01/03/2026 Haunted Locations: The Indiana Medical History Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Danielle Yvonne
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Happy Saturday and Happy New Year!!! Today’s Haunted Location is a relatively short one, but it still has a ton of spooks attached to it. It’s definitely part of a bigger picture, but I think I will take that on in a separate post. Until then, enjoy!
Okay, so this is a wild one. The past is insane, but the museum as a whole is really cool. The Indiana Medical History Museum (IMHM) is where the pathological department for the Central State Hospital used to be.
Central State Hospital was opened in 1848. It was referred to as the “Indiana Hospital for the Insane,” and had a TON of accusations when it came to the barbaric and abusive treatment of the patients.
The pathological department, established in 1896, focused on researching and educating about the physical causes of mental illness. It was in full operation until the 1960s. Now it is a museum. Per the IMHM website, “it’s the oldest pathology facility in the country and still houses preserved specimens, like brains.”
So even with that little bit, we can totally see why this place would be spooky as hell, right?
Well, per whichmuseum.com, “…with reports of floating lights, disembodied sounds (groans, screams), and unexplained touches. - - Visitors and staff have experienced these phenomena, attributed to the thousands of patients buried on the grounds and the building's past use for studying brain diseases and performing autopsies.”
Yup. Creepy.
The hospital was open from 1848 until 1994. That wasn’t even THAT long ago. Many patients had some serious mental disorders. It even housed the criminally insane. So many of these patients quite literally just rotted away to their death here. The amount of barbaric tactics and abuse that this place was accused of is absolutely foul and insane. I would totally haunt this place if I were to have died there during that time. One hundred percent.
I want to do a deeper dive into the hospital, but I think that would be best for another post. Today, I wanted to focus solely on the museum, which is fully open to the public.
So, tell me. Have you heard of this location before? Have you been there? Would you go? Let me know in the comments. And as always, if you do decide to visit here or any haunted location, respect the property, respect the owners, respect the residents... living or dead.
For more details about this story, how you can visit, and links to the shows, podcasts, documentaries, and resources used for this post can all be found below.
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