Hannah House is a sad one. People who were slaves and were running away for freedom during the Civil War went to the house for safety. But while they were sleeping in the basement, someone knocked over an oil light, which started a fire that killed everyone.

The bodies were quickly buried on the land to hide what happened. People who have been to Hannah House say they saw these poor people wandering around the grounds and the house, opening and closing doors without notice. The owner, Alexander Hannah, and the smell of rotting flesh are two other ghosts.

Some other ghosts that were seen were Alexander Hannah and an older woman.

You can rent the House, have parties there, or take tours of it right now. They even have a Private Paranormal Experience that can fit up to ten people.

12. Tunnels at Tunnelton

Address: Tunnelton Road, Guthrie Township, Lawrence County, Indiana

There aren’t many caves in Indiana, but some of the ones that are there have interesting stories about ghosts.

The most well-known ghost tunnel is the Tunnelton Tunnel, which is also called the “Big Tunnel.” It’s an old railroad tunnel that was built in 1859.

The most well-known story is about a former railroad worker who lost his head in a building accident. People have said they saw him walking through the tunnels holding a lantern and a severed head.

The tunnels were made under an old cemetery, which is another scary story about them. Several graves are said to have fallen through the ground while the tunnels were being built, and the ghosts of the people who were buried are said to still haunt them today.

People who came to see the headless train worker have also heard screams that they think are the spirits of people whose eternal sleep was disturbed.

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