Haunted Indiana

 Haunted Indiana (1997) by Mark Marimen

Synopsis (from the back of the book): In Haunted Indiana you'll find: the ghost of a faceless nun who glides silently through the empty expanse of a college hall. A nineteenth-century barn that has been converted into an elegant restaurant yet has kept the revenant of a farmer who died there decades before. The spirit of the famous "Diana of the Dunes" who returns to her home among the Indiana Dunes from which death took her more than a half century ago. A major metropolitan highway, haunted by two beautiful female ghosts each of whom met her fate along the roadway. As the slogan goes, "There's more than corn in Indiana." If the ghostly legends and tales that can be heard are to be believed, indeed there is more than corn in the Hoosier state...restless spirits that refuse to stay buried and forgotten. Here are collected a sampling of the ghostly tales that are told throughout the length and breadth of Indiana. Come wander the Hoosier state and meet some of its unearthly denizens. Come hear the stories, old and new, that are as much a part of the Indiana landscape as farm fields and small towns. Come visit...Haunted Indiana.

Marimen invites the reader to join him around the campfire for a good old round of ghost stories. He likens it to gatherings of kids sitting in the flickering light and telling tales to scare one another. But he never really carries that off. While it was interesting to read selections about the haunted legends from around the state, I have to say that the book was a little dry. It was more like reading newspaper articles about events than an atmospheric, "ghost story" retelling. No shivers were felt. No tingling spine. With some ghost stories, you have that creepy feeling that there's something with you in the room (even though you're alone); night noises take on an extra meaning; and what's that shadow over there in the corner? But not here. Nope. Nothing

If you're just looking for cut-and-dried details of what people claim have happened in each of these Indiana legends, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for ghost stories to give you a bit of a spooky thrill, then you're probably going to be disappointed. As I mentioned, it was interesting to find out about these local stories, but I was hoping for a bit more atmosphere.  ★★★--just.

First line (1st legend): The year was 1915, and the place was just north of Chesterton, Indiana, in an area now occupied by the Dunes State Park.

Last line (Epilogue): "Sleep well, but remember...there are such things."