Haunted Hoosier Tales: Folklore from Indiana's Spookiest Places

by Wanda Lou Willis

Overview

Get the guide to Indiana ghosts that’s two books in one: part armchair reader and part ghost hunting guide!

Mansions where sad deaths occurred and where spirits walk, murderers and kidnappers whose foul crimes seem to be punished from beyond the grave—countless ghost stories have been passed on for generations, joined by modern folktales that raise the hair on the head and stir the imagination. Wanda Lou Willis, one of Indiana’s most popular folklorists, has carefully researched and collected 78 frightening tales that will provoke and amuse even the most skeptical reader.

Enjoy these stories from the safety of home, or become a ghost hunter. Utilize maps and driving directions for the haunted locations that are open to the public. Journey to Hazelcot, the deserted dream mansion in Whitley County; to the tomb of riverboat captain Francis McHarry along the Ohio River, where ships pay homage to avoid the ghost’s curse; and to the bridges near Avon, where who-knows-what will occur on Halloween.

Whether you’re a horror fan, a history buff, or a traveler looking to explore Indiana like never before, Haunted Hoosier Tales is for you. Share it with friends around a campfire, or try the stories alone at home—if you dare.

Inside you’ll find:

• 78 ghostly tales from haunted locations
• Stories arranged by county
• Maps and directions to the featured sites
• Historical information about 42 counties

Do ghosts walk the roads and wander the trails of the Hoosier heartland? Find out with Haunted Hoosier Tales. Plus, the companion book More Haunted Hoosier Tales is also available.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578604210
Publisher:	Clerisy Press
Publication date:	09/09/2025
Series:	Haunted Heartland
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Wanda Lou Willis is a folklore historian who specializes in Hoosier folktales and historic research. She is the author of Haunted Hoosier Tales and More Haunted Hoosier Tales.

She is a former features writer for the Indianapolis Star’s “Seniority Counts” section and contributor to the SouthernIN on-line magazine and the Suite 101 – Folklore site. Currently, she writes for Country Roads: Southeastern Indiana’s Lifestyle Magazine. Wanda has also made numerous appearances on Fox 59’s Early Morning show, has been on numerous local and international radio shows, and was a guest hostess on the South Florida radio show Magick Mind.

For many years, she taught folklore at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and is a popular presenter at schools, universities, libraries, clubs, and historical societies. She has added acting to her list of accomplishments, appearing in Central State: Asylum for the Insane (2006) and Ghost Stories: Walking with the Dead (2007).

A fifth generation Hoosier, Wanda lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. For several years, she shared her life with Joy, her beloved Belgian Shepherd, until her untimely passing in 2007 due to tainted dog food. Though her Joy is gone, she has Hope, a beautiful, loving, foxy Foxhound.

Read an Excerpt

Osceola Poltergeist

“If I had not been witness to them, I certainly would not believe such things could happen,” wrote the investigating officer from the St. Joseph County sheriff’s office.

Osceola, Indiana, September 1966. The family came home to discover somebody or something had entered their home on Greenlawn Avenue and left it in disarray. Furniture was toppled, and pictures, potted plants, vases, and lamps were shattered. They were shocked, but for reasons best known to them, they did not report the event to the police—at least not then.

The family of three—father, mother, and their nine-year-old son—had experienced other strange happenings in the past few weeks, none quite as destructive as what they’d found in their home that day. On one of these occasions, the husband and wife were in bed when a key case seemed to “sail” from the dresser and fall to the floor a foot or so away.

One day, the wife was in the kitchen when the iron fell from the cabinet. At first, thinking she hadn’t placed it far enough back from the edge, she picked up the iron and put it back on the cabinet. No sooner had she turned around when it crashed to the floor once again.

Another incident happened when the family was watching television. They heard a sound as if something had hit the wall. When they investigated, they found a candelabra on the floor far across the room from where it normally sat on a table.

Unnerved by the experiences, the family finally decided to call the police.

Two officers from the sheriff’s department came, heard the complaints, and admitted the occurrences certainly did sound like pranks, elaborate hoaxes that were also destroying property, as well as frightening the family. As one of the officers walked toward the door, the second officer observed an end table moving, seemingly “following” the man and then falling over. They examined the table for wires attached to the legs but found nothing.

It was suggested that everyone leave the house. The officers thought perhaps there’d been a tremor. Calling into headquarters to inquire if there had been any reports of a possible earthquake, they ascertained there had been no earthquake tremors. Perplexed, the officers suggested some kind of vibration had caused the table to “walk” and then fall over: a jet boom or a semi’s rumbling passage nearby.

In any event, the officers promised to look into the problem. As they once again began to walk out the door, they were stopped short as a picture fell from the wall. Examination proved the wire hadn’t broken and the nail was still firmly in the wall. The officers looked at each other and then nodded in assent; some kind of vibration.

The two investigating officers reported all of these events in full to the sheriff.

At the “poltergeist house,” disturbances continued: the breaking of dishes, vases, and other small objects, as well as the strewing of clothing that had been in closets. Suspicious eyes were quite naturally cast on the nine-year-old boy in the household; he denied involvement.

At first, Sheriff Locks treated the disturbances seriously. At the South Bend library, he pored over books about poltergeists and even magic.

Many people in the community were speculating and some were snickering. But the sheriff continued his search for an answer, no matter how bizarre that answer might be.

He’d received reports of strange lights in the skies over St. Joseph County. He wondered if there could be any connection between the “poltergeist” activities and these reports.

In his search for an answer, he turned to the University of Notre Dame. A team of men from the psychology, chemistry, and physics departments visited the home. They examined everything, from the foundation to the plumbing and heating systems, and talked to the members of the family and neighbors.

They believed this was a many-sided problem. Still, they couldn’t say what was causing the anomalies, such as a small evergreen beside the front door bending over, touching the ground, and then popping back into place. There wasn’t any wind activity when this occurred. What in the world (or out of it) was the explanation?

The Notre Dame team on October 12, 1966, stated in an interview, “We have found no logical explanation for what has happened in this house.”

Finally, the activity stopped just as mysteriously as it had begun.

On October 14, 1966, the sheriff called a press conference in his South Bend office. In that news conference, the sheriff stated that all the things that had happened in the house were caused by the actions of a juvenile and the case was closed. He refused to answer any further questions or to discuss the incident ever again.

The activities had ceased. The family was satisfied. But others, hearing the case was closed, continued to ask, “How?” “Who?” “Why?”

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Northern Indiana

• Allen County
• The Mason Long House
• The Pfeiffer House
• The Phantom of the Embassy
• Fulton County
• The Manitou Monster
• Sister Sarah
• Huntington County
• The Haunting of Canal House
• Kosciusko County
• The Fish That Got Away
• Merbrink Cottage: The Winona Lake House of Love
• La Porte County
• The Ghost of “I” Street Medical Clinic
• Marshall County
• Paukooshuck’s Ghost
• Porter County
• Child’s Play
• St. Joseph County
• Osceola Poltergeist
• Whitley County
• Oscar, the Beast of “Busco”
• Things Go Bump in a Grand Manor: Hazelcot Castle

Central Indiana

• Clay County
• The One-Hundred Steps Cemetery
• Fountain County
• Chambermaid Haunts Hotel—Attica, Indiana
• Franklin County
• The White Hall Tavern
• Hamilton County
• The Haunting of Eck House
• Hancock County
• The Plantation Club’s Hoodlums and Haunts
• Hendricks County
• Danville’s Creature from Hell
• Henry County
• The Haunted City
• Johnson County
• Little Girl in the Window
• Madison County
• Nineteenth Century Eccentric Ghost Tales
• Sam Maag... Is It You?
• “Good Night, Mr. G”
• Miss Robert’s Mansion
• Marion County
• The Acton Miracle
• The Alverna Retreat Ghost
• The Girl in White
• The Haunting of Beck House
• The Murat Shrine Temple’s Blue Light Special
• The Slippery Noodle Inn
• Indianapolis’s First Haunted House
• Monroe County
• The Haunted Morgan-Monroe State Forest
• Morgan County
• The Point of Death
• Parke County
• Bellmore—Dark Fantastic
• The Peek-a-Boo Ghost
• Spook Light Hill
• Tilghman’s Furlough
• Turkey Run
• Putnam County
• The Ghost of Governor Whitcomb
• Locust Hill
• Vigo County
• The Blue Hole
• The Ultimate Long Distance Call
• Warren County
• Harrison’s Phantom Militia
• Wayne County
• Cry-Woman Bridge

Southern Indiana

• Bartholomew County
• The Azalia Bridge
• Brown County
• The Haunting of Story, Indiana
• Dearborn County
• The Laughery Creek Road Massacre
• Floyd County
• Balls of Light
• The Ghosts of Culbertson Mansion
• Greene County
• The Legend of Poor Pollie: Linton’s Beloved Eccentric
• Harrison County
• The Legend of Haunted Hollow
• Jackson County
• Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry
• The Medora Haunted House
• Trombone Tommy
• The Witch of White Chapel
• Knox County
• Dark Hollow
• Purple Head Bridge
• The Spirit of Otter Lake
• The Coal Miner’s Ghosts
• The Ghost of Sigma Pi
• The Ghostly Supervisor
• Lawrence County
• The Light at the End of the Tunnel
• Chains of Destiny
• Martin County
• Paoli’s Bluebeard
• Perry County
• The Ghost Rider of River Road
• Vengeance Is Mine, Saith the Lord
• What’s Going on at the Tell City Library?
• Pike County
• Dead Man’s Prophecy
• Flat Creek Terror
• The Gullick House
• Scott County
• Poor Mary
• Day Is Done, Gone the Sun
• Switzerland County
• A Gentle Presence
• The Music of the Night
• Warrick County
• The Ditney Man
• Washington County
• The Pekin Ghost