Haunted Indiana: Highland High School in Anderson, IN

Highland High School in Anderson, IN - Courtesy of Highland High School

From the outside, Highland High School may not look like one of the state's most haunted but many students look twice when they see and hear strange things in the school's auditorium, which was once its gym.

Established in 1957, the school was incorporated a few years later. Several of its former students found success in pro athletics, ironic given the haunting happens in the gym.

According to legend, a student passed away in the gym. Though I found a few stories that list his actual name, I won't mention it here. When I searched for his name, I only found an older man who passed away in the Indiana town. He was far from a teenager.

Anyone who had a gym teacher who was a little too much can sympathize with the young man. Though he was asthmatic, the teacher forced him to participate in every lesson and activity. The young man struggled to breathe but kept pushing himself, afraid of what the teacher might do. After running multiple laps, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest.

On the last lap, he collapsed to the ground. The teacher demanded he get up and finish the lap. When he didn't move, the teacher asked another student to check on him and then did it himself. That was when he realized the student had a fatal heart attack, dying right on the spot.

Stories about the haunted gym grew quickly, eventually forcing Highland High School to turn the old gym into a new auditorium. Despite a few changes, the ghostly student remained.

While the old track is no longer there, many students heard the sounds of someone running around the space. A teacher heard shoes squeaking on the ground and assumed a student stayed late. When she checked the auditorium, she found it empty. Janitors had similar experiences where they believed a student was messing around in the old gym and threw open the doors to find nothing there.

A few modern-day students claim they felt a soft wind brush against them as if someone just ran by. Others say they saw the ghost. They always describe him as smaller than average with a sad look on his face. When they attempted to talk to him, he would smile and even sometimes nod in response to their questions before either wandering away or disappearing. There are also reports of staff and students hearing a basketball bouncing on the floor.

In addition to the auditorium itself, his spirit haunts the area behind the stage as well as the catwalk and green room. He often presents as a gust of wind or a light touch on the back. Even those who don't believe in ghosts are weary about being in the auditorium late at night.

Highland High School is located at 9135 Erie St. in Highland, Indiana. As this is a working public school, please do not disrupt the teachers or administrators.