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Two Indianapolis landmarks rank among Indiana's ten most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, two Indianapolis landmarks, the Indiana Medical History Museum and the Athenaeum, rank among Indiana's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 141 Indiana sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Central State Hospital / Indiana Medical History Museum ranks #8; hospital superintendent George F. Edenharter commissioned the hospital's pathology building, completed in 1895 and now the Indiana Medical History Museum. Five separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 2015. Staff and visitors describe cold spots in the old morgue and dissection room and figures glimpsed in the empty teaching amphitheater.

The Athenaeum ranks #10. Dr. Helene Knabe, one of Indiana's pioneering women physicians, taught hygiene classes in the building before her death in 1911. Seven separate published accounts describe activity there. Visitors describe a ghostly couple dancing in the old ballroom theater and a presence nicknamed "Henry" that turns lights on and off on the third floor, and SyFy's Ghost Hunters brought in a string quartet during a 2019 investigation hoping to draw the dancers out; the show's investigators said they made contact with Knabe's spirit that night.

Statewide, Willard Library in Evansville ranks #1, and Whispers Estate (visits by guided tour only), the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #7.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Central State Hospital's Indiana Medical History Museum, 3270 Kirkbride Way, Indianapolis, is open for guided visits without an appointment.The Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis, is open to the public during restaurant and event hours; overnight ghost hunts require advance tickets.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/indiana/The fact sheet, with Indianapolis numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/indiana/Photos: the Indiana Medical History Museum and the Athenaeum, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: imhm.org and athenaeumindy.orgA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Two Indianapolis landmarks rank among Indiana's ten most haunted places

Two Indianapolis landmarks, the Indiana Medical History Museum and the Athenaeum, rank among Indiana's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. The Indiana Medical History Museum, in the former Central State Hospital's 1895 pathology building, ranks #8; staff and visitors describe cold spots in the old morgue and figures in the empty amphitheater. The Athenaeum, the 1894 German cultural center where physician Helene Knabe once taught hygiene classes, ranks #10; visitors describe a ghostly couple dancing in the old ballroom theater.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/indiana/