Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
(UNDATED) - From cemeteries to haunted houses, these are the seven spookiest places in Indiana. We dare you to visit all of them.
Central State Hospital (Indianapolis)
Established in 1869, the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane eventually grew to become an expansive campus on West Washington Street, including a farm colony for occupational therapy, bowling alleys and a cannery staffed by patients. The facility was renamed Central State Hospital after 1926. The hospital was closed in 1994 following allegations of patient abuse and funding issues.
Since its closing, the hospital has been a favorite site for paranormal investigators, some of whom claim to have uncovered evidence of hauntings from former mental patients. The hospital was the subject of the 2006 paranormal documentary "Central State: Asylum for the Insane" by director Dan T. Hall.
The site has a 88 percent "Haunted" rating on HauntedPlaces.org.
Crown Hill Cemetery - Section 37 (Indianapolis)
Known more colloquially as "Community Hill," Crown Hill's Section 37 is the final resting place of 699 abandoned children from the city's three former public orphanages: the Indianapolis Children's Asylum, the Board of Children's Guardians Home and the Asylum for Friendless Colored Children.
Some people have reported hearing children screaming in pain near the mass grave where they were all buried. In recent years, efforts have been made to identify children buried in Section 37. A plaque displays the names of those who have been identified.
French Lick Springs Hotel (French Lick)
Originally opened in 1845, the hotel burned to the ground in 1897 and was rebuilt by Thomas Taggart, former mayor of Indianapolis and then-chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Taggart's ghost is said to haunt the hotel, reportedly causing elevator doors to open and close on their own. Taggart's specter has also been reported riding a horse in the ballroom and up and down hallways.
According to Indiana Paranormal, the entire sixth floor of the hotel has a reputation as being haunted - including a room that calls the front desk when it's unoccupied, and once even when there was no phone installed. HauntedPlaces.org rates the hotel as the most haunted place in Indiana, giving it a 92 percent "Haunted" rating.
Hannah House (Indianapolis)
Built in 1858, the Hannah House was reportedly the site of a horrible tragedy while it was serving as a waypoint on the Underground Railroad. According to TheHannahMansion.org, a group of slaves hiding in the home's cellar unknowingly tipped over an oil lamp. The lamp caused a fire which trapped many of the slaves, leading to their death. "Ever since then, the cellar of the Hannah House has been a known area for paranormal activity," the house's site reads. Witnesses have reported see "spectral slaves" hiding in the shadows, as well as hearing voices and feeling cold spots.
Guyer Opera House (Lewisville)
The story is the Guyer Opera House came to be haunted in the 1900s when a boy was killed by a ricocheting bullet during a Wild West gun show. According to HauntedPlaces.org, both his spirt and that of the theater's founder, O.K. Guyer, are said to haunt the building. People have reported seeing lights turning on one-by-one in dressing rooms, hearing banging noises and feeling sudden temperature changes.
Boone-Hutcheson Cemetery (Greenfield)
The cemetery has a number of legends attached to it, including reports of a 1950s police officer sitting inside the graveyard with a blue light and phantom dogs with red eyes. A cave located nearby the cemetery has attracted its own local lore, with some believing John Dillinger used it as an escape route during his robbery in Greencastle.
Okie Pinokie Woods (Peru)
The story holds that a young man named Joey Peoria disappeared in the woods while camping in 1976. In the ensuing years, brutally murdered men have shown up in the woods - some people think Joey is the one who killed them. HauntedPlaces.org gives the woods an 89 percent "Haunted" rating.
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