Dorothy Salvo Benson - Ghosts of North Central Indiana

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2022 by Dorothy Salvo Benson and W.C. Madden

All rights reserved

E-Book year 2022

Front cover: The Monroe Seiberling Mansion in Kokomo, Indiana. W.C. Madden photo.

First published 2022

ISBN 978.1.4396.7602.8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022937892

Print Edition ISBN 978.1.4671.5105.4

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 authors or The History Press. The authors 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.

This book is dedicated to all who trusted in me to share their personal stories. To my family, for encouraging me and giving support. To my husband, Matthew. With him I have found meaningful love, balance and a positive core. To my children, for whom my pride and love are endless.

Dorothy Salvo Benson

This book is dedicated to my wife, who stands by me and makes me a better person and writer as she edits all of my work to make it much better, including this book.

W.C. Madden

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to those who were willing to share their personal experiences and encounters to make this book happen. To the businesses and public locations who took the time to speak with us and let us explore, we appreciate you sharing your time and information. A special acknowledgment to Wolfes Leisure Time Campground owners Dale and Mary Wolfe for their time, for allowing us to explore the grounds and for providing many generations with the opportunity to make memories at their location.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever been alone in a room and felt someone was watching you? Heard a voice come out of nowhere when nobody was around or caught the image of something out of the corner of your eye? If so, youre not alone, and it could be possible that if you try, you may just tune something in that is not living.

Indiana, affectionately called the Hoosier State by its residents, has a vast history. Folklore and mysteries go back generations, and ghostly encounters are not a rare experience in this state. There have been many over the years who experienced puzzling happenings, leaving them baffled by what they saw. Some dismiss paranormal encounters; others explain them by the use of conventional science. Many allow themselves to accept the explanations given to them as a way to rationalize and not feel crazy. When a person encounters a disembodied voice, a visual apparition or even a moment from another time, it would be easy to say they are experiencing a mental lapse. However, when that experience impacted their life, changing its courseoften for the betteris it wrong to believe that the person was helped along by someone or something not of this world?

Journey with us now by reading some of the personal and life-changing paranormal experiences from those who were brave enough to share their encounters. Indiana has had many people over the years who have bled and died making a home on its soils. Others have battled and fought, leaving a part of themselves behind. Even more have raised their families and made memories, calling Indiana their home. In some situations, there have been those who lost their lives unjustly at the hands of another. Their memories and the stories of what befell them need to be imprinted on the states timeline and remembered. If you do not respect those who came before, you may just find that Indianas past residents and passersby will come back and make sure you remember them! Lets face it, we will all die, and what happens next is not something anyone can absolutely guarantee. For many, experiencing the paranormal is a validation that life does go on, loved ones still exist and there is a chance you can one day come back, even after death.

This book covers the north-central counties of Indiana, including the counties of Benton, Blackford, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Grant, Howard, Huntington, Jasper, LaPorte, Miami, Newton, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White. Be sure to check out our related past titles, Haunted Lafayette and Haunted Tales from The Region: Ghosts of Indianas South Shore, and keep an eye out for additional titles coming from us.

CHAPTER 1

BENTON COUNTY

SCARY THEATER IN FOWLER

Fowler is a small community located thirty miles west of Purdue University in West Lafayette. This Benton County town might be small, but people travel to the area from everywhere, drawn in by the ghostly apparitions said to be seen at the old movie theater.

Located at 111 East Fifth Street, the movie theater was originally built in 1940, so its designed in the Art Deco style. Over time, the theater began to slowly give in to age and disrepair, until new life was brought into the building during renovation. Today, the marquee shines as brightly as ever, but the renovations seem to have stirred up paranormal activity.

Numerous thrill seekers and paranormal investigation groups have explored the theater and come back with their own personal encounters and eyewitness accounts of apparitions. EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), disembodied voices and strange sounds have all been reported. The question at this location is not if you will have a paranormal encounter but instead, what kind of encounter will you have?

Linda is a self-confessed thrill seeker, and after getting off her shift waiting tables one evening, she convinced her coworkers to take an adventure with her. She had it in her mind that they would go by the Fowler Theater in the early morning hours and see what all the talk was about. She admits that to many, her claiming to have a paranormal experience would be tossed aside as something questionable.

The waitress said her previous experiences looking into the paranormal are well known by her friends and family. She feels they doubt her; they have told her they think she perceives the encounters because she has adrenaline pumping and is anticipating she will bump into a ghost. Actually, that is probably true in most cases. After I get home, I calm down, Linda explained. I realize the quick glimpse of what I thought I saw could have been passing headlights. Still, I have never seen a full-bodied apparition before I was outside the theater like I did the night I am talking about.

Linda and her two friends arrived at the Fowler Theater just after two in the morning and parked their car. The small group stood outside and called out to the spirit world to show itself. Having a laugh, they spent the next twenty minutes or so daring anything not of this world to make its presence known. Linda admitted it was immature, but at the time, she thought of it as harmless fun; they were just trying to scare themselves. Finally, Lindas two friends walked back to the car, and Linda said she would be there as soon as she finished her smoke.

This is when Linda had a life-changing experience that altered the way she viewed the paranormal. As Linda was about to turn and head toward the others, she heard the sound of a child giggling. She looked all around her but saw no one. At this point, she told herself it was the wind and she was jumpy from their earlier fun. Taking her first step to walk away, she was stunned when a little boy suddenly ran past her.