Haunted Bloomington, Indiana

Klara Lee Sweet

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781439673621
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

For many, the most terrifying sight in Bloomington is the bathroom in a freshman dorm, but even more disturbing things lurk in the dark corners of this college town. Two haunted portraits hang in the Indiana Memorial Union Building, and the ghosts from suicides roam the stairwell at Ballantine Hall. At the end of every night, bartenders at a downtown pub pour a shot of whiskey for a not-so-dearly-departed spirit. At a nearby old manor, two ghost children stir up trouble. Farther out of town, in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, lies Stepp Cemetery, a remote and desolate graveyard that is one of the most haunted locations in Indiana. Join Bloomington native Klara Lee Sweet on a spine-tingling tour of the city's spectral history.

1

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

I don’t think I have ever been at a more beautiful university commencement than this.

I shall always keep in mind this scene here in the open…here under these great trees, these maples and beeches, that have survived over from the primeval forest.

—U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt during his June 12, 1918 IU commencement speech

INDIANA MEMORIAL UNION

At the very heart of Indiana University’s campus, once rated one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States, looms an impressive, castle-like structure. Spanning one-fifth of a mile from the east end to the west, it’s constructed of the same limestone as many other IU buildings. The construction of the building began in 1931 and was completed in 1932. Until the tower on the west end of the building was erected in 1954, the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU) was once part of the Biddle Hotel—added in 1960—and reception room, which is still around today.

When this portion was completed, this area became the popular social place on campus, teeming with students and visitors, due to there not being many local bars or restaurants at the time. Although the impressive building was finished in the early 1930s, the true beginning of the union came in early 1900s, when the hostility between fraternity students and off-campus pupils, as well as between freshmen and sophomores, hit its peak. John Whittenberger sparked the idea for the Indiana Memorial Union with the goal of encouraging a peaceful unification among its students by forming the Men’s Union in 1909.

The Sample Gates was built as the iconic entrance to Indiana University. Rated one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States, IU Bloomington also holds a haunted history at almost every one of its corners. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

The monumental structure receives over fifteen thousand people on a daily basis and up to twenty-three thousand during the first semester of the school year. Under one roof, the IMU offers a Starbucks, bowling alley, food court, study areas, a salon, a movie theater, shopping areas and more. It’s even home to the Biddle Hotel, where visitors can stay the night in the very heart of campus in one of the coziest rooms you’ll find in Bloomington. When arriving at the main entrance and going through the revolving door, a stone staircase is lined with large portraits and leads up to the second floor.

The largest painting is the portrait of former chancellor and president of IU Herman B. Wells, leaning forward and watching over those who arrive and leave the building. Before climbing the stairs on your left, the opening on the first floor leads to the cozy lobby for the Biddle Hotel on your right. The lobby features oversized leather armchairs and gorgeous wooden wall paneling. The union looks akin to a castle, with its looming stone tower, a staircase hosting giant paintings and branching corridors. It appears to be more than one hundred years old. It’s also home to numerous haunts.

Indiana Memorial Union. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

Perhaps the striking number of strange sightings and disembodied sounds there is due to the fact that the five hundred thousand square foot building sits in the middle of the oldest part of IU’s 1,940-acre campus. A growling phantom dog wanders the hallways and areas around the outside of the building, only to run into bushes and shadows without ever being caught or found again. No one knows why this phantom dog hangs around the IMU; however, some have reported seeing it, and one story told of a dog that had jumped out of one of the windows, causing the spirit of the dog to remain on the grounds. Random cold spots, yelling heard down the empty halls after closing hours, human figures falling from the roof in the night, haunted paintings and a haunted elevator are the strange occurrences that happen in this unique building. While there are many accounts of staff, maintenance workers and students seeing and hearing paranormal presences, they are fortunately nonthreatening; although they are pretty frightening at times.

Haunted Paintings of the Tudor Room and Federal Room

Even if you’re not a believer in ghosts, visiting Indiana University’s Memorial Union is worth the time if you enjoy art and architecture. The IMU is home to many paintings within all of its one-hundred-year-old hallways, offices and rooms, many of which are portraits of long-passed Hoosiers who continue to keep an eye on the university’s students. Several of these portraits are believed to be haunted.

One of the most chilling paintings is that of a young boy holding a jack-o’-lantern. Always referred to as Jacob, the sweet-looking boy in O.O. Haig’s 1938 portrait titled Halloween hangs in the attractive Tudor Room on one of the upper floors. Fifteenth-century tapestries hang overhead, beautiful paintings are displayed on almost all of the walls and dining tables are set with white cloths and delicately placed dishes. In the painting, Jacob appears to have a “forced” smile that little boys might have when their parents beg them to pose for a photograph they’re not interested in holding still for.

Like most little boys, Jacob is mischievous, according to the Tudor Room staff and students. Legend has it that after this painting was completed, the little boy in O.O. Haig’s portrait died in a fire and returned to his painting in the afterlife. According to the Indiana Memorial Union’s Facebook page, staff have dealt with the mischievous little boy’s pranks, as he’s known more as a prankster than an evil spirit. Staff would set tables up in preparation for the next day and lock up, only to find the room in disarray the next morning. Flowers, glasses and tablecloths would be knocked over, shattered or scattered on the floor.

Before closing hours, staff members wrap the silverware in napkins and set them carefully at their place settings. Employees have stated that on unlocking and entering the room the next day, the silverware has been unwrapped and scattered all over the tables on multiple occasions. When the room is found in disarray, the cause is usually pinned on the little boy in the painting. This has been known to be especially true when big changes have been made to the room, such as when the large hanging tapestries are removed yearly for cleaning.

Due to the fact that the tapestries are old and made of delicate material, they must be sent away for professional cleaning, which can sometimes take a couple of weeks. Tudor Room employees have said that after removing the tapestries and sending them off for their yearly cleaning, they have found tremendous wrecks in the room that are larger than the small pranks Jacob usually leaves. The silverware has been undone and scattered again, dishes and glasses have been shattered, tables have been overturned and the tablecloths have been removed and piled in the corner of the room, creating what I can imagine to be an upsetting amount of cleanup the next day. The vandalism immediately ceases as soon as the tapestries are returned and rehung. It seems that Jacob prefers his room to remain just the way it is.

O.O. Haig’s “Halloween” painting hangs in the Tutor Room. Jacob, who is shown in this portrait, perished in a house fire not long after this was painted. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

The medieval tapestries that hang from the paneled ceiling in the Tudor Room must be a favorite of Jacob’s, the ghost boy. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

The Halloween portrait isn’t the only haunted portrait in the building. On the second floor in the beautiful Colonial Williamsburg–style Federal Room hangs the unfinished portrait of Mary Quick Burney over the fireplace. The wallpaper is the same print that’s used in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. A pioneer of the art movement at Indiana University and a member of the Art Committees of General and State Federations of Clubs, Mary Burney passed away in 1933, before her portrait was even finished. The story is that Mary was extremely dissatisfied with the way her portrait was being painted by Wayman Adams. She was aware that her portrait was going to join the portraits of others who had performed great achievements at the IMU. She raised quite a stir within the university when she began looking around for a replacement painter. Since she passed away before the painting was finished, it’s believed that she continues to haunt the Federal Room, where it’s displayed.

Perhaps the painting was her unfinished business, since it was the one thing we knew she was unhappy about right before her death. Staff who have felt a never-ending presence in this room have declared that doors unlock as they are performing their nightly lock-up, as if someone is following right behind them, unlocking the doors they have just secured. In fact, this ordeal has become so common that staff have been instructed to perform a double-check before leaving for the night.

Poor Mary had suffered devastating losses in her life. Her husband passed away before her, and she had lost her son in a fire sometime later. Over the mantel in the Federal Room hangs her portrait, flanked by two urns—one holding her husband’s ashes and the other holding her son’s. Oddly, in June 2001, one of the two urns went missing. The urn was lost for years, and, just as mysteriously as it disappeared, it reappeared one day on the mantel where it used to be. Visitors have smelled perfume when entering the room, often described as the smell of roses or other flowers that were extremely aged. Others often note the faint smell of smoke, as if a candle has just been blown out, although there are no candles within the room. Could this be Mary’s perfume or the smoke from the fire that killed her son the guests are smelling?

The interior of the Colonial Williamsburg–style Federal Room. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

The lovely portrait of Mary Quick Burney flanked by detailed urns, which hold the ashes of her husband and son. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

The Ghost Tower

Walking near the west end of the Indiana Memorial Union at night, strollers may witness an unsettling sight. Be wary when looking upward at the eight-story west tower, known as the “Ghost Tower” or the “Tower of Terror.” Students walking on the sidewalk below have seen a black, shadowy figure plummeting from the top, toward the sidewalk below, only to vanish before the figure reaches the ground.

This recurring moment may have something to do with a grim event that took place decades ago, when the West Tower was once part of the Biddle Hotel. In 1960, a man who had lost his job and battling health issues visited for an interview and stayed on the fifth floor of the hotel. As the story goes, the interview didn’t go well, and the other interviewees were insulting him. One night, he either took the elevator or climbed the stairs to the eighth floor of the tower and jumped through a window. While some believe the man chose suicide, others think he may have been pushed, since he had supposedly made enemies during his visit. Either way, he died immediately on making contact with the ground. Perhaps the shadowy, human-shaped figure falling from the top of the tower belongs to the soul of this man.

In the wee hours between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m., everyone from the building managers to the maintenance workers have heard footsteps walking behind them when no one is around. The sound of moving furniture or laughter, as well as incoherent voices, echoes down hallways and stairwells in the dead of the night. At other times, the voices are clear and easy to understand and have even shouted the names of people. Nothing is ever found when staff investigate, often when they are the only ones in the building. While walking down the hallways of the closed building, a sudden chill is felt, and strange smells are picked up. Perhaps it’s only a bird and the dark interior of the rooms playing tricks on the eyes; however, a couple of students and staff have sworn they have looked at windows, only to find a figure falling past, hurtling toward the sidewalk below. Not surprisingly, the figure disappears completely before striking the ground.

On the eighth floor is the beautiful, privately used Bryan Room, where the same type of haunting occurs regularly. Like the Federal Room, the employees working on the eighth floor must turn off all the lights and lock the doors before leaving. The workers do this nightly, descending the stairs or elevator to the bottom floor, going outside and looking up, only to see a light still shining from the Bryan Room. Although one may think this is the result of mere forgetfulness, the last employees will reenter the building, climb the eight floors, turn all the lights off again and leave to see the lights still shining through the windows. This charade will go on for, at most, five times in a night. It seems as though someone is playing games with the staff, possibly feeling joy watching the poor employees run up and down the tower to turn the light off. Perhaps this is the spirit of the falling man who simply doesn’t wish to be alone in the dark. The elevator even stops and the doors open randomly at the fifth floor when the button isn’t pushed.

The “Ghost Tower” of the Indiana Memorial Union. Courtesy of Sart24.

The Bryan Room is thought to be the most unsettling, creepy room in the building. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

If these strange happenings at the IMU are all connected to one spirit, it’s possible that the poor soul is forever reliving his final moments. The man enters the elevator at the fifth floor, ascends to the eighth floor near the Bryan Room, jumps from the window and hurdles to the sidewalk below, caught in an endless loop. At times, the smell of herbs, recognizable as sage, can be picked up, which some people believe cleanses indoor areas of negative spirits and bad energy. Cold spots can also be felt at random times in locations around the building. Maintenance workers have often been spooked at night when they’ve heard the sound of footsteps directly behind them after the building is already closed, and the workers turn around to find no one is around.

One summer, a maintenance employee was shutting down the north end of the building, turning off the lights and closing the doors, before turning around to start the south end of the building. The moment the worker turned around to conduct the lock-up process of the other end of the IMU, a forceful gush of air almost knocked him off his feet. Frightened, the employee turned to see his reflection in the window; however, his wasn’t the only reflection he saw. A dark figure was directly behind him, looming over his shoulder. Thinking someone was standing behind him, the man whirled around to find he was alone. At this point, a soft voice, similar to chanting, was heard, and before he decided to investigate further, his walkie-talkie buzzed, and he left quickly.

The interior of the haunted elevator inside the IMU. Courtesy of Lauren Clark, 2021.

In 2003 and 2005, Indiana Ghost Trackers, Bloomington Chapter, investigated the Bryan Room along with the rest of the Indiana Memorial Union. Of all the locations within this massive building, more paranormal phenomenon happened within the Bryan Room, including a chair moving on its own and two voice captures on an EVP machine. The ghost trackers declared the Bryan Room the most haunted location in the building.

Dunn Cemetery and the Lady in Black

If there’s one thing most IU students wouldn’t expect to see at their university, it would be a cemetery, but it’s there. Small, old and surrounded by a low, stone wall, Dunn Cemetery was established before Indiana University called this location home. Established by a farmer named George Grundy Dunn in 1855, the little cemete...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Indiana University
• 2. Downtown Bloomington
• 3. Cemeteries
• Epilogue: Bloomington High School South (BHSS)
• Bibliography
• About the Author