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As a writer, I often take advantage of my local historical sites and since I like the dark and spooky, I never let a good ghost story pass.
One of my favorite places is the Culbertson Mansion in New Albany. The house was built in 1867 for William Culbertson, who was once the richest man in Indiana. The home is three stories tall with hand-painted ceilings and walls, a carved rosewood staircase, marble fireplaces, and crystal chandeliers.
The mansion is open to the public for guided tours, and both visitors and curators have claimed to have seen a ghostly figure in the building. Legend has it that the ghost of William Culbertson’s second wife haunts the house to protect her children from her husband’s third wife.
Rumors that the mansion was haunted spread and eventually the mansion’s carriage barn was turned into a haunted house on Halloween and people lined up to tour the building hoping to see a ghost for themselves.
The following is a story from the current “Literally, A Haunted House” fundraiser, which raises the majority of the funds for the interior restoration of the mansion.
In 1933, it was sold to a Dr. Harold Webb, who moved in with his family. He set up a home practice and began winning several patients. Over time, several patients disappeared and his family began to notice strange noises and smells coming from the basement. In 1934, after a patient found the house locked at the time of his appointment and called the police, an investigation was conducted. Upon entering the house, the police found the entire family dead, each through death torture. After searching the house further, it was discovered that the basement contained secret passageways where the doctor had kept missing patients and conducted gruesome experiments on them. After cleaning, the building was locked, but it was eventually sold to the American Legion, who restored the building. When it was finally reopened, visitors noted unusual electrical problems, missing items, and other unexplained occurrences. The garage now serves as a haunted house during Halloween and proceeds benefit the restoration and maintenance of the estate’s mansion.
So what part of the story is true? William Culbertson was married three times and his first two wives left him a widower. He bequeathed the mansion to his third wife, who auctioned the house and its contents in 1899 to a New Albany resident, John McDonald. Upon his death, the American Legion obtained it and made great changes.
After several different owners, the mansion was in danger of being demolished in the 1960s, but was bought in 1964 by the Historic New Albany group. Halloween haunted house visits began in 1985 to raise funds for restoration.
Harold Webb and the gruesome experiments aren’t mentioned, but that’s okay because it’s still a good scary story.
