Ghoulish IU tales permeate Union, spook local cemetery

Bloomington has no shortage of ghost stories.

Some are rooted in fact, while others may be the result of a wicked imagination. In any case, these tales have spooked Bloomington residents for years and will grow and evolve along with the city to spook the next generation of Hoosiers.

Indiana Memorial Union

The IMU, according to local folklore, is perhaps the most haunted place in Bloomington.  

“There are a ton of different stories saying the Union is haunted,” said Josh Olson, an IMU employee. “Anybody who’s worked here long enough has heard them.”

While most of the first-hand accounts deal with non-specific occurrences like flickering lights or strange noises, there are stories that recount real ghosts.

“Supposedly a guy named Arthur Metz donated a lot of money when they were first building the Union,” Olson said. “One stipulation was that he would have his own apartment and get to live on the sixth floor in what’s called the Maple Room. He died right before the building was finished and is supposedly still up there.”

IU graduate student Dan Peretti has also heard of other creepy happenings in the Maple Room.

“I’ve talked to Union staff who swear that the Maple Room and the Student Activities Tower in general are haunted,” Peretti said. “One person claimed that after turning the lights of the Maple Room off, he would notice them back on after leaving the building.
One night, after turning off the lights a third time, the staff member saw the reflection of a man standing behind him in a window. The ghost freaked out and ran away through the wall.

Melanie Hunter, secretary of the Bloomington chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers, a group that attempts to “hunt” ghosts in southern Indiana, is familiar with the IMU folklore.

“The Union is full of paranormal activity,” she said. “It pretty much runs the gamut of experience from auditory and visual disturbances to power drainage.”

Hunter said the Bryan Room smells like old cigars even though nobody can smoke up there.

“You get the feeling of being watched,” she said.

Hunter said it is common for people to hear children’s laughter and the bouncing of balls throughout the IMU.

Peretti can attest to the latter claim and said that many employees have heard the children playing.

“The story of the little boy playing is based on a picture in the Tudor Room,” Peretti said. “He supposedly died in a fire and is pretty much a brat. About 20 years ago when the antique tapestries in the room were removed for cleaning, he went berserk and made the lives of the Tudor Room staff miserable.”

The Federal Room is also no stranger to ghost stories. IMU employee Joe Hash said he has heard a story about an old woman ghost who will mess with the room temperature if she doesn’t like somebody.

Like the Tudor Room, the history of the Federal Room ghost stems from a portrait.

“The story goes that she hated the portrait and ordered the artist to stop,” Peretti said. “You can see that the painting is unfinished. She haunts the room because she is so angry that the portrait was hung up.”

Peretti said that when looking through the crack between the doors of the Federal Room, one can see the woman grinning, but when opening the door, she’s wearing anything but a smile.

Stepp Cemetery

Stepp Cemetery, in the heart of the Morgan-Monroe State Park, is considered among believers to be one of the most haunted places in Bloomington.

“The most famous story is that there was a woman who lost her baby boy,” said Dave Vadas, forest resources supervisor at the park. “They say that you can see an old woman in a black dress and hear her crying over the child’s gravestone.”

Peretti said he knows some other twists to the story as well.

“Supposedly she sat in this stump and cried all night,” Peretti said. “The legend was that if you sat on the stump you would die within one year.”

While there are many ghost stories about the cemetery, Vadas was quick to deny any truth to the paranormal activity.

“What they’re probably hearing is just a screech owl,” he said.

The cemetery is open to the public, but Vadas warns not to visit after 11 p.m.

IU Career Development Center

Perhaps one the most gruesome of the local ghost stories deals with the IU Career Development Center.

“The story is that there was this doctor giving illegal abortions in the basement,” Peretti said. “People have claimed to hear babies’ screams and have even seen the
walls of the basement bleeding human blood.”

The first-hand experience of some of the employees, however, doesn’t live up to the hype of the ghost stories.

“I haven’t seen anything that is that mind-blowing,” said Mark Miller, Career Development Center employee, “but you just get this eerie unwelcoming feeling like somebody is watching you. I’ve definitely felt a presence.”