S. E. Schlosser - Spooky Indiana: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore

Also in the Spooky Series by

S. E. Schlosser and Paul G. Hoffman:

Spooky California

Spooky Campfire Tales

Spooky Canada

Spooky Colorado

Spooky Florida

Spooky Georgia

Spooky Maryland

Spooky Massachusetts

Spooky Michigan

Spooky Montana

Spooky New England

Spooky New Jersey

Spooky New York

Spooky North Carolina

Spooky Oregon

Spooky Pennsylvania

Spooky South

Spooky South Carolina

Spooky Southwest

Spooky Texas

Spooky Virginia

Spooky Washington

Spooky Wisconsin

Text copyright 2012 by S. E. Schlosser

Illustrations copyright 2012 by Paul G. Hoffman

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

Project editor: Meredith Dias

Layout: Justin Marciano

Text design: Lisa Reneson, Two Sisters Design

Map: Alena Pearce Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schlosser, S. E.

Spooky Indiana : tales of hauntings, strange happenings, and other local lore / retold by S.E. Schlosser ; illustrated by Paul G. Hoffman.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7627-6421-1

1. GhostsIndiana. 2. Haunted placesIndiana. I. Title.

BF1472.U6S296 2012

398.209772'05dc23

2012004544

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my family: David, Dena, Tim, Arlene, Hannah, Emma, Nathan, Ben, Deb, Gabe, Clare, Jack, Chris, Karen, Davey, and Aunt Mil. And for Barbara Strobel, an honorary member of the Schlosser clan.

For Erin Turner, Paul Hoffman, and all the wonderful folks at Globe Pequot Press, with my thanks.

For Jennifer White and for Jessica, Caleb, Jim, and Susan Smith. Thanks for all the great Indiana stories.

For Liz Reese, Bob Smith, and Zoe.

Thanks for sharing your folks with me!

The last vestiges of a storm brooded over Lake Michigan, turning the water into an endless series of whitecaps, on the final day of my Spooky Indiana research trip. I walked lazily down the steps from the parking lot and along the wood boardwalk that cut through the dunes. The wind whipped my hair into a mass of tangles, and I laughed as its chilly fingers caressed my cold cheeks. The beach in mid-afternooneven on a cloudy daywas no place for shoes. I kicked them off and stepped down into the sand, catching them up with one hand as I headed toward the lake. The sand was cold against my bare feet; the wind took my breath away. Spray from the crashing waves misted the air like gentle rain. I saw a couple walking their golden retriever at the waters edge farther down the beach.

When I turned northward, I saw one, then two, then three crows fly in low over the dune and land near the water. Behind them, framing the scene, was the lighthouse at Michigan Citymy first stop of the day and the last stop for the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus before the fatal train wreck in 1918. Gulls farther up the beach huddled in a group near the base of the dune, uninterested in the crashing surf. But it was the crows I watched. They strutted closer to the crashing waves and then backed up quickly when the water came too close. I laughed again; it was as if they were playing.

Just then a jogger passed me, huddled into his sweatshirt as though he felt the cold in his bones. He didnt see the crows, didnt see me. Im not even sure he registered the crashing waves as he ran along the shifting sand. The crows saw him, though, and flew away, sailing past me and landing farther down the beach, where they resumed their game of wave tag until the presence of the golden retriever persuaded them to head inland and out of sight. I sighed and waved goodbye to the departing trio. Then I, too, headed inland to drive across the bridge at Cline Avenue in Hammond, which was haunted by the ghost of a jilted bride (Sophia), and to pay a quick visit to the phantom-plagued railroad tracks near Colfax Street, my last stop of the day before heading to the hotel to pack my bags for departure. Not that there would be much to see in daylight hoursat least at the railroad tracks. If and when a ghostly reenactment of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train wreck happened, it would be in the wee hours of the morning, right around 3:57 a.m., the time the original accident took place (Train Wreck). Still, my spooky trip around Indiana would not be complete without a glimpse of the infamous site.

My adventures had begun two weeks earlier when Id arrived in Goshen, my jumping off point for northern Indiana. I spent several days roaming through Amish country, enjoying homemade quilts and sweet treats, learning about life in the fertile farmlands, and visiting spooky spots like South Bend, where a grave robber met a terrible fate after stealing a dead womans head for his phrenology studies (Strange Case). I paid a visit to the cemetery near Bremen, where ghostly headlights chase the unwary who venture there at night (Headlights). My visit to Fort Wayne produced the tale of a witch who still haunts the ruins of her house atop a hill (Reflection). Of course, the ghost of a bereaved farmer can still be seen wandering the fields between Francesville and Rensselaer (Moodys Light).

After several wonderful days exploring the north, I headed down to Indianapolis, the source of many spooky tales. The one I chose for this collection involves a very haunted Central State Hospital (The Night Shift). Just a bit farther south is Bloomington, home to Indiana University and many spooky stories, including the infamous Hatchet Man and a certain ghostly young lady in a yellow dress (The Face). Farther west, the ghost of Stiffy Green wanders with his master through Terre Haute. Legend tells of three lovely witches who once roamed Shelby County in the shape of baby deer (Three Fawns).

The final week of my journey took me through southern Indiana, where I found many tales of intrigue. In Jeffersonville, a murderer almost walked free, until the ghost of his victim appeared to a local man in a dream (Tom Morgans Dream). A werewolf once preyed upon the townsfolk of Evansville (Loup-Garou). Counterfeiters used a cave near Leavenworth to print their false currency. And grave robbers in Newburgh accidentally saved the life of a grandmother whod been buried alive when they dug up her casket to steal her diamond ring.