Culbertson Mansion

A lavish 25-room Second Empire Victorian mansion built in 1867 for cornucopia manufacturer William Culbertson, once the wealthiest man in Indiana. Now a state historic site operated by the Indiana State Museum.

The Culbertson Mansion in downtown New Albany, Indiana, is a twenty-five-room French Second Empire masterpiece built between 1867 and 1869 by William S. Culbertson, who at the time was the richest man in the state of Indiana. Culbertson had come to Indiana seeking business opportunities and struck gold with his electricity ventures, amassing a fortune that allowed him to construct a mansion befitting his status. The three-story limestone residence featured hand-painted ceilings, rosewood staircase, marble fireplaces, and a tin roof that still gleams above the New Albany skyline. The mansion is now a State Historic Site managed by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites.

The mansion's darkest chapter occurred in 1888 when lightning struck the carriage house during a violent storm. The carriage house, located on the grounds behind the mansion, served as living quarters for the household servants. The fire that erupted consumed the structure so rapidly that all of the servants trapped inside perished -- there were no survivors. The carriage house was rebuilt, but the spirits of those who died in the fire appear to have remained on the property.

Staff at the Culbertson Mansion have maintained records of unexplained occurrences since 1977, creating nearly five decades of documented paranormal activity. The most frequently reported phenomenon is the strong scent of cigar smoke that appears suddenly in rooms where no one is smoking. The smell is attributed to a deceased member of the Culbertson family who was known to be an avid cigar smoker. Mysterious figures have been observed walking through rooms and hallways, and lights turn on and off without explanation. Doors shut by themselves, and footsteps are heard on upper floors when no living person is present.

One particularly notable incident involved a police officer who responded to a nighttime security alarm at the mansion. Upon entering, the officer reported seeing a figure inside the building. When informed that only the curator was in the building at the time and no intruder was found, the officer reportedly refused to respond to any future calls at the mansion. Visitors frequently seek to photograph the ghostly figure of the mansion's beloved maid who is said to have died in the home, and apparitions have been captured in photographs taken throughout the building.

Over the years, the carriage house has been the epicenter of the most intense activity. Staff members and volunteers working there have reported electrical problems, mysterious figures moving from room to room, strange sounds after hours, and items that go missing from one location only to reappear in another. Several staff members and volunteers have refused to work in the carriage house due to their experiences.

An important correction to the mansion's ghost lore: the widely circulated story of "Dr. Webb," a sinister physician said to have practiced at the mansion, is entirely fictional. Dr. Webb was invented in the early 2000s by two volunteers as a theme for that year's haunted house attraction. The character proved so compelling that it migrated from fiction into the mansion's paranormal legend, appearing on websites as though it were historical fact. The real hauntings at Culbertson Mansion need no embellishment.

Jessica Stavros, Southeast Regional Director for Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, has addressed the mansion's reputation directly. When asked about the ghosts, she responds with a question of her own: "Do you believe in ghosts?" The mansion draws approximately 15,000 visitors annually, including thousands of schoolchildren from Floyd County, and the annual haunted house attraction -- now in its forty-first year under the name House of Anguish -- has raised over one million dollars for the mansion's ongoing restoration.