Get into the Halloween spirit with these two Lawrence County haunts
As the calendar turns to October and nights get longer, folks from across the land will be looking for a fright.
Lawrence County is home to a number of local legends and haunted places that could give some thrill seekers what they want.
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Two spots in the county are sure to make folks' hair on the back of their necks stand in fear — the Whispers Estate in Mitchell and the Big Tunnel near Tunnelton.
Whispers Estate, Mitchell, Indiana
Whispers Estate in Mitchell may look like a normal home built at the turn of the 20th century. However, there may be more than meets the eye.
According to the Southern Indiana Regional Marketing Co-op's website, the house was built in 1894.
About five years later, the house was purchased by Dr. John and Jessie Gibbons.
Dr. Gibbons practiced medicine on the first floor of the house.
Rachel Gibbons, the couple's 10-year-old daughter, started a fire in the house not long after the family moved into the home.
She suffered burns as a result of the fire and passed away in the home a couple days later.
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Legend has it visitors can still see the child's spirit running around the home.
More Gibbons family deaths occured in the house, including that of a 10-month-old infant named Elizabeth and Jessie Gibbons herself from pneumonia.
Both Jessie and Elizabeth died in the home's master bedroom.
Rumors of the sounds of coughing in the middle of the night have been reported in the master bedroom by visitors.
Whispers Estate's website notes that "common paranormal activity in (the master bedroom) is the closet door knob will frequently jiggle for a few minutes, stop suddenly, and the closet door will pop open."
In later years, other residents of the estate have died in the house — including a boy who was killed after falling down a staircase in the house.
Whispers Estate is located at 714 W. Warren St., Mitchell.
Big Tunnel at Tunnelton, Lawrence County, Indiana
The Big Tunnel is located a little more than two miles east of Tunnelton on River Road.
The 1,700-foot-long track was constructed all the way back in 1857.
Multiple train accidents are rumored to have occurred inside the rural Lawrence County tunnel.
Legends, however, have been influenced by the death of a man who was found inside the tunnel.
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According to a July 24, 1908 edition of the Indianapolis Star, Henry Dixon "had been struck a blow on the back of the head, and the first theory was that he had been hit by a train, since he was found in the tunnel about 200 yards from the mouth."
The article goes on to note, however, that Dixon may have been murdered.
"(Dixon) is known to have discovered two Italians in an attempt to assault two young women a few nights ago, and suspicion points to the Italians as the murderers," the Indianapolis Star article notes.
According to a post about the tunnel on onlyinyourstate.com, "(Dixon's) body was brought to the tunnel to be destroyed when the next train came through."
Legend has it that Dixon's spirit haunts the tunnel seeking justice for his murder.
Contact Reporter-Times, Times-Mail and Spencer Evening World editor Lance Gideon at lgideon@reporter-times.com or 765-342-1543. Follow him on Twitter: @LanceOGideon.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Whispers Estate and Tunnelton tunnel are two of county's haunted spots
