I spent a very interesting day with Mom and David. We set out to go spooking or visit places that were reportedly haunted. Not fake haunted houses but the real deal.
We headed to Stepp Cemetery, located in Morgan-Monroe State Forest, one of the oldest, smallest and most haunted cemeteries in central Indiana. We had to hike back pretty far off the road to find it. There were maybe 30-35 graves that we could see, most had no headstones. The stones dated back to the 1800’s. The oldest was Issac Hartsock born in 1793 and died in 1851.
There was a couple buried who had separate stones. They apparently believed in reincarnation. Hers read “the violets are resting” and his read “we emerge afresh in plants, animals and the lives of men”. Interesting……………..
If you leave a penny, it means you visited. A nickel means that you and the deceased soldier trained at boot camp together. If you served with the soldier, you leave a dime. A quarter is very significant because that means you were there when that soldier was killed. This tradition became popular in the United States during the Vietnam War.
Legend has it that a young lady dressed in black can sometimes be seen sitting on a tree stump and humming to a baby in her arms. The baby died just a few days after birth (1937) and is buried under a tombstone that has the name “Baby Lester” etched into it. Sadly, in July 2021, the grave plot burned. The verdict is still out whether is was done intentionally or due to a candle. People still visit this baby’s grave and leave toys.
Sadly, many graves in this cemetery belong to children. The Hacker family, Sir Malcolm Dunbar Hacker and his wife, Ann had eight children. Half of their children died before the age of 12. The entire 10 members of the Hacker family are buried in this cemetery.
In the 1950’s, a young girl was murdered near Stepp Cemetery and her body was dumped in the vicinity of the cemetery. It is said that her spirit continues to wander and search for justice. Her killer was never found, despite her mother’s determination to find who murdered her daughter.
Whether or not this cemetery is haunted is always up for debate but the stories remain interesting and consistent.
From there, we headed to Mitchell, Indiana to check out Whispers Estate, rated the 4th most terrifying place in the United States. It looked like every other house in the neighborhood. Mom walked up on the porch and tried to look in the windows but they were all blacked out. I called the phone number and spoke to the owner. They only have investigations at night. You rent the house from 8 pm – 4 am. He told me a couple of interesting things but one thing that stood out……………………..he said he wouldn’t spend one night there if they paid him $1,000. Here are a few pictures from Whispers Estate.
As soon as we can put a small group together, we’re headed there to find out for ourselves. Stay tuned for a separate blog about our future paranormal investigation at Whispers Estate. Let the haunting begin!
Good!
What a fun day!