Haunted Indiana

A back-roads investigation of the Hoosier state’s spooky side.

There’s more to Indiana than tractors, corn stalks, basketball and sugar cream pie. Indiana’s back roads have long been rumored to contain mystery, apparitions and a wide spectrum of unexplained phenomena.

Now, I’m no nervous Nellie, but there’s enough alleged paranormal activity in Indiana to send a shiver down the staunchest skeptic’s spine. As I drove through the state recently, researching stories on Indiana’s best pies and Amish handicraft, I also investigated some of Indiana’s haunted spots. Would I require an exorcist by trip’s end? Likely not, but I was prepared to find out.

Next up was the historic Roads Hotel in Atlanta, population 725 — home of the not-so-spooky New Earth Festival. According to the website Indiana Haunted Houses, the hotel was built in 1893 and was a layover stop for the railroad. Apparitions, voices, flickering lights, creaking doors that open and shut — according to legend, it all transpired at the Roads Hotel.

The empty streets felt eerie as a strong wind blew through, shaking the candelabra on the front porch and tilting a rocking chair. No one answered when I called. As I shivered outside the estate — chilly, not scared! — a sheriff’s car slowly circled. I moved to the side window to have a closer look and jumped at a sudden, high-pitched dog’s yip. Inside, I saw a plywood coffin as well as antiques, lace curtains, vases and a love seat. I hadn’t yet encountered a ghost, but I was undaunted. My poltergeist prodding would continue, even if I had to summon the spirits myself!

Ghost Stories for Dinner 

After all my shenanigans and dead ends, I decided a nice meal in the Studebaker mansion’s dining room — the Tippecanoe Place Restaurant — would be a fine treat for this tired ghosthunter. I was surprised to find I was the mansion’s only guest for the evening. The expansive dining rooms were full of plush armchairs, antiques and art — but I dined alone. I poked at a Caprese salad and nursed a cocktail while house historian Doug Graczyk filled me in on the mansion’s haunted history.

It includes many spritely spirits, like the ghost of Clement Studebaker himself. Ol’ Clem is known to visit his office, announced by dropping temperature, the smell of cigars and pictures swinging on the wall. There are also more stoic ghosts, like the pregnant maid who hung herself from the stairwell when her suitor would not marry her. Graczyk and his co-workers say they regularly encounter the playful ghosts of Studebaker Mansion. Anomalies include flickering lights, singing children, mysterious orbs and apparitions that are caught on tape.

“In the master bedroom last week, our server was in there, and this vase came flying out of the hutch — the door flew open, and the vase flew out.”

All employees seem to have their own treasure chest of ghost stories.

Assistant manager Aaron Smith said, “I was leaving the ballroom one night, all set up for an event that evening, and something just didn’t feel right. So I took a couple steps back, and one of the chairs was intentionally pulled out as if someone was sitting there. Little things like that happen all the time, and we just shrug our shoulders and try to ignore it.”

As they turned out the lights and put the mansion to bed for the night, I excused myself to the ladies room downstairs. I pushed through the darkness, silently urging any nearby spirits to leave me alone. I’d spent the entire trip seeking them out, but when it came down to it, I wasn’t sure I could handle the real deal. I rushed upstairs, two steps at a time, wished Doug and Aaron adieu and hightailed it out of there.