Haunted places are downright fascinating. Often paired with intriguing, if not tragic, history, it seems like no matter where you wander, you’ll find somewhere rumored to be home to a ghost or two. Indiana is host to plenty, including some that are quite a bit more famous than you’d expect. Take, for example, the University of Notre Dame; founded in 1842, it’s got a long history behind it, including its fair share of on-campus tragedies. As a result, it’s supposedly haunted, and not just kinda haunted. According to College Consensus, the University of Notre Dame isn’t just the most place in Indiana – it’s one of the top 10 most haunted colleges in the entire United States!
The University of Notre Dame was established in the mid-1800s and quickly became a force to be reckoned with in terms of notoriety.
Ken Lund/Flickr It wasn’t long before the campus had made a name for itself in sports and academics, and the legendary “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame were born.
However, with old buildings comes a lot of history - and sometimes, the history is a tad bit on the dark side.
Michael Fernandes/Wikimedia Notre Dame has not been spared its own darkness; there have been several recorded (and confirmed - we’re not talking rumor here) deaths on campus, and there’s a cemetery on the grounds where priests, faculty, and many others residing on campus were laid to rest permanently. The cemetery is, of course, supposedly a hotbed of paranormal weirdness, but it’s not the most infamously haunted building on campus by far.
The building on campus which takes the title of “Most Haunted” easily goes to Washington Hall, which was built in 1881.
Teemu008/Flickr There are at least three known ghosts, thought to be spirits of people who truly did live - and die - on campus. One of the spirits is known to be that of a worker who fell from the roof during the building’s construction, and another is known to be a man by the name of Jim Minavi, a student professor who apparently enjoys loudly practicing his French horn in the dead of night when the living are all trying to sleep. He died in 1919, but he never left.
The most famous ghost of Notre Dame, however, is not Mr. Minavi or the fallen worker.
Matthew Rice/Wikimedia That distinction belongs to the restless spirit of George Gipp, an all-American Notre Dame football star who was said to have died of pneumonia in 1920, during his senior year at the university. He’s still around today; it’s said he likes to ride a horse, loudly, throughout the empty corridors of Washington Hall, and usually at night.
The ghosts of Washington Hall are by far the most notorious, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other areas of campus often given the side-eye by superstitious students and staff.
Onasill~Bill/Flickr The campus Main Building is a pretty creepy place. It’s the third building of its kind in the spot it’s sitting on; the first two burned to the ground, one after the other, under unexplained circumstances. The sources of both blazes are still unknown, but the current Main building seems to be doing alright… for now.
Anyone with even a passing interest in ghost stories should definitely check the University of Notre Dame out sometime.
Matt Shiffler Photography/Flickr There are campus tours year-round, but you might want to wait until fall. Sometimes, there are haunted tours - you’ve just got to know when to look for them.
What do you think? Is the University of Notre Dame a legitimately haunted place in Indiana? We think so! What other haunted places in Indiana would you like us to cover? Give us your suggestions in the comments; you might just see one featured someday! Craving more creepy Indiana? Maybe you should try braving this epic ghost town road trip in Indiana!
Ken Lund/Flickr
It wasn’t long before the campus had made a name for itself in sports and academics, and the legendary “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame were born.
Michael Fernandes/Wikimedia
Notre Dame has not been spared its own darkness; there have been several recorded (and confirmed - we’re not talking rumor here) deaths on campus, and there’s a cemetery on the grounds where priests, faculty, and many others residing on campus were laid to rest permanently. The cemetery is, of course, supposedly a hotbed of paranormal weirdness, but it’s not the most infamously haunted building on campus by far.
Teemu008/Flickr
There are at least three known ghosts, thought to be spirits of people who truly did live - and die - on campus. One of the spirits is known to be that of a worker who fell from the roof during the building’s construction, and another is known to be a man by the name of Jim Minavi, a student professor who apparently enjoys loudly practicing his French horn in the dead of night when the living are all trying to sleep. He died in 1919, but he never left.
Matthew Rice/Wikimedia
That distinction belongs to the restless spirit of George Gipp, an all-American Notre Dame football star who was said to have died of pneumonia in 1920, during his senior year at the university. He’s still around today; it’s said he likes to ride a horse, loudly, throughout the empty corridors of Washington Hall, and usually at night.
Onasill~Bill/Flickr
The campus Main Building is a pretty creepy place. It’s the third building of its kind in the spot it’s sitting on; the first two burned to the ground, one after the other, under unexplained circumstances. The sources of both blazes are still unknown, but the current Main building seems to be doing alright… for now.
Matt Shiffler Photography/Flickr
There are campus tours year-round, but you might want to wait until fall. Sometimes, there are haunted tours - you’ve just got to know when to look for them.
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Address: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
Haunted Places in Indiana August 24, 2022 Tori Jane Which haunted college in Indiana is the MOST haunted? You’d think “haunted colleges in Indiana” is a pretty narrow search After all, what are the odds of having more than one college be plagued by spirits in one little Midwestern state? Well, the Hoosier State must be lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it), because it’s home to not one but many allegedly haunted college campuses! There are the famed ghost stories at Notre Dame (more on those in a moment), but other haunted colleges in Indiana include Earlham College, in Richmond, Hanover College, in Hanover, Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, and many more. Seems like that for some of these spirits, school’s out… forever. What’s the story behind the hauntings at University of Notre Dame? Indiana’s famed University of Notre Dame has plenty of ghosts to go around, it seems. For example, Le Mans Hall is one of the more notoriously haunted places at Notre Dame. Built in the 1800s, multiple people have reported a woman hanging from the bell tower only for authorities to find nothing of the sort there. Supposedly, there was indeed a suicide that occurred there, adding authenticity to the stories. On the fourth floor is an infirmary where, supposedly, there is a literal bloodstain still on the floor from another mishap there, which has also resulted in the haunting of Le Mans Hall. Where are some of Indiana’s most haunted places? There are many more haunted places than just a few college campuses, you know. There are also haunted hotels in Indiana, like the world-famous, luxurious French Lick Springs Hotel. When we say this hotel is nice, we mean it’s NICE, but it’s also got a few otherworldly guests who never check out. If you’re into creepy haunted cemeteries in Indiana, check out Finch Cemetery at the Jay County Conservation Club. It goes back to the 1800s, and all sorts of creepy things have been reported here. Check it out after dark… if you dare! There used to be a place known as the Carolina Street Demon House, which was as haunted as it was evil, but it was razed to the ground not too long ago (to which we say, well, good).
The OIYS Visitor Center
Haunted Places in Indiana
August 24, 2022
Tori Jane
Which haunted college in Indiana is the MOST haunted? You’d think “haunted colleges in Indiana” is a pretty narrow search After all, what are the odds of having more than one college be plagued by spirits in one little Midwestern state? Well, the Hoosier State must be lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it), because it’s home to not one but many allegedly haunted college campuses! There are the famed ghost stories at Notre Dame (more on those in a moment), but other haunted colleges in Indiana include Earlham College, in Richmond, Hanover College, in Hanover, Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, and many more. Seems like that for some of these spirits, school’s out… forever. What’s the story behind the hauntings at University of Notre Dame? Indiana’s famed University of Notre Dame has plenty of ghosts to go around, it seems. For example, Le Mans Hall is one of the more notoriously haunted places at Notre Dame. Built in the 1800s, multiple people have reported a woman hanging from the bell tower only for authorities to find nothing of the sort there. Supposedly, there was indeed a suicide that occurred there, adding authenticity to the stories. On the fourth floor is an infirmary where, supposedly, there is a literal bloodstain still on the floor from another mishap there, which has also resulted in the haunting of Le Mans Hall. Where are some of Indiana’s most haunted places? There are many more haunted places than just a few college campuses, you know. There are also haunted hotels in Indiana, like the world-famous, luxurious French Lick Springs Hotel. When we say this hotel is nice, we mean it’s NICE, but it’s also got a few otherworldly guests who never check out. If you’re into creepy haunted cemeteries in Indiana, check out Finch Cemetery at the Jay County Conservation Club. It goes back to the 1800s, and all sorts of creepy things have been reported here. Check it out after dark… if you dare! There used to be a place known as the Carolina Street Demon House, which was as haunted as it was evil, but it was razed to the ground not too long ago (to which we say, well, good).
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
You’d think “haunted colleges in Indiana” is a pretty narrow search After all, what are the odds of having more than one college be plagued by spirits in one little Midwestern state? Well, the Hoosier State must be lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it), because it’s home to not one but many allegedly haunted college campuses! There are the famed ghost stories at Notre Dame (more on those in a moment), but other haunted colleges in Indiana include Earlham College, in Richmond, Hanover College, in Hanover, Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, and many more. Seems like that for some of these spirits, school’s out… forever.
What’s the story behind the hauntings at University of Notre Dame?
Indiana’s famed University of Notre Dame has plenty of ghosts to go around, it seems. For example, Le Mans Hall is one of the more notoriously haunted places at Notre Dame. Built in the 1800s, multiple people have reported a woman hanging from the bell tower only for authorities to find nothing of the sort there. Supposedly, there was indeed a suicide that occurred there, adding authenticity to the stories. On the fourth floor is an infirmary where, supposedly, there is a literal bloodstain still on the floor from another mishap there, which has also resulted in the haunting of Le Mans Hall.
Where are some of Indiana’s most haunted places?
There are many more haunted places than just a few college campuses, you know. There are also haunted hotels in Indiana, like the world-famous, luxurious French Lick Springs Hotel. When we say this hotel is nice, we mean it’s NICE, but it’s also got a few otherworldly guests who never check out. If you’re into creepy haunted cemeteries in Indiana, check out Finch Cemetery at the Jay County Conservation Club. It goes back to the 1800s, and all sorts of creepy things have been reported here. Check it out after dark… if you dare! There used to be a place known as the Carolina Street Demon House, which was as haunted as it was evil, but it was razed to the ground not too long ago (to which we say, well, good).
