Culbertson Mansion was built in 1867 by the richest man in Indiana, William Culbertson. Located on the premises are the beautiful mansion and the carriage house. The mansion itself has been rumored for years to be haunted. William was married three times and widowed twice. It is said that his third wife was not a good or loving mother to her step children and William’s second wife haunts the property to protect her children from their mean step-mother. The mansion is open for tours for those who want to see the beauty of the house and maybe catch a glimpse of its previous inhabitants. Due to years of rumors the carriage house was converted into a haunted attraction called Literally, a Haunted House.
The story line for Literally, A Haunted House goes as such:
The carriage house used to serve as the servant’s quarters and housed the Culbertson’s horse and buggy. In 1888, lightning struck the carriage house causing a horrific fire that killed every living thing inside. The carriage house remained empty for many years after being rebuilt because the new servants refused to live there. They claimed it was haunted by all the souls who perished in the tragic fire.
In early spring of 1933 Dr. Harold Webb and his family moved into the carriage house. The house was used as the family’s home and Dr. Webb’s in-house practice. All was well until the Webb children started to tell of a dark man entering their bedrooms at night. The stories were dismissed until the sounds of chains clanging, screaming and horrible smells would come up through the floor from downstairs. Dr. Webb searched the downstairs on numerous occasions but claimed he found nothing unusual. During all the happenings, Dr. Webb started to become agitated and angry. His unpleasantness caused him to lose most of his patients. When several of Dr. Webb’s patients went missing the local police started to investigate him. In September of 1934, a patient of Webb’s arrived for an appointment only to find the door locked. After several days of no activity on the premises the police broke into the home with a warrant. What they found was unspeakable. Everywhere the police looked they saw the remains of Webb’s victims. His daughter had been stabbed repeatedly, his wife beaten to death, and his son was skinned. Upon further investigation of the house they found that the downstairs held secret passages and rooms. Webb had been doing experiments on his patients. The bones and remains of his tortured patients were strewn everywhere. Some of them were so disfigured the police questioned if they were actually human remains.
Whether true or not it makes for one scary story!
Location: 914 E Main St, New Albany, IN
Price: Adults $7, Seniors $5, Children and Students $2, Children under 3 get in for free
