Ashley Hood - Haunted Terre Haute

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2019 by Ashley Hood

All rights reserved

First published 2019

e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978.1.43966.788.0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019943357

Print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.371.4

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

Edgar Allan Poe
The Premature Burial

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would not have been possible without the stories and local folklore that my mother instilled in me from an early age. She would buy me books on ghosts and hauntings, even finding ones made especially for elementary school students when I was very young. As I got older, more books would follow and my fascination with the paranormal grew. As a teenager, she took my friends and me out to local haunted locations, regaling us with the tales associated with the locations and oftentimes looking for the ghosts that remained there. Sadly, my mother passed away in 2011, but I must thank herif it were not for her, I might not even be writing this book.

I am so very grateful to my friend of twenty-plus years, Elizabeth Christjansen, for taking all of the modern photos in this book and for being willing to venture out to these haunted locations with me in the middle of a frigid Indiana winter. I hope you will photograph more haunted locations for me in the future, but rest assured, I will certainly pick a warmer season the next time around.

Thank you to Sketch Brumfield for always being willing to visit strange and haunted locations with me and for oftentimes being the driver on these adventures. I must also thank you, Elizabeth Christjansen and Vanceletta Colclasure, for listening to many of the stories in this book, probably on several occasions at this point.

I appreciate everyone who shared their stories with me for taking the time to discuss the haunts of Terre Haute. I always love to hear a new version of an old legend, but I also learned some stories that were previously unknown to me. Your input was so helpful in compiling the information for this book. The continued circulation of stories like those contained in this book is key to keeping the history of haunted Terre Haute alive.

An extra big thank-you has to go to Logan Fenimore and the Iota Delta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. They were so fantastic and helpful with my research for this book. Not only did they supply me with a plethora of useful information, but I was also allowed to visit the site of the former Glenn Home and tour the grounds. All of the photos of the Glenn Home used in this book were also taken at the time of the tour.

Lastly, I must also thank Susan Tingley and the Vigo County Historical Society for allowing me to use vintage photos from their collection, as well as a recent photo of local legend Stiffy Green. The society is keeping the history and the haunts of Terre Haute alive, and for that, we should all be thankful.

INTRODUCTION

Before I visit a haunted location, I like to do as much research as possible. I want to be aware of the activity that I might encounter and to familiarize myself with the spirits known to inhabit the site. I also have a keen interest in the history and architecture of locations and the events that may have contributed to the supernatural energy that remains. I have experienced a variety of strange things in my paranormal investigations, some of which can easily be explained as coincidental or the result of external sounds and activity. However, there have also been many instances when Ive experienced something that can only be described as otherworldly. It is those interactions that continue to fascinate me and drive my curiosity about the spirit world and its ghostly residents. Many of the sites contained in this book were the first haunted places that I learned about as a child, so it was important for me to look at the locations from a new perspective and, when possible, to add as much relevant history about the spectral inhabitants of Terre Haute and the locations they call home.

While Terre Haute may at first glance seem like any other quiet Midwest river town, such is not the case. Terre Haute has a rich, albeit sometimes dark, history. It was originally platted in 1816 and would later be incorporated, first as a town in 1832 and later a city in 1853. In the years since, it has been referred to as the Crossroads of America, the Paris of Indiana and Sin City. All fitting titles for the little city along the Wabash.

Terre Hautes earliest inhabitants were a tribe of Native Americans called the Wea. They chose the area for its proximity to the Wabash River. There was plenty of water available and abundant fish, and the soil was fertile. It was the perfect location for a settlement. Unfortunately for the Wea, they were not the only ones to recognize the benefit of such a location. When the first settlers arrived, they forced the Wea out of their home, taking the land for themselves and naming it Terre Haute, a French term for High Land. They built meager cabins along the river and lived a hard existence in the wilds of early Terre Haute.

With the founding of Vigo County in 1818, things began to change. Terre Haute started to take advantage of the Wabash River in a different way and prospered with steamboat traffic. The building of the Wabash-Erie Canal increased the water trade even further, and the arrival of railroads put Terre Haute on the map. It was during this time that Terre Haute became one of the biggest pork producers in the nation, allowing Terre Haute to thrive even further. Sadly, that did not last long, as Kansas City and Chicago had started producing pork as well, putting a strain on the established companies in Terre Haute. The city was in dire need of a replacement for the lost industry, but a solution was not far off.

Reserves of iron, coal and oil were found throughout the county and neighboring areas, giving Terre Haute a rich new resource to tap into. Mills and foundries sprang up in the area producing everything from nails to railroad cars. By 1870, Vigo County was once again booming. It was ranked third in the state in coal mining and fifth in manufacturing. A decade later, it ranked fifth in the production of flour and gristmill products and in the production of distilled liquor. Sulfuric waters were also found, and bathhouses were opened to cater to the community.

Workers flocked to Terre Haute for the available work, taking advantage of the new industries at their disposal. However, with so many factories came discourse among the employees. Unions began to form, causing strikes, lockouts and a breakdown of communication between workers and employers.