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Central State Hospital - Indianapolis IN Real Haunts

   
  • 3045 Vermont Street
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • 317-635-7329
Details
Average Review
  (13 reviews)
Listing Categories
Real Haunted Places, Real Haunted Hospitals & Asylums, Real Haunted Museums
Open To Public
Yes - Open To Public
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This psychiatric treatment hospital opened in 1848 and can be found on Tibbs Avenue, Washington Street, Warman Avenue, and Vermont Street. Complex buildings in the area housed mentally ill patients including the criminally insane. There were even two castle-like buildings built, called the Seven Gables as well as gardens, fountains, and fine landscaping to offer patients a pleasant place.

In 1994, the hosptial closed down due to a combination of factors, including the expensive cost of running such a large hospital system and claims of patients being abused. This resulted in the state of Indiana taking back the property and converting it to the Indiana Medical Hospital Museum (IMHM) and other things.

Patients' remains were buried on the western edge along Tibbs Avenue and near the old Pathology building. Today, some buildings still remain on the vacant grounds. While IMHM denies claims of the property being haunted, others have reported otherwise, including the sound of a screaming woman coming out from the corner of the Old Power House basement where workers had to go down to shovel ashes twices a night, sights of shadows moving from cement posts, and the boiler turning on and off on its own. In the Pathology Building where dead bodies were examined to learn about their mental illness, there were noises heard in the basement when no one was there. The dormitories was a place where cries and screams have also been heard by maintenance workers.
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  • Former Central State Security Guard

    I worked at CSH back in the 80's. Beneath the hospital grounds were tunnels connecting the buildings. On several occasions we would investigate noises in the tunnels but never located the source or persons. An area near the pathology bldg. (in the tunnel) were rooms closed off with welded bars. You could see chains mounted to the rock walls were "residents" had been chained in the early years. Within the pathology bldg., was a laboratory with human disected brains in jars, rusted surgical tools and saws. Some residents were allowed to walk the grounds a few hours a day and some were confined. Yes, their was some very dangerous individuals there and many with bizarre behavior. You never knew what you were going to see from one shift to the next. Often times you would have to disburse patients engaged in sexual activities throughout the grounds, subdue combative patients and suicidal patients. I've seen patients smearing feces on themselves, walls or trowing feces on other residents or staff. Many were committed there and forgotten. Many died without much investigation into their death. Some of the residents were calm and easy to deal with and some were criminally insane and dangerous even with medication. The insane and or dangerous were housed in the Bahr bldg. The residents of the Evans bldg were medium risk. I hope this gives you a little more information on CSH. These grounds hold a lot of history and education.

    Posted 3/9/24

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    1 out of 1 found this review helpful

  • i was so scared

    A long time ago, i explored here w some friends. we found an open window and i went in and let my friends in. we saw trash everywhere, and there was a lot of stuff torn and broken. we were having fun exploring until we heard someone running from far away but coming closer. we all ran and literally jumped out the window we came through. it was scary because among the things we saw shotgun shells and we heard people running towards us like animals though it was weird. and one of my friends saw a girl. never going again.

    Posted 11/14/23

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    2 out of 2 found this review helpful

  • History of the asylum

    I grew up down the street from this assylum when it was still open and it was a horrible place the patients were treated horribly my great grandmas uncle was a patient back in the day they didnt have cures for diseases and he had cypholis it eventually went to his brain drove him mad shed go to visit theyd have him chained to his bed patients were put in one of the back bldgs where theyd run naked burning each other with cigarettes and run screaming and the list goes on the hospital was shut down and yes patients with no family were turned loose due to a male nurse murdering several patients it was all over the news i remember it all too well id walk bye as a teenager and patients walking the yard would run to the fence charging at you screaming and even growling scared the whitts out of me

    Posted 8/10/23

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    2 out of 2 found this review helpful

  • Creepy

    I've been here around 3-5 times. The last time was super scary. My friends and I were able to go to the basement and we found surgery beds, and wheelchairs. When we were walking around, we heard metal banging. It sounded like someone was hitting the metal stairs in the center of the power house or the huge tank looking things (if yk yk). we ran upstairs and tried to run (alot of holes in the floor). Once we were a room away from the entrance we came in from, we heard really loud humming and whistling. Can't recall the song was being hummed but it was super spine chilling. Haven't gone back.

    Posted 6/18/23

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    5 out of 5 found this review helpful

  • Powerhouse exploration

    A group of friends and I were there a few hours ago. One of them had been there SEVERAL times before, in fact almost daily. We were just standing around joking about how spirits don’t have power unless you give them energy through fear and halfway through that conversation we heard 2 LOUD screams of a young woman. We were on the floor above the basements probably 15 feet from the basement when we heard the scream. We immediately left. Absolutely SPINE CHILLING.

    Posted 2/23/23

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    2 out of 2 found this review helpful

  • favorite abandoned place (very dangerous though)

    ive gone to the powerhouse 4 times, the first time i went we made it down to the basement, and then there was another little staircase going down, i went down there with my friends and immediately felt a change in the "vibe" it got very cold in some areas, and i got a bad headache down there. it was just a really long room, but as you went farther back you had to crouch because the room just kept getting smaller and smaller. at the end i just got so hot, which was weird bc of how it was just cold- i didn't see/hear anything paranormal though, i climbed up the smokestack (there's a metal ladder) and got all the way to the top, I've got some cool pictures from up there. my friends ran away from me and my best friend to try to scare us, and she ran after them while i was climbing down, she didn't have a flashlight (not a good idea to run around this place w no light) and she fell into a hole with a grate that was supposed to keep people from falling, but it was missing. she gashed open her knee, really badly. she couldn't walk herself back to the car. I had no clue what the place was, I just thought it was a old factory. i did my research afterwards and found out so much about the asylum and what the powerhouse was exactly used for. it explains a lot of the different feelings and the temperature changes i experienced, going back after knowing everything about it, makes it so much more thrilling, and more creepy lmao. I'm definitely going back sooner or later, maybe next time I'll get an EVP or spiritbox to try to communicate. if you end up going, be EXTREMELY careful. i cannot stress that enough. there are missing grates on lots of the staircases, and there's like 20-30ft drops below. there's one room that has completely caved in, and its pretty dangerous in that area. always have a flashlight- doesn't matter if its day or night, it gets dark in the basement. and lastly, be careful of who you may run into, you never know who's going to be there when you turn the corner. this building is very secluded and hard to navigate sometimes, just please please please, be careful and aware of your surroundings, don't go alone. sorry for the literal essay but i just have a lot of stories from the few times I've been- its a blast to me! if you've got any questions, or want to see any pictures my Instagram is liv.g.glenn my dms are always open. thanks :)

    Posted 12/22/21

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    6 out of 8 found this review helpful

  • Suicide

    I had a friend from high se manchool that ended up there. He managed to climb up a tower when the caretakers didn't see him, and jumped off killing himself. Sound like suicidal spirits rum rampant there.

    Posted 9/22/21

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    4 out of 4 found this review helpful

  • Believe it.

    Worked there several years as a night shift security supervisor..did hear footsteps in admin bldg more than once.and was the only one in bldg.also talked several times to the "grove killer".very strong individual.this was 28 years ago

    Posted 12/19/20

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    4 out of 4 found this review helpful

  • Just creepy

    Don't believe in the paranormal (don't disbelieve either), but I drove by this place once or twice when I lived in Indy. Drove by it during the day and got super creeped out when I did. Not sure if it's true or not, but I was told that when the state shut the place down, they basically just kicked a lot of the patients out without warning. Was told that the abandoned mentally ill patients basically became homeless and just started wandering around downtown. Was also told that some of the caretakers committed suicide out of the guilt of being forced to abandon their charges.

    Posted 10/20/20

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    8 out of 9 found this review helpful

  • Went at night

    Me and some friends decided to check it out during the day to check for holes in the floor and to see where it’s safe. We came back at midnight and it was a lot creepier it doesn’t look like a asylum inside it has a lot of weird things though like a factory would. If you go at night please know there are a lot of bats and big holes in the floor most of the stars are broken. It was fun though we didn’t make it to the 2nd floor basement but I recommend. If you want anymore info or pictures you can text me on Instagram @stock.stang

    Posted 9/6/20

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    8 out of 8 found this review helpful

  • Help finding a patient?

    My friend and i went to the smaller building across from the hospital and contacted a woman through a oujia board. she called herself “C” and she was 23 when she died. i know it’s not a lot of information but if someone could tell me what the building is called and what it was for, maybe i could narrow down my search to see who it is. if you know, my instagram is @notryland. anything helps

    Posted 2/14/20

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    10 out of 11 found this review helpful

  • Walking home on tibbs Ave around 3am

    I was walking past mount Jackson cemetery on tibbs Ave when toward the old hospital grounds I heard a sound like laughter and screaming at the same time scared me bad.

    Posted 10/17/19

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    6 out of 6 found this review helpful

  • i have a pic of the women ghost in the power house of Central State

    Me and a friend we're in the PowerHouse of Central State and we caught and image of a female in a hospital gown I still have the picture I am in no way tech savvy and I know this picture is 100% proof of the afterlife I would like to share my picture with anyone who is curious after a little research on this page I now know that I have a woman ghost on my phone it's amazing

    Posted 9/23/16

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    71 out of 73 found this review helpful

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Contact Phone #: 317-635-7329

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Last edit to this listing: 8/2/2015 (3183 days ago)

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