HAUNTED INDIANAPOLIS
And
Other Indiana Ghost Stories
SPECIAL BOOK PREVIEW
M ■x ■ fei stoi > ■ ie!!*i-. Tom Bi!^i ulI ghofft iitv-es ri-^n ?oi Jonathan
Tittheml relate over twenty-five taunting tale*!
E *x>erience torment; terror and genuine chills !
Zeiu Books
Manoiv Indiana
NOTE: This Special Prevxw of Haunted hdiaxapohs and Qthtr Indiana
Ghost Stories by Tom BikermdTotaTicheiulisgivenherefnelybythe
«\tthor4s fk special promotion* FeelfTee to donnkwi praL *nd d^n iM&
tlus special receipts will
AUccauaits© Copyrigj* ,2008 Tom Biker, All Rights Re*emd
The book Htanted hdwnapohi and Other Indiana Ghost Storitsby Tarn
Baker u\d Total TitheMl is pubbshed by Schifer Books of Atglen .
Pemsyfruua.ItB w&il&ble from ther website ttt:wwwichtffergl\o?is com .
as we n « Am tsan, B une $ end Noble . rod other c&ftue reuslers .
3 you toe JnftUbint.thebook « available from Barnes md Noble stems
teres* the Arte .
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
Sc latches
Marion. Indiana is a quiet, sober town tliat some would say has
seen better days. With the closure of several factories, and an
increasing tide of unemployment, die residents of Marion, as of
late, have found themselves hanging onto hope with a bitter
determination that one day they will be able to see then small city
rise again and reclaim its former glory
Howevet while presently jobs in Marion may have grown
scarce, it has never in its long history had a shortage of churches.
Most varieties of Christianity are represented in Marion (which
has die distinction of being the birthplace, oddly enough, of
"rebel 1 * movie actor James E ean), and the populace is
overwhelmingly conservative in religious appetite as well as
political philosophy.
The Wesleyan denomination predominates, if for no other
reason than the single fact that Indiana Wesleyan University has its
campus headquartered nearly on the outskirts of town. Although
you will certainly find Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists,
Mormons, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Seventh Eay Adventists, a
smattering of Spiritualists, and even a few displaced Pagans, as
well as a haiidfid of Jewish families, the Wesleyans and Baptists
have it.
Thus, Sunday services are well-attended events, maikmg not
only die passing of weeks into months, and months into yeais,
but also allowing folks a reprieve to ioin in fellowship once a week
with like-minded people. It may not be Big City Thrills, but it's
mighty homey
It was during just such a Sunday service, when die Pastor
(We'll call him Reverend Trask), finished his sermon with a soft
prayei; said the Benediction, and walked from the pulpit to the
front door to shake hands with his parishioneis as they filed out.
As the last of the panshioners left die comfort and sanctuary
of die old church, he noticed a peculiar woman standing in the
foyet She was wearing a respectable blue dress, carrying a
handbag, and looking for all die wodd as if she had just lost her
l
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
oldest and dearest friend*
Soon the congregation had all departed, and die ministei was
left alone in the outer vestibule with the woman. She approached
him, a little cautiously and then held out her hand, saying: "Hello.
I know you don't know me but I have no where else to turn."
She instantly broke down sobbing, and the minister drew her
close, putting Ins hand on her arm and telling het "We can speak
in my office, if you like. Just follow me."
They went into his office, and he closed the door behind him,
sitting down heavily behind his desk. Although watching over his
flock sometimes was a tiring duty he never failed to appreciate
their wants and concerns His was a twenty-four hour position,
but he did his utmost to fill it to the best of lus ability.
The woman wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and then said,
in a trembling voice "Pastot lfs my husband. Something is wrong
with him. ..I can't explain it. He won't sleep, he won't eat He
barely speaks to me anymore And last night he woke me up out
of a sound sleep, growling something about hearing strange
voices and scratches in the room. Well, I listened, and I couldn't
hear anything. But this morning, as I lay in bed, I could feel the
most oppressive sense of. ..of evil that I have ever felt m my life. I
am not a religious person at all. I've never even been here before,
as a matter of feet and my husband says he doesn't even believe
in God. I had to get out of that house today so I went for a drive,
and when I came by here, and say all the cars outside, something
just told me that I should come and talk to you"
The minister sat back m his chair and closed lus eyes to mere
slits. He was not sure what the problem here was, if it was
spiritual or something more mundane that young married people
were apt to go through from time to time It could even be,
reckoned, that die husband or wife were in serious need of
psychiatric counseling.
He said, "How would you like me to help you?"
"Could you see him. Reverend? Pediaps come and talk to him?
Could you bless our home?"
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
The Reverend told het immediately that he could As they
lode out of town toward the home, the woman filled him in on
some of the strange phenomenon that had been occurring ever
since they had left their former home and moved into the
renovated farmhouse. She related a litany of strange, creeping
surprises that had foisted themselves upon the family only weeks
after they had moved out of their former home.
At first, it had been only small dungs at night, while lying in
bed next to her husband, the woman swore that she could hear
footsteps on the stairs, or rustling around below ill the living
room She would lay awake m a state of abject feat too scared to
even move, her breath gasping in and out Her husband, a heavy
sleep ei; usually simply rolled over and murmured to himself
She might grab his arm, if the noises got to be too loud.
Invariably when he awoke, with a sort of grumbling irritation, he
would simply snort with his eyes still closed.
"Mice, ril get some traps tomorrow honey Go back to sleep."
But the noises in the night grew loudet more frequent, until
even he couldn't ignore orputthem off anylonget Loud, ringing
footsteps often awoke them from a dead sleep, and her husband
would bound from the bed with his gun, throw open the bedroom
doo^ and rush out to the top of the stairs. Always, they were daik
ad empty betraying no hint of an intruder
It was then that objects began to mysteriously vanish and
reappear in odd places: keys, books, small trinkets would
disappear and somehow find themselves in the most unlikely of
places. Once, while they were both comfortably ensconced in
front of the fireplace, an entire heavy chest of china plates came
crashing over onto the kitchen floor. The couple rushed into the
room, dodging flying dishes and shards of glass as they whipped
crazily around the room, some becoming embedded in the
wooden dooi
The house would tremble with savage blows, like the thudding
fall of heavy stones, and the temperature would veer wildly
between boiling hot and freezing cold, sometimes within the same
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
io om And tlien there were the scratches
It was as if several small, feral animals were hiding in the walls,
scrabbling across the ceiling with shaip little claws. At first her
husband had tried to dismiss it as simply "mice" and even
suggested that squirrels may have built a nest in the roof He
shrugged off any occurrence he couldn't explain, he didn't
understand it he claimed, and what he didn't understand, he
didn't want to know about
He had been eating breakfast one morning, and she had been
brewing coffee, when suddenly she turned to see him duck
instantly down He picked his head up again gasping, and looked
behind him
There was a deadly shaip kitchen knife embedded in the wall
behind him, its handle still vibrating gently from die force of its
projection. He had just narrowly missed having that knife thrust
by invisible hand directly into his face.
Just at that moment as his wife stood there looking aghast at
what had just happened, the coffee pot seemingly erupted on the
burner, shooting a spray of scalding water If she had not jumped
backward instinctively she would have been badly burned.
Suddenly a deafening crash erupted through the living room,
as books and tnnkets began to fly from die shelves of a laige oak
case. The case itself had scooted out from the wall, and was
suddenly thrust down onto the floot cracking a portion of its
surface. The woman was left in a state of near-shock, and Anally
refused to be left alone in the house during the day. Her husband
seemed baffled about the ominous domgs, yet admitted he was
still unwilling to move. He, nonetheless, permitted her to
accompany him to town each morning, and she while d away the
hours while he was at woik visiting shops or reading m the public
library
When the time came for both of them to finally return home
in the evening, she felt a knot of fear and loathing aid itself
around in die pit of her stomach. TTie couple would somewhat
hesitantly entei and she would hurry to warm some food for
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
them, keeping her fingers crossed that finally everything would
calm down to a sense of normality. Tliey would then sit sullenly at
the dining room table, expecting at any moment some outrageous
spectacle, and finally retiring, uneasily with the comforting hum
of the radio timed to pleasant music in an effort to block out the
strange scratching.
As they pulled up in front old place. Reverend Trask clutched
his Bible tightly in his right hand Hie woman continued:
"Every once in a great while, in the night, we would feel
something tugging at the covers on the bed. And then there was
the night they were pulled completely back, and then pulled off
the bed and flung into a comer I thought that the objects flying
through the air were the woist of it, but then a few nights ago,
jack woke me up complaining that something had attacked him
while we were sleeping. He showed me scratches on his shirt—"
"Scratches? You mean the thing actually well, clawed him?"
"Yes," she replied, turning off the car and sitting still for a
moment "And more than once. Tlie same thing happened last
night He said something with glowing eyes came out of the
daikness at him He said it grabbed him while he lay there, too
scared to move I was so exhausted I noticed nothing, but the
next tiling I know he's out of bed and standing by the window
holding his pistol Then. . . "
Her voice fell to stillness.
"He shot it ? My God, you could have been killed He must
have been dreaming."
"Oh no. No Sii; he was wide awake and scared out of his
mind. We've been marned for ten years, and in all dial tune I've
never seen him like tliis. All he's done for the past two days is lay
in bed, looking sick He says he can feel something fighting for
him. . . fighting for his soul"
She suddenly broke down weeping, and he tried to console her
as best he could, but finally stated: "Well, that's not going to help
at tins point. Its in God's hands now"
As they walked up die drive toward the ramshackle old place.
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
Reverend Trask couldn't help but feel a sense of the boring
normality of tiie extenot It looked like many older two-story
country homes, with a whitewashed extenot a slightly-sagging
porch* and an air of homespun gentility Upon stepping onto the
porch, m the comfortable glare of early- afternoon sunshine, he
almost decided that die real problem here wasn't any menacing,
inexplicable force, but was simply the strain and pressure of
marital life driving these young people to conjure up phantasmal
evil where none existed It was, after all, damned hard to be
frightened of phantom callers on a bright Sunday afternoon
If he for an instant thought her claims to be dubious, however
as soon as she opened the door and he stepped foot mside that
gloomy old edifice, he realised that, indeed, there was something
here that lent itself to creeping unease
The living room was spacious, and the house itself looked
quite nice and tidy Altogether as the eye took m the overall
surroundings at a glance, it looked like any normal abode of a
moderately well-off couple. Howevet as Reverend Trask followed
the woman up the staiis and down the hall into the bedroom, he
experienced a cold, clammy feeling steal over him, a sort of
mysterious anxiety and a terrible sadness and suffocation of the
spirit Quite before he set foot into the bedroom, he was choking
back a sob of melancholy
Before him, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Ins head in
Iris hands was a very haggard looking younger man still dressed in
Iris pajamas At the sound of the Reverend entering, the man
jeiied his head upward, revealing the general appearance of a
man who had been losing a lot of sleep; a man that was, pediaps,
on the verge of succumbing to a nervous breakdown.
"Pastot you have to help me Tliere is a demon tliafs been
attacking me m the night. . .1 tried to shoot it but you can't kill it.
It clawed me across the chest in my sleep 1 "
With that die man raised Iris shirt, revealing four jagged cuts,
as if an animal had raked its claws across the man's stomach.
Under ordinary circumstances. Reverend Trask might have
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
assumed he was merely dealing with a psychologically disturbed
man. Howevet as he stood in the gloom of the bedroom, looking
down at the man. Reverend Trask knew that something of a
spiritual, pediaps even supernatural nature might indeed be
occurring
The man suddenly bounded from the bed, looking more alert
than he had when Reverend Trask had fitst entered. He went to
the far wall, pointing at die bullet hole he had shot through it last
night
"It started with the footsteps, and the scratching in the walls.
Then objects flying around everywhere, and furniture being
moved while we were gone Tlien, several nights ago, I saw a black
form hovering over my bed I thought I was still dreaming, but my
eyes were wide awake, and I couldn't move Last night, it tned to
kill me..."
Reverend Trask asked the man if he had any faith Receiving
"no" as a ieply he asked the man to sit with him and pray for the
release of his home from the gap of whatever low spirit had
taken hold there. However upon kneeling, he soon found himself
choking on his words, his mind a sudden cold, biting frost of fear
and panic.
"We should be gone from here," said the man, holding Ins
stomach as if suddenly it had been gnpped by a sharp pain.
Reverend Trask got to his feet clutching Ins Bible closely and
said: "I think that you may be tight I don't feel like I can stay here
in your home much longer Would you be averse to coming back
to the church with me?"
"Why?" asked die man, puzzled. "What good can we do there,
when the problem is here?"
As if m answer to tins question. Reverend Trask suddenly
pointed to the man's shirt Hie front of his white night shirt had
suddenly began to darken with wet blood, and the Reverend
suddenly leaned over and pulled the mans now sticky shirt front
up.
A new series of deep claw maiks had appeared upon his chest
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
and blood was trickling down the front of Ins shirt in lazy rivulets*
Both men were too astounded to speak, and the Reverend felt for
the first time in years, a true, deep sense of spiritual danget the
likes of which was threatening to shake from him every last once
of Iris spiritual fortitude He said, "I have to leave* Sir. Begging
your pardon, but I must insist on seeing both you and your wife in
the presence of several of the brothers of our congregation. You
see, Tve heard of this sort of tiling before, never believed I would
see it first hand, though. It would be advisable to have a few
others present, to assist if there is any danget"
"What are you talking about? What's going on here?" Hie
man, suddenly seemed to be on the verge of losing Ins stability.
He wiped Iris hand across Ins bloody chest, stood on trembling
legs, and walked from the bedroom as his wife was just coming up
from below He brushed past het going into the bathroom and
slamming die door
"See if you can talk some sense into him. And be very careful,
I would suggest you find somewhere else to stay for the time
being. If you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to
contact me. Myprayers will be with you,"
The wife looked as distressed as any woman he had ever seen,
and he felt deeply troubled for her as he walked out the front
door and shakily got into his cat driving away and not even daring
to look back over Ins shoulder
He felt very happy to be leaving that damnable house, too.
That evening he spent the night in fervid prayet not breathing
a word of what had happened to Iris own wife, but carrying the
memory of that ghastly coldness and malignant evil into sleep
with him
He felt a deep sense of guilt, forhe made no plans whatsoever
to check back with the family He couldn't, That small experience
had shaken Iris faith to its very core, and as he grappled with the
failure of Iris religion, he did his best to bury the memory as one
would a bad dream. His phone remained silent and no messages
were left forlrim forneariy two weeks.
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
Then, finally as if tlie tenor had just been toying with him, he
awoke one sober morning, Ins wife still laying beside him* ended
up and blissfully unaware He looked out the window at the trickle
of gray eady morning tain, and knew that today would be die day
Sure enough, when he came home for lunch, having gone
calling on eldedy parishioneis all that morning, Ins wife
announced that a woman had called eadier that morning, leaving a
message concerning her husbands illness He had almost
managed to slip die strange sense of gloom diat had settied over
him all day but now deep inside, he felt die icy claws of alien
terror sei2e the back of his neck. He quickly sorted tiirough his
mental Rolodex, turning over in his mind who he might be able to
contact tiiat might be of help later dns evening. He then dialed
die number die woman had left with trembling fingers, and stilled
his nervousness when her voice finally answered on die other end
To die suipnse of Reverend Trask, die woman was currently at
the hospital, her husband having been admitted due to illness and
nervous exhaustion. Apparendy since last tiiey met, die husband
had become increasingly despondent and unresponsive, and had
become unable to keep any food down. Doctors attributed diis to
a mild flu, and to die aforementioned "nervous exhaustion" The
scratches tiiey attributed to psychological distuibance, and had
insisted he be hospitalised for observation
"You mean, tiiey think that he is doing it to himself?"
"Oh yes," the wife replied. "They think he's gone off the deep
end, and tiiey want to commit him to a sanitarium, I think."
"And what of the disturbances? Have tiiey continued?"
She sounded a little morose when she replied. "Yes, but tiiey
seemed to settle down some, the woise he got Tliere were still
strange footsteps, heavy breathing, and things flying through the
air Tilings would disappear and you could hear clawing along the
walls, same as always. We left several days ago, to stay in a hotel,
and then stay with friends, but we couldn't really explain to
anyone what was happening, and we couldn't really believe it
ourselves. Then, day before yesterday the scratches returned, and
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
he started getting very ill, vomiting and crying out tliat something
was attacking him. I-I didn't know what to do, so I called an
ambulance. He's sleeping now"
M Co you think we could take him out foi a little while
tonight?"
She said, hesitantly: "Hes veiy sedated, but I think he can get
around. If you can convince the doctors to sign him out Tm sure
he'd go."
"If anyone can convince them, I can. Don't worry about that
ril be there in just a short while."
He hung up the phone, and then instructed his wife to keep a
plate in the oven for lum She protested mildly but realizing the
nature of his work and always trusting his judgment she did as he
asked. He went upstairs to change into a fresh suit found his
bnefcase, and set out just as the sun started dipping low behind
the oveihangmg trees in the backyard-
He first went to the home of one of his most loyal
panshioneis, and implored the man to meet him at the church m a
quarter of an hour The man replied that he most certainly would,
and would even bring his son-in-law along Reverend Trask then
hopped back m his car and sped to the hospital
Upon entering, he was met by the wife, who looked gravely ill
from lack of sleep and sheer worry "He's just awoken, but he's
heavily doped. Follow me"
She led lum to the elevator and up into the general wards As
he walked into the room, he found himself aghast at die sight he
beheld. The man seemed to have literally shrunken inward since
last he had seen him He was deathly pale, had lost weight, and his
haggard visage bore testament to the increasingly harrowing
ordeal he had suffered over the past several weeks. Also, his arms
had been bandaged to hide, the Reverend supposed, the ever
accumulating wounds that seemingly appeared on this man as if in
some bi2arre mockery of the stigmata suffered by some pious
Catholics .
He walked to the man's bedside and held out his hand. The
10
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
mail looked over at himgroggily
Help me, his bleary eyes seemed to implore Reverend Trask
intended to do just that
He took the man's hand for a moment squeezed, and then
went to find a doctor
It took some convincing on the part of die Reverend, but finally
the maris doctor was located at home. Although he at first
seemed reluctant, there was nothing, specifically he ob|ected to
about having his patient go out to the chinch for a "spiritual
healing". The Reverend wasted no small amount of time in
getting to die chapel, anxiously waiting for the gentleman he had
already made arrangements with to come and assist TTien he
solemnly took a few moments to kneel down at his desk, and
solemnly prayed to his God that everything should turn out well,
they should be successful, and whatever evil had managed to
attach itself to this family should be driven out and depart.
When his assistant finally arrived, they talked for awhile over
coffee concerning what to expect all the while feeling a greater
sense of trepidation grow in the gloom of the basement office.
They all knelt and again prayed befoie going upstairs, past the
wall-si2ed mural of Jesus emerging from Ins tomb, winch shone
out in heavy colors in the gloom
They had only waited for a few moments, when the outer door
of the sanctuary opened, and in came the wife, leading her
obviously-ill husband beside her as if her were an aged invalid.
Tlie man looked, in the subdued light of the church sanctuary
like some impoverished mendicant come to offer penance. He sat
down on the front pew heavily his eyes looking drained, and
apprehension settling on his face
Reverend Trask stood m front of the pulpit for a moment
with his hands clasped over his Bible. His two assistants flanked
him on either side, and he looked down at the man, saying: "Well,
it looks like the only tiling left to do is put it m God's hands E o
you agree?"
Tlie man looked at him for a moment, and his eyes seemed to
11
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
reflect all the misery and torment in the wodd. Them his jaw
hardened into bitter resolve > and he croaked, tearfully "Reverend,
I don't believe in God."
M So I understand. Howeves I think that if you stop and
consider all that has happened to you, you could afford, for a few
moments, to entertain the possibility that there is something
beyond the ability of our rational minds to understand ..."
He trailed of£ and suddenly he motioned for die man's wife to
stand and move out of the way TTie three men circled him where
he sat, and began to murmur prayers, bending over and laying
hands upon his shoulder TTiey at first started as a general
whisper; but their voices shortly became a fervent drone, their
exhortations for mercy and intervention on behalf of God rising
in pitch as die man seated below them began to tremble
Suddenly he jeiked away from them, falling to the floor and
writhing as if he were having a sei2ure. Hie men with Reverend
Trask stalled for a moment, drawing back as if unsure of their
own faith, or of what to do when confronted with such a crisis.
Howevei; it was not long before they got to the floot holding the
man's arms down as Reverend Trask began to solemnly intone:
"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of
the wodd, we command yon Satan, to leave this man and his wife
alone!"
"Shut up! Shut up, you damned old fool!"
Tlie man let loose with a stnng of profanities, and the men
holding him were awed at the sudden immense strength he
seemed to be exhibiting. It was all both of them could do to keep
him from sponging forward and running out the door
The man squirmed, and one of the men holding him put Ins
knee on his shoulder holding him down as the Reverend
continued to put his hand on the man's forehead. The man spat
up a vile froth of greenish phlegm, and suddenly one of the men
remarked how cold it had grown.
Indeed, suddenly the men could see their breath blow misty ui
the ait aid felt the freezing onrush of pure evil surround them.
12
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
Reverend Trask continued his imprecations before God-
Suddenly;
"What's your name?"
"That's none of your damn business 1 "
The vile language erupted from the man's mouth m a hideous,
deep growl that was not Ins own. His eyes rolled upward into his
head, and a vile stink began to erupt from his body The men
realized, as they held him, that he was bleeding from a variety of
puzzling wounds.
The man's wife stood crying, her hand over her mouth, her
body trembling. She looked, all of the sudden, like all the pressure
and oppression of the last few weeks was draining out of her at
once. She seemed as if she was on the veige of collapse
The lights in the sanctuary began to flicket as if die power
were under an incredible strain, and suddenly the men began to
hear a heavy pounding coming from downstaiis It sounded like
something below, in the basement, was threatening to knock the
building down.
I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Most
High God, to tell me your name!"
The man thrashed about again, and suddenly broke free from
those holding him. He dove forward, as if he was thrust from
behind, and then collapsed across the altar suddenly in
exhaustion He was gasping heavily for ait
Instantly as if someone had fired a cannon downstairs, the
men heard a loud report. The stench was now abominable, as if
they were standing amid the ruins of a slaughtediouse sewei
Then, with the blowing of a gentle breeze, as if from nowhere, it
dissipated.
The lights m die sanctuary ceased to flicker and the three men
drew heavy gusty sighs Reverend Trask went forward to look at
the crumpled figure on the pulpit floor The man before him sat
up, shaking badly looking as if he had just been ndden to the
brink of madness by some sadistic fiend But his eyes were cleat
and he had no memory of how he had come to be sitting in the
13
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
church, surrounded by his wife, the Reverend, and two strangers
Also, amazingly though liis clothes were still covered in spots
of blood, and the men that had been restraining him all bore
evidence of bloodstains on then hands and clothing they could
find no sign whatsoever of a single maik or wound on the man's
body
His scratches had healed without leaving even a slight scan
Reverend Trask swore Ins two assistants to secrecy m the
matter, not wanting to cause the young couple any sort of
embarrassment Although the disturbances did return, for a short
time, they were a mere pale imitation of what they had been; they
were no longer severe, nor did they adversely effect the daily lives
of the man and Ins wife. They kept their house, and raised their
children there.
The man himself never again experienced strange scratches or
wounds of any kind, nor did he again suffer from the heavy
melancholy and bizarre fugue that had been caused, presumably
by the offending spirit that had attached itself like a parasite to his
mind He and his wife became avid churchgoers, panshioners of
Reverend Trask, and ended up raising a laige family in the very
same house that they had once considered evil.
Return of the Gippet
Geoige Gipp was a large, seemingly feckless young man who
never propedy graduated from high school. Yet, he lives on ,
today , in the memory of millions of football fans that remember
him, chiefly as the legendary "Gipper", the athletic phenomenon
that featured as die subject of the classic American movie Kmne
Rock/re: AU \Amm<an , stalling the late President Ronald Reagan.
Geoige was, by all accounts, an unruly boy who spent his days
playing pool in seedy dives, and wondering what m the wodd he
was going to do with the rest of Ins life He had always been a
great athlete, excelling in baseball while merely sliding through his
classes by managing to do as little actual academic work as
possible, hi that sense, he was not unlike millions of other boys
14
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
of his age, who gravitate to rough games and slink school as
being somehow "for sissies".
Geoige's life, howevet was to take a radical turn, for it was not
long after high school that the young idler chanced upon an
encounter with an old friend* an individual that had graduated
from Notre Dame Univesity m Indiana, and was now playing m
the semi-professional leagues. Knowing full well Georges' physical
prowess, tins man suggested he apply to Notre Came for a
baseball scholarship. Although , at first, the young man was
reticent to leave his carefree lifestyle, he was eventually persuaded
to board a train to Elkhart, a train that would eventually lead him
to Notre Dame and national acclaim
Geoige was ensconced at Washington Hall, a dormitory
presided over by Catholic Brothers, and loafed his way through
classes in his fiist semester. Feeling like a fish out of water due to
his slightly older age, Geoige exhibited the same lethargic "devil
may care'* attitude that he had at home in Michigan, the attitude
that had soured Ins last yeais in high school, assuring a poor
academic performance.
It was one day while playing football with some friends, he
was noticed by none other than the fabled Knute Rockne, football
coach for the Fighting Irish Rockne immediately knew talent
when he saw it, and, approaching die young man, asked him if he
had ever played high school football
"No, baseball is my game"
"Put on a uniform tomorrow and come out with the football
scrubs. I think you'll make a great playei"
Gipp, not particularly fond of football, did as he was
instructed, and went out the next day to try out for the Fighting
lush. It quickly became apparent to all involved that he was an
electrifying, masterful player , who seemed bom to the pantheon
of gridiron gods.
It was four steding years for college football, and Geoige "Hie
Gipper" Gipp lead his team to twenty consecutive victories and
two Western Championships, playing both offense and defense,
15
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
and Ins name quickly became a byword foi athletic excellence and
tugged, sportsmanlike struggle. It was all too much for the young
man from Michigan, and his meteoric rise to college football
greatness spurred his not- inconsiderable ego and his brash
demeanor to new heights
He ruffled the feathers of Brother Mauritius, who oversaw the
boys dormitory wheie Gipp was living One night when Gipp
had failed to return before curfew from a night on the town.
Brother Mauritius confronted him, telling him that it was the last
time he would flagrantly violate the rules Brother Mauritius
threatened young George with disciplinary actions, actions that
would, most certainly disqualify him from participating in the
school sports program. The Gippet was horrified, and was careful
to come back to the dorm before curfew afterwards. He was so
leery of die threats issued by Brother Maritius that one weekend
night, coming home from a party he was aghast to realize the he
was, most definitely going to be late. It was only a few minutes to
midnight, and he knew that once he got there, the doors would be
locked, and all he could do to get inside would be to wake Brother
Mauritius, who would be furious. Mariutius would , almost
certainly write him up for disciplinary suspension, and his football
playing would be oven
It was a chilly night but not so chilly that Geoige Gipp was
willing to risk the wrath of Brother Mauritius. Instead, he slept
that night on die steps of Washington Hall According to legend,
tins is what occasioned the illness that was to later 10b college
football of one of its all-tune heroes
Gipp began to develop a sore throat and cough, and, in time, it
was discovered that he had pneumonia. Although he struggled on
practicing for a short while, Rockne quickly forced the young man
to see a doctor It was only a short amount of time later that his
condition worsened.
It was in November of 1920 that George Gipp , after leading
his team in a winning game against Northwestern University
finally became too iU to continue to play. Admitted to St. Joseph's
if
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
Hospital, Gipp lingered on in a unseeable condition while
tepoiteis and spoits fans waited witli baited breath for news of
his recovery Alas, it was not meant to be
By December 12 of 1920, the man was literally on the edge of
death His family and coach was summoned, and George
motioned Rockne to his side, telling him, "I've got to go , Rock.
It's all right I'm not afraid Some tune Rock, when the team's up
against it, when things are wrong and die breaks are beating the
boys—tell them to go in there with all tlieyve got and win one for
the Gippet I don't know where I'll be then Rock, but I'll know
about it and Til be happy"
It was two days later that George "The Gipper" Gipp died. He
was laid to rest on December 17 lb , 1920, in a funeral attended by
the entire student body and a multitude of fans, family friends,
and supporters It was truly a milestone in the history of Notre
E ame, and a time of great grief for many people Gipp was only
twenty- five years old at the time of death
Meanwhile , life at Washington Hall resumed much as it has
before George Gipp ever set foot within. However it was only a
short time later that strange reports began to surface from some
of die students, reports of the bizarre sound of musical
instruments that seemingly played themselves, and the unearthly
groan that seemed to creep across the corndors of Washington
Hall in the dead of night.
Trumpeter Jim Clancy late one night when he was practicing
in the band room, was astonished that, when he stopped playing,
he could still hear a bizarre sound coming from a comer of the
room. It sounded like grunting, and, upon approaching the
corner he was shocked to find that, even though it sat lonely on
the floor with no one manipulating it, the great tuba apparently
had taken a mind of its own and was now playing itself!
This was enough to convince the young man that something
strange was afoot and he qiiickly got himself out of the there At
fiist he told no one of Ins strange experience, feanng correctly
that he wouldn't be believed, but it was only a short time later that
IT
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
other students began to have their own encounters with the eerie
noises > and not a few of them were present when doois slammed
of their own accord, footsteps and weird groaning came echoing
down the halls, and peisonal items would disappear and reappear
in the strangest places and under the oddest of circumstances.
It was all too much for Brother Maisilius , who did what he
could to quell an outbreak he saw as nothing more than juvenile
pranks and "mass hysteria" But still the strange footsteps and
weird happenings continued and progressed.
One incident^ recounted in Mark Mernman's excellent boot
School Spirits , has the ghost of George Gipp riding a phantom
steed up the steps of Washington Hall, and disappearing through
the doorway! While we concede that spints may have actually been
involved in tins puzzling scenario, we cannot altogether be sure
exactly what spints and where they were purchased or consumed
Even Brother Marsilius had to admit himself baffled when,
one night while lying m bed he heard a horrific sound that was
"somewhere between a crash and an explosion". Running in panic
from his room, he went out onto the landing, looking wildly
around for some explanation for the noise that had just awakened
him from sleep. Of course, in the entire building there was found
nothing to account for the strange sounds, nor was any
explanation forthcoming, except that several students, disdainful
of Brother Marsilius' disbelief had conspired to play a late night
gag at In sexpense, .
Due to the strange, camivalesqe atmosphere the place acquired
during those fiist heady days of the discovery a skeptical
professor led a contingent of eager pupils to spend the night in
the old band room, to try and feiret out if there was actually any
truth to die rumors being told. It was not long before the
professor and Ins group of young adventurers settled down for
the night, howevei; that one of them was, apparently tossed from
his folding cot by unseen hands. Immediately after this, a bizarre
glowing eminence was said to be seen , briefly in a comer of the
room. Tins was accompanied by wailing, and such a traumatic
is
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
feeling of unease that the little gioup found themselves unable to
continue with the experiment, and depaited in flight that night.
Of course, after Brother Masilius' own experience, he
clamored to his superiors and demanded that something be done.
An exorcism was surely called for. but whether or not one was
ever actually performed by any member of the Order of die Holy
Cross is strictly a matter of conjecture. If one was performed,
however it seems not to have been overwhelmingly successful
Over the decades, a steady stream of reports have continued
to emerge from those who have set foot and lingered in the
creaky old passageways of Washington Hall. Students have
reported the same wailing moans, cold spots, the slamming of
doors by invisible hands, and the same strange feelings of being
ogled or watched, year after yean One man claimed to have felt
the ghost touch his shoulder as he walked upstairs, while another
has spoken of die bizarre, misty illumination that sometimes
lingers too long in the darkness.
Has '"Hie Gipper" come home from beyond the grave, to walk
like a prisoner through die daik corridors of Washington Hall ,
year after yeat decade after decade, quietly watching over the
comings and goings of those who are young and filled with the
eneigy and promise of a life he can never again know?
Who knows? Howevet what is for certain is that Washington
Hall is never fully empty. When spnng gives way to summer and
students begin filing out to experience youth and life and love ui
their own way there is a lingering eneigy they leave behind. And it
is that eneigy embodied in the sum total of all of our fears of the
unknown, dial gives life to tales and expenences such as diese.
Tli e Faceless Nun
Foley Hall was a great stone edifice tiiat dated back to 1860,
when St. Mary of die Woods College in Terre Haute was first
founded in die wilds of Central Indiana by nuns that had
journeyed from France to found a religious commune in die
wooded areas of die New Wodd Though die idea of religious
19
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
and educational instruction stnctly for women must have seemed
strange to die nigged settlers that pioneered Indiana territory, tiie
Sisters struggled for decades* until they became a viable and
bustling religions commiuuty and a cultural center amid the rough
hewn praine people.
The story of the "Faceless Nun" is a legend that goes far back
in die history of the school. Hie story is simple , yet elegant and
poignant.
Tliere was once a young mm at St Mar^s whose greatest
pleasure was in painting. She diligently studied art ,and her ability
to transmit an image to canvass was unparalleled. Thus, it was not
long before she was teaching art classes at the school herself
delighting the sisteis with portraits of them as they went about
their daily activities and chores
So accomplished an artist was she that it was, finally suggested
that she make the next logical leap in testing her own talent and
attempt to do a portrait of her own likeness
Intrigued with the prospect of this , the young novitiate set up
her canvass in the studio at Foley Hall, and began to carefully
paint herself while looking at her reflection in a highly- polished
mirrot She began the work in earnest but as she proceeded, she
could see that, without a doubt it would reflect an excellence
hitherto unknown in many of her portraits. It might she
conceded to her fellow nuns, be her finest woik.
Of course, it may have been the sin of pride that proved her
fatal undoing. Foi; even though she had adequately filled in the
entire canvass with detailed precision, she found herself
someho" unaccountably blocked as it came time to finish the
most important part of any portrait—the face. She lapsed into a
kind of nervous lethargy unsure of her ability to capture the
essential spaik of life that is the essence of any painted image.
She gave heiself a short respite from her efforts, but it proved to
be, altogether the wrong thing to do
Possibly through the sheer strain of her efforts, (winch found
hei; incidentally working by gaslight all night and literally falling
20
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
?ep ovei hex woik at tunes) the young mm fell ill , dying only
several days later Periiaps diis was the result of an epidemic, a
not uncommon occurrence in die late Victorian Era, 01 maybe it
was just sheer exhaustion, but, whatever the case, the self-portrait
stood as her uncompleted final piece In time, it was taken from
the art studio of Foley Hall, put into a storage closet, and
forgotten.
What came next, howevei; was tnily interesting, as the legend
of a strange, "faceless" nun began to circulate among the students
who walked through the darkened passages of Foley Hall, stones
that could not be easily dismissed Whether or not the legend
came first, or if it was the strange encounters that actually led to
the weaving of the familiar tale, no one can now say. What is
undeniable, however is the presence of die Faceless Nun, who
walked die dim hallways of Foley Hall, a fodom reminder of a
life and incredible talent cut short before they even bloomed
Tlie best anecdotes concerning the Faceless Nun came from
none other than a fellow Sister and teacher at St. Marys , the art
professor Sister Esther, who before her death related some of the
following anecdotes and history of the Faceless Nun to a local
reporter
Although Foley Hall had always had an aura about it that
seemed to invite suspicions of the ghostly it was not until one
night, while Sister Esther was working late on a particulady
pressing project that she became aware of a presence m die room
widi hei Feeling uneasy she went outside of her own room,
going down die hall to an adjacent studio, where she saw a young
woman standing outside the dooi; looking disturbed.
"Whatever could be die matter?" asked Sister Esther noting
the strange , nervous look on the young students face.
The gid looked at her strangely and then said, "Its that young
Sister She has been in and out of die room all night yet every
time I speak to her she says nothing And I can never seem to get
a look at her face. "
Surprised* Sister Esdier went into die room to investigate, but
21
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
found nothing The description of the young niui matched no one
that Sister Esther had ever heard of before, but she was alarmed
to say the least. It was only a short time latei; however, that the
faceless young sister began to make more frequent appearances at
the school.
One day Sister Esther was lecturing in her class when, as she
was standing m front of a student's desk, she was suipnsed to see
the gid lift her head, say something over her shouldet and then
jeik her head about as if suipnsed
The ^d said, "Are you everywhere? You were just standing
beside me, weren't you?"
As odd as tins particular happening was, it paled in
comparison to the night that Sister Esther was called down to the
art studio by a disturbed young student. As die young woman
stood at the canvas, she stated emphatically that, "There is
someone else in the room with us. She is over in the comet She is
dressed like one of the old time Sisters, and I can't seem to get a
look at her face."
Sister Esther stood there, incredulously as the student
described the strange, mournful figure m black. Sister Esther
learned later that the student was , generally considered to be a
"sensitive" that could see and feel many tilings that ordinary
people could not
She continued to describe the strange form that she saw, even
beginning to sketch it, as the invisible phantom walked over to an
old closet, and dissolved into the doorway. Sister Esther realized,
suddenly that the room was freezing.
Disturbing accounts of the Faceless Nun continued to come
from a variety of students, so many m feet that Foley Hall
became a place on campus to consciously avoid. Most students
refused to be inside the hall at night and those that were forced to
, for whatever reason, often found themselves inventing excuses
to not linger in the place as die sun began to dip below the trees.
Many students would, in fame , come to assert that they too, had
occasion to nm into die Faceless Nun, and many complained of
22
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
the eerie feelings and icy cold sensations of gloom that Foley Hall
gave them
It was a short tune latex that Sistei Esther went to her
superiors, and a special Mass was commenced, ostensibly to quiet
the restless ghost of the Faceless Nun Though tins seems to have
had some positive impact, it didn't squelch the weird phenomena
completely and students from time to time still reported seeing
the alarming image of a weeping nun , whose face seems always
to somehow elude die observations of the witness .
It was several yeais later that Foley Hall was torn down.
Whither went die spirit of die Faceless Nun, no one can say , but
we can well imagine that that tormented soul lives on, in some
capacity Pediaps she still wanders the lonely grounds, looking out
from beneath a daik hood, with eyes that see everything and
nothing, all at once
Purchase this book now at:
www.schiflrerghosts.com
Or at www.barnesandnoble.com
Also available at www.amazon.com ,
and at bookstores across Indiana.
2}
Haunted Indianapolis: Special Book Excerpt
24
