Bloomington, Indiana, is best known as having the main campus of Indiana University. While that school is supposedly haunted, there are other haunted places in the town that are just as interesting.
Bloomington’s Binford Elementary School is haunted by an old janitor wearing a black coat. At one point in the school’s history, it held older students and three male students killed the man in a closet. There is also a second ghost spotted in the auditorium wearing a black cloak.
In the Hoosier National Forrest you’ll find the Stepp Family Cemetery. According to the legend, two brothers fought violently about who would take over their father’s land and the argument turned deadly when they killed each other. When the land was handed over to create preserved forests it became part of the Hoosier National Forrest. Now people claim to see the two men arguing in the area and have their cars die suddenly.
This cemetery also has a tree stump where some people hear a woman crying, or see the woman sitting on the stump. Supposedly the woman had a son who died during infancy. Grief stricken, she’d sit on the stump and keep singing to her child. Now she seems unable to move on.
At the Paris Dunning House in Bloomington you can find a house haunted by former slaves. The house once served as part of the Underground Railroad and some believe there are a few slaves who never left. People hear someone moving papers, see the doors open, and see things move.
The Porticos is a former restaurant that was supposedly haunted by the ghosts of young children. People saw a girl in the bathroom and heard kids running around and playing.
Then there are the many stories told about Indiana University in Bloomington. At the Career Center a former doctor once performed abortions on local girls. The sounds of babies crying can now be heard late at night. Over at the Folklore Office you might be lucky enough to see the old head of the department lurking around.
The Indiana Memorial Union is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of people who killed themselves there along with one odd story of a ghostly dog. There are also a few stories of people seeing and hearing odd things in the Lily Library.
Indiana University also has the haunted Reed Hall. A former student was killed there by her boyfriend before he dumped her body in the basement. A number of people have seen this girl in the hallways and in her old dorm room, still wearing the blood soaked nightgown she wore when her body was found.
There is also the Read Dorm. According to legend, a former Resident Advisor named Paula killed herself by throwing herself down the stairs. On the anniversary of her death, students report hearing a woman screaming loudly.
Bloomington has a long history so it shouldn’t be surprising that so many people tended to stick around the town.
Sources:
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/haunted/hauntedplacesofindiana.htm
http://theshadowlands.net/places/indiana.htm
