Local 'Hauntings' Keep Spirit Of Halloween Alive
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
People may be kept awake all night by ghosts, or barely even notice them as they drift from one room to another.
Kosciusko County is not exempt from these strange apparitions. Strange noises, cold spots and moving objects are reported by local residents every year.
The Merbrink cottage on Winona Lake is home to a presence named "Miss Phoebe." The house was built in 1905 by William Bruning as a summer home.
The tale of the house and Miss Phoebe is well documented in Dan Coplen's book, "Kosciusko County, An Oral and Pictorial History."
In an interview, Coplen said Miss Phoebe is a rather famous ghost and a Chicago newspaper even ran a story on her in the 1920s.
The Merbrink residence has been owned by Anna Lou Stewart's family for approximately six decades.
"We never felt threatened by her," Stewart said.
"I feel comfortable here. I feel a companionship."
Stewart said she has never heard or seen her, but she feels her presence.
Several other people have reportedly had run-ins with the apparition.
Coplen said that visitors to the house said they heard eerie, harp-like sounds. He said that some people attribute the sounds to a wind chime, but others believe it is the ghost.
Stewart and her sister Betty once attempted a seance to bring forth the spirit while their parents were gone. The two girls were high school students at that time, she said. Their mother reportedly smelled incense as soon as she arrived home.
Stewart said her mother asked, "Where did you find the incense? I thought I was out."
The two girls did not burn any, Stewart said.
She said her father, Don White, saw the ghost. White had a habit of fishing right before dawn. One morning while he was fishing on the lake by the house, he thought he saw his wife Nina White on the sleeping porch. He waved to her and she waved back. Later at breakfast, when Don White asked his wife what she was doing awake so early, she said it wasn't her that he saw.
They knew it was Miss Phoebe, Stewart said.
Winona Lake isn't the only town Kosciusko County to have a ghost. The Pennsylvania Railroad tracks in Warsaw are said to be haunted by the ghost of William Hull.
Hull's body was found mutilated near the tracks in December 1882. Investigators ruled that Hull was killed with an axe and a slat from a picket fence. The investigators concluded Hull was murdered during a fight. John Shaffer was charged with the murder.
Shaffer was charged with Hull's murder because the town felt "he was more responsible than anyone else to do it," Coplen said.
The first trial ended with Shaffer's conviction. He appealed and was released after the second trial. It was decided that Hull was hit by a train.
Hull was a big man with long black hair who operated a butcher shop in Warsaw. He was a pleasant man most of the time, Coplen said, but a bully when he drank too much. His ghost was seen around the tracks not too long after Shaffer's release. The area he haunts is the railroad crossing on Zimmer Road.
A locomotive engineer named Frank Whitney saw Hull's spirit in 1883. Another man claimed he saw the ghost with an axe. Locomotive engineers reported the ghost flagged down trains, Coplen said.
Train tracks east of Winona Lake are reportedly haunted by the ghost of Mike Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald was killed on New Year's Eve in 1868. He was struck by a passenger train. His pale white ghost walks along the tracks with a lantern in its hand, Coplen said. Trainmen usually report spotting the apparition at the very same spot where Fitzgerald was killed.
Years ago, railroad workers flagged down trains by waving a lantern. Fitzgerald's ghost flags down trains with a similar type of lantern, Coplen said.
At least two other ghosts are reportedly present in the county. The ghost of Winona resident Johnny Bond walks the streets of Winona Lake. Bond was well-known in the area.
George Ininger's spirit was seen on the north end of Buffalo Street, Warsaw. The area was his former neighborhood.
"I think he ran a hamburger stand. He probably did other things, too," Coplen said.
Coplen said he recently heard another ghost story in Syracuse. The story goes back to 1903.
In Syracuse, there is a little outlet from which a stream flows. The stream used to have a bridge that crossed over it, Coplen said.
A headless ghost of a woman appeared around the bridge. She wore a flowing robe and escorted people across the bridge.
"One guy who saw the ghost, his hair stood on end and almost knocked his hat off," Coplen said.
Several haunted houses exist in Warsaw, too. People in the 1860s paid 25 cents to see chairs moving about the living room in a house on West Market Street.
A house reportedly haunted by more than four ghosts is the Cynthia Green - Ed Slone residence at 5677 N. CR 150W, Leesburg. They first found out their house was haunted when they overheard some people talking, they said. Green said she had a clue that it was haunted, but wasn't sure until other people began talking about it.
Often, musty odors will be present in the back staircases and in the hallway, Green said. The smell would be there 15 seconds and then was gone. Green changed a piece of carpet, but that didn't get rid of the smell.
Two psychics even felt the presence of at least a man and a woman.
"They said it was frequently a woman," Green said.
The house was built in 1868 by Titus and Matilda Berst. During the 130-year history of the house, many other incidents have been reported. The ghosts of two young girls were seen by former residents. One resident moved out because of the sightings, Green said.
Slone said most of the incidents start in the fall around October or November. The smells, sightings and noises have already begun this year and Green said they will last until March.
"A lot of people don't believe it, but unless you've experienced it, you never know," Green said.
Another home reportedly haunted is the Thomas House on West Prairie Street, Leesburg. Various people reported sighting a ghost there over the years.
These are but a few of the local haunts in Kosciusko County. What all lurks in the basements, barns, homes, and railroads of the county are yet to be found.
Halloween may be when more apparitions decide to be spotted. [[In-content Ad]]
People may be kept awake all night by ghosts, or barely even notice them as they drift from one room to another.
Kosciusko County is not exempt from these strange apparitions. Strange noises, cold spots and moving objects are reported by local residents every year.
The Merbrink cottage on Winona Lake is home to a presence named "Miss Phoebe." The house was built in 1905 by William Bruning as a summer home.
The tale of the house and Miss Phoebe is well documented in Dan Coplen's book, "Kosciusko County, An Oral and Pictorial History."
In an interview, Coplen said Miss Phoebe is a rather famous ghost and a Chicago newspaper even ran a story on her in the 1920s.
The Merbrink residence has been owned by Anna Lou Stewart's family for approximately six decades.
"We never felt threatened by her," Stewart said.
"I feel comfortable here. I feel a companionship."
Stewart said she has never heard or seen her, but she feels her presence.
Several other people have reportedly had run-ins with the apparition.
Coplen said that visitors to the house said they heard eerie, harp-like sounds. He said that some people attribute the sounds to a wind chime, but others believe it is the ghost.
Stewart and her sister Betty once attempted a seance to bring forth the spirit while their parents were gone. The two girls were high school students at that time, she said. Their mother reportedly smelled incense as soon as she arrived home.
Stewart said her mother asked, "Where did you find the incense? I thought I was out."
The two girls did not burn any, Stewart said.
She said her father, Don White, saw the ghost. White had a habit of fishing right before dawn. One morning while he was fishing on the lake by the house, he thought he saw his wife Nina White on the sleeping porch. He waved to her and she waved back. Later at breakfast, when Don White asked his wife what she was doing awake so early, she said it wasn't her that he saw.
They knew it was Miss Phoebe, Stewart said.
Winona Lake isn't the only town Kosciusko County to have a ghost. The Pennsylvania Railroad tracks in Warsaw are said to be haunted by the ghost of William Hull.
Hull's body was found mutilated near the tracks in December 1882. Investigators ruled that Hull was killed with an axe and a slat from a picket fence. The investigators concluded Hull was murdered during a fight. John Shaffer was charged with the murder.
Shaffer was charged with Hull's murder because the town felt "he was more responsible than anyone else to do it," Coplen said.
The first trial ended with Shaffer's conviction. He appealed and was released after the second trial. It was decided that Hull was hit by a train.
Hull was a big man with long black hair who operated a butcher shop in Warsaw. He was a pleasant man most of the time, Coplen said, but a bully when he drank too much. His ghost was seen around the tracks not too long after Shaffer's release. The area he haunts is the railroad crossing on Zimmer Road.
A locomotive engineer named Frank Whitney saw Hull's spirit in 1883. Another man claimed he saw the ghost with an axe. Locomotive engineers reported the ghost flagged down trains, Coplen said.
Train tracks east of Winona Lake are reportedly haunted by the ghost of Mike Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald was killed on New Year's Eve in 1868. He was struck by a passenger train. His pale white ghost walks along the tracks with a lantern in its hand, Coplen said. Trainmen usually report spotting the apparition at the very same spot where Fitzgerald was killed.
Years ago, railroad workers flagged down trains by waving a lantern. Fitzgerald's ghost flags down trains with a similar type of lantern, Coplen said.
At least two other ghosts are reportedly present in the county. The ghost of Winona resident Johnny Bond walks the streets of Winona Lake. Bond was well-known in the area.
George Ininger's spirit was seen on the north end of Buffalo Street, Warsaw. The area was his former neighborhood.
"I think he ran a hamburger stand. He probably did other things, too," Coplen said.
Coplen said he recently heard another ghost story in Syracuse. The story goes back to 1903.
In Syracuse, there is a little outlet from which a stream flows. The stream used to have a bridge that crossed over it, Coplen said.
A headless ghost of a woman appeared around the bridge. She wore a flowing robe and escorted people across the bridge.
"One guy who saw the ghost, his hair stood on end and almost knocked his hat off," Coplen said.
Several haunted houses exist in Warsaw, too. People in the 1860s paid 25 cents to see chairs moving about the living room in a house on West Market Street.
A house reportedly haunted by more than four ghosts is the Cynthia Green - Ed Slone residence at 5677 N. CR 150W, Leesburg. They first found out their house was haunted when they overheard some people talking, they said. Green said she had a clue that it was haunted, but wasn't sure until other people began talking about it.
Often, musty odors will be present in the back staircases and in the hallway, Green said. The smell would be there 15 seconds and then was gone. Green changed a piece of carpet, but that didn't get rid of the smell.
Two psychics even felt the presence of at least a man and a woman.
"They said it was frequently a woman," Green said.
The house was built in 1868 by Titus and Matilda Berst. During the 130-year history of the house, many other incidents have been reported. The ghosts of two young girls were seen by former residents. One resident moved out because of the sightings, Green said.
Slone said most of the incidents start in the fall around October or November. The smells, sightings and noises have already begun this year and Green said they will last until March.
"A lot of people don't believe it, but unless you've experienced it, you never know," Green said.
Another home reportedly haunted is the Thomas House on West Prairie Street, Leesburg. Various people reported sighting a ghost there over the years.
These are but a few of the local haunts in Kosciusko County. What all lurks in the basements, barns, homes, and railroads of the county are yet to be found.
Halloween may be when more apparitions decide to be spotted. [[In-content Ad]]