Why Does This Indiana Tomb Have a Phone? Learn the Spooky Story

This story is about a man named Martin Sheets, who was a successful businessman who lived in Terre Haute, IN, back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Martin always had the fear of being buried alive, so while he was designing his final resting place, the mausoleum pictured, he decided to include a working telephone. Why? Mr. Sheets wanted to be able to notify someone outside the mausoleum in the event that he did end up being 'entombed' alive. Martin Sheets died in 1910 and his wishes were honored - the telephone inside his mausoleum was installed and sat silent for years.

The spooky part of the story, the part that might have inspired filmmakers, came years later, when Mrs. Sheets (Martin's widow) passed away. When she was discovered, Mrs. Sheets was laying on the bed with the phone receiver in her hand. It is said that she had a look of terror on her face. People close to Mrs. Sheets just assumed she was using the phone to call for help, but it was too late.

Facebook/Debbra Herrick

Mrs. Sheets was taken to the graveyard where she was to be interred next to her husband in the family mausoleum. Workers opened up the tomb, which had been locked for years, and as expected, noted that everything was as it should be - well, almost everything. Workers noticed that Martin's phone was off the hook.

Facebook/Debbra Herrick. A picture of a statue inside the Sheets mausoleum

Did his ghost somehow call home? Did that call kill Mrs. Sheets? Did the ghost have to dial 9 to get an outside line? I guess the world will never know.

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Big shout out to Debbra Herrick for taking, and sharing, pictures of the Sheets mausoleum.

[h/t: TerreHaute.com]

Scariest Ghost Town In KY Has A Truly Terrifying Past And Can’t Be Found On A Map

The month of October fills me with even more passion for abandoned and haunted places and things. I love to research legends, folklore, and stories from all over the world, but especially right here in Kentucky. Some of the stories are pure legend with no real facts to back them up. But, I’m a sucker for a good ghost story.

One such legend involves a small town, a murdering teacher, and mysterious disappearances that went on for decades. This is what I learned about the legend of Elsewhere, KY.

A construction worker and journalist, by the name of Seamus Coffey, was volunteering at a Senior Citizen’s center and he met a man named, Earl. The gentleman was about 80 years old and told him a story of something that happened in Elsewhere. KY.

"When I was a boy, my pa’ and I went to the Elsewhere General Store to get some rock candy and chicken feed. I stood outside while pa’ talked to Mrs. Ellison the shopkeep. Pa’ loaded the feed into the truck and handed me the candy. Right about then, there was this loud scream from the schoolhouse. I don’t know right well what happened ’cause pa” told me to stay in the truck, but after that we never went back to Elsewhere."

"When I was a few years older, I went back there with some friends. We were just dumb kids foolin’ around. My friend Jason went inside the schoolhouse and I never saw him again. We spent the rest of the day looking for him and later the police did a search but found nothing. Shortly after that the county disconnected Elsewhere road from HWY 280. It’s been about 60 years and you’re the first person to mention the place in half a century, son."

After that, Seamus started searching for any information he could find about Elsewhere. He found an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal. The article covered a story about Elsewhere being abandoned for health and safety reasons. It was dated April 2nd, 1953. The article also gave him a piece of the puzzle that was missing, the exact location of Elsewhere. The town was located two miles north of New Concord (KY) just off of HWY 280. So, of course, he had to go there for himself.

This is the terrifying story of what he found in Elsewhere.

Gallery Credit: Leslie Morgan