Walking Haunted Westfield, Indiana with Historic
Indiana Ghost Walks & Tours
Once
again, the month of October is upon us…. a time for hauntings, Halloween - and
all things spooky. This month, A Grave
Interest is traveling around the Midwest, taking ghost tours and getting a look
at some ‘lively’ places, and, maybe, the spirits who make them so…
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| Underground Railroad Tour |
I
decided early on that it would be smart to get some guides for these haunted
jaunts. And
who better to seek out than the local experts on all things
paranormal in their towns.
On
this balmy evening about 30 people stand on a darkened Westfield Indiana parking lot waiting to be conducted on a ghost tour with Underground Railroad connections. One of the
partners of Historic Indian Ghost Walks & Tours, and our guide for the
evening, is Michael Kobrowski.
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| Historic Indiana Ghost Walks & Tours Logo |
Michael
and his wife, Nicole began their publishing company, Unseen Press http://www.unseenpress.com back in 2000,
and the next year developed a ghost tour that centered around Westfield and its
“Ghosts of the Underground Railroad.” Michael leads most of the tours, which are offered year-round. Nicole writes books
about paranormal in the area; her latest was released just last month, and both
go on paranormal investigations.
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| Quakers |
North
Carolina Quakers Ala Bales, Ambrose Osborne, and Simon Moon founded Westfield in
1834, planning for it to be an Underground Railroad stop. The Quaker
community was one of only six stops in the state that helped to hide, feed and
clothe runaway slaves before they headed northward to South Bend.
 |
| Former Hotel |
One
of the stops on the Underground Railroad was a hotel on the main street. A Mrs. White ran it during the 1840’s and helped slaves escape the slave hunters who
came after them. In the 1930s, a mortuary moved in and purchased the adjoining
building to create a large funeral home. When that business moved, another
business purchased the structure and placed offices in it.
 |
| Upstairs |
But everyone knew
the former hotel was haunted. The hallway that adjoined the two original
buildings always felt odd, as if you were being watched. Footsteps would be
heard upstairs when only one person was in the building. People reported seeing
a woman standing on the stairs who when approached would simply fade away.
And
just a few doors away another building had similar happenings. It had housed a
grocery store, an office and several other businesses before it became the home
of Marlow’s Café. Marlow’s was located there for over 30 years before recently
being sold.
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| Inside Marlow's |
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| Upstairs |
Restaurant employees reported that the kitchen area was very haunted. It was
not unusual for servers and kitchen help to have their aprons untied as they
worked. The stove burners would suddenly increase temperatures and food would
burn. Several people have seen a dark shadow in the restaurant. A woman, who had
worked in the building when it held offices, said that one night, when she was
there alone; she heard an office chair begin moving in the next room. When she
went to look, the chair was swiveling as if someone was sitting there. She
retired shortly after.
 |
| Former Bank |
The
Westfield Savings and Loan stood proudly on a main corner for years until it
was closed in the 1970s. Since then the building has been a café, artist
studio, mortgager company and hair salon. Many tenants have reported something
strange is going on in the building, especially around the staircase.
 |
| Haunted Stairs? |
One
person with an office upstairs reported coming in some mornings and finding
everything on the desk thrown to the floor and furniture moved. The building's heat gets turned up to an uncomfortably hot level in the winter. Repairmen came
in to check out the furnace and controls but no malfunctions were found. Some
have seen an older man in bibbed overalls standing at the top of the stairs
gazing down.
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| BANK Lettering Above Door |
The
basement is also haunted. A woman who worked there went downstairs to retrieve
something from the old safe that was being used for storage. Suddenly the door
slammed shut and she was trapped inside. (Good thing we live in a time when
help is only a cellphone call away.)
A
doorway to an underground tunnel has been found in the basement. It is
considered part of the Underground Railroad and links this basement to the basement of Jan’s
Pizza, located across the street.
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| City Hall Building |
 |
| Stairs At Night |
It
seems that the Westfield City Hall is also haunted. Lavender perfume can be smelled in the building,
along with diesel fuel. Employees have reported seeing a man walking up and
down the stairway dressed like a fireman.
 |
| Assembly Room Window |
On one of the Ghost Walks, several
people saw a man floating about 8 feet off the floor in the assembly room.
Window blinds have opened and closed when no one was there, and people have
been physically touched and scratched on the tour.
 |
| Anti-Slavery Friends Cemetery |
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| Union Soldier's Grave |
Appropriately, the tour ends in the
Anti-Slavery Friends Cemetery. This is the darkest part of the tour and the
crowd quieted considerably when we entered the gates. A Union soldier is
rumored to patrol these grounds. He has been
seen leaning against a tree in the cemetery, before disappearing. He is known to
walk the perimeter of the cemetery, stopping near one grave in particular –
that of a Union soldier who died just after the war’s end.
People
who have worked in the cemetery doing repairs have seen shadows and felt a
presence nearby; someone might blow on your neck in a teasing manner, but then
again, others have been scratched when not treating the cemetery and its
“residents” with respect.
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| So What's With the Snow?! |
And
don’t be too surprised when you get home and check out the photos you took (on a clear night, in 75-degree weather).
Some things are easier seeing to believe…
~Joy
Once
again, the month of October is upon us…. a time for hauntings, Halloween - and
all things spooky. This month, A Grave
Interest is traveling around the Midwest, taking ghost tours and getting a look
at some ‘lively’ places, and, maybe, the spirits who make them so…
I
decided early on that it would be smart to get some guides for these haunted
jaunts. And who better to seek out than the local experts on all things
paranormal in their towns.
On
a cool, rainy night about 30 people milled around in the foyer of what was once
a grand hotel in Alton, Illinois. First, let me preface by saying that Alton has
the reputation (well earned, I might add) of being one of the most haunted
towns in America.
The
building we were in was, at one time, the Mineral Springs Hotel; given the name because
of the mineral springs that flow below the building. At the turn of the
century sulfur springs were thought to have healing properties. Here the
water was pumped up inside the building to be bottled and used as cures for a
variety of aliments. The hotel opened in 1914 and thrived for several decades
before finally closing in 1971.
The
building was reopened in the late 1970s as an antique mall and has had a rocky
time since then. Today it is home to a few shops, the Torture Museum, and
Mineral Springs Haunted Tours, which is where we began this night with tour
owner, Janet Kolar.
The
grave of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy is also located here, inside a small
iron fence. Lovejoy began printing an abolitionist newspaper called The Alton
Observer in 1837. But one year later a pro-slavery throng attacked his printing
store in an attempt to destroy his press. During the melee, Lovejoy was fatally
shot. Orbs and lights can sometimes be seen streaking past his grave, as if he is still
trying to run his presses.
Staff
and customers have reported smelling alcohol in this section of the building
and of having the feeling of being watched. The guide on this tour said that
Charlie has been known to follow some women from the tour back home, but once
he’s told to go away, he returns to Mineral Springs.
Probably
the best-known ghost is that of the Jasmine Lady. The story goes that a woman
and her husband came to the hotel to enjoy the healing waters around 1925, but
while staying here she became involved with another guest.
Mineral
Springs Haunted Tours offers several walking tour adventures, after dark, in the downtown area, and in the cemetery, which also includes a tour of the hotel. Or, if
you’re feeling very spirited, you
might consider an exclusive overnight camp-out in the pool area.
