St. Joseph County holds two of Indiana's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two St. Joseph County places, including Washington Hall at the University of Notre Dame, 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.

Washington Hall ranks #2. All-American football player George Gipp died in November 1920 after reportedly sleeping on the building's front steps when locked out of his dormitory. Five separate published accounts describe activity there. The student newspaper recorded reports of slamming doors, footsteps on the roof and a phantom horn beginning in 1921, and Gipp's apparition has also been described on horseback near the building.

Tippecanoe Place Restaurant (closed in January 2026) ranks #3, and no Indiana site has more separate published accounts. Clement Studebaker, of the Studebaker Brothers wagon company, built the 40-room mansion in 1889 and named it for his friend Benjamin Harrison, the newly elected U.S. president. Seven separate published accounts describe activity there. Staff and diners described a woman in white in the upper-floor corridors and cold spots near the ballroom Studebaker used for formal dances.

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:Washington Hall, on the Notre Dame campus, is open to visitors during campus hours; performance tickets vary by event.Tippecanoe Place Restaurant, 620 W. Washington St., South Bend, closed in January 2026 after 45 years in the Studebaker mansion; the mansion's future use has not been announced.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/indiana/The fact sheet, with South Bend numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/indiana/Photos: Washington Hall and Tippecanoe Place Restaurant, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: washingtonhall.nd.edu and tippe.comA 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

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