Legend has it that the mansion owner went crazy after slavery was abolished, and in his rage, he killed all of his slaves and their children. Some stories say he even killed his family while he was at it. Then he killed himself. Now, folks say, an unexplained light comes on in the bell tower, or even the ringing of a nonexistent bell. Also, apparitions and orbs have been spotted; some have been seen through the windows. Eerie sounds and feelings have been reported as well.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 440 W 700 N
Portage, IN
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 41.53648297770619, -87.15375959862286
- County:
- Porter County, Indiana
- Nearest Towns:
- South Haven, IN (0.9 mi.)
Wheeler, IN (2.2 mi.)
Portage, IN (3.0 mi.)
Shorewood Forest, IN (5.1 mi.)
Lake Station, IN (5.1 mi.)
Hobart, IN (5.2 mi.)
Burns Harbor, IN (6.3 mi.)
Ogden Dunes, IN (6.3 mi.)
New Chicago, IN (6.4 mi.)
Valparaiso, IN (6.5 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_Wolf_House
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
Since the house was built in 1875, long long after slavery was abolished and The Indiana Supreme court freed all the remaining slaves in the state two years before Josephus Wolf was born – This account as to the alleged haunting is doubtful.
You are correct . There were never slaves in Indiana . In fact Indiana was a major route in the underground railroad.
Having been raised in Valparaiso in the 30-40-50’s, I seem to remember stories about the KKK being in the area in days long past and about Negros not being “allowed” inside the city limits after sundown. I never thought much about those tales and I did not grow up being “racist.” I had no such aversion to Black people. All these tales about Valpo might have been unsubstantiated legend. I do not recall ever hearing about slaves in Valpo’s past history. I’m very glad Valpo was a nice, quiet, clean town when I lived there. It will always be my “home town.”
House wasn’t finish until early 1900’s as a wedding present to his wife. The monks used this house while the seven dollar shrine was built. So highly doubtful of any slaves there and he didn’t go crazy and kill anyone. Plus that is not a bell tower people. It is a capula. His long lost brother is actually burried in bovina tx. My family actually knew the wolf family personally and I’ve been there many times myself with no issues or problems there. The cross you claim was painted in the capula for sickness is wrong. It was done when the monks moved into it while the shrine was being built. Please get your facts straight or ask for them before adding to lies about this mansion and what happened to the wolfe family.
I lived there for 3 months and the place is haunted.I was told that the house was once the county seat and many town meeting .I was told that Mr Wolfes wife and children all died of illness and he hung himself in the tower.there are bodies buried on the ground s in marked.
I knew what I heard and saw was true. When I was a young girl my grandma worked for Caldwell banker relistate company. She sometime watched me. She was assined to sell the house in the mid 90’s. To this day I hear a man in the upper room down the hall. ” hello there” nobody was in that room. I ran to my grandma crying. And scared the potential buyers
My dad owned the wolf mansion and sold it in the 90’s
No the wolf mansion is a house I thought don’t people live there? The unexplained light is probably the people who live there turning on the light and the unexplained people in the windows is the people who live or work there.
I have had experienes
walking just outside of this house. Heard voices. I have seen many things, I’ve seen ghosts. It wasn’t slaves he killed. He helped slaves go north. According to my family records, the plantation people who once lived in homes around the once built plantation had some illnesses. These people were there as workers, not slaves. Mr. Wolf was having an affair with on of his house aides. He didn’t know she was carrying a sickness that was unknown of,at the time. His house hold became very sick and his youngest child became ill, she died, No records show of her death because he thought it would hide the sickness. She was buried in an unmarked grave, secretly. But this didn’t stop the sickness and it spread through out the house and plantation. A cross was painted in the capula as a sign to warn off people to tell them not to enter because of sickness. Many people died. His wife, saddened by the loss of her child, plus one still born, that she gave birth to in her room, caused her to commit suicide. She hung herself in the capula. Mr. Wolf died from cancer. Workers left and moved away. The plantation was torn down and the house left to remaining family until they also passed. It now belongs to the historical society. I could get records to own it but, no thank you!!! Ironically enough, after I had my 2nd husband visit the grounds of the house with me, he was dio. with cancer and he was chased off the land by Mr. Wolf’s voice. My now dead husband, worked on that house when it was becoming a flower shop, it was a bad experience for him. sad, I love the look of this house, but I wouldn’t wanna own it. People move out every 3 months, if people would stop changing the looks of this home and put everything back to the way it was, encluding the removed bodies, all would be ok once again.
Yes the house was built in 1875 a lot of people think Mr. Wolf killed himself, family, and the slaves he swore he would help. My family’s lived in Porter County for years and they know a lot about this at one time really pretty home that has had one to many face lifts to which a lot shouldn’t of had to of done causeing a lot of the noises and lights going on and off at night. Plus they did take down four buildings on the property which used to be 4,500 achers and now present day it’s only 5.2 achers a lot smaller then years ago only because it used to be a farm it had beef and dairy animales then people wounder why the ones who buy the house only get told to leave, scared off, or something bad happens to them or their whole family.
Not only have I seen this in action myself. This man did not murder his family or slaves. Rumors are rumors the truth is the truth. This entire family was slaughtered and the father was forced to watch it. They then went to the bell tower and hung him. I really can’t stand ignorance. It is eerie and creepy but he is broken hearted. Leave this spirit alone. Sincerely, the great great grandson of the ‘killer’
Hey do you mind telling me a little more about this…. ?
That wasn’t a bell tower. It was a point they could look out over the entire property, and on a clear day, Chicago
Sounds like Nobody knows the “Truth”..And if the “Entire family was slaughtered”, there are no descendants..Still a really neat place tho.
before reading this my mother grew up in this town with a bunch of friends of hers and has told me the story as well as my frienhs this a shit load of time and i never believed her until now reading it on her and now that i read what she has told me it creeps me out know that something that really has happened to her as a teenager driviing down the street on a back road it true i love ghost and ghost stories but this shit is insane know i know my own stories to tell my kids now still would love to go inside this house for a night to see if i see old Mr Wolfe around me
I live literally down the road from Wolf Mansion. This house was built way after slavery. The family members each died of natural causes. And they are buried in the McCool Cemetery on the Corner of McCool Rd. and Central Ave. in Portage, IN. And the building is privately owned. They have made it a tourist attraction. In fact they give tours of the house.
The ‘Wolf’, as its now named according to a landmark sign in front of the mansion is 3 miles down the street from me. It now occupies the elderly as a convalescent home. If it truly were haunted, who would believe the words of an occupant with dementia? Being trained in the medical field I just realized that I could in fact apply for a position there. Da, da, da…..to be continued! I personally am not afraid. Not to say that the rumors arent true, but my home was built in 1895, 20 years after the mansion. Ive heard my fair share of the unexplained.
That’s NOT true! A couple bought that home, and have lived there since 2014, and they do have tours there, especially at Halloween, $15 a pop
I lived there when i was about 5 yrs old. ALong with my mom and dad and 4 sisters and 2 brothers. Dont remember exact yr, as my memory is bad. But my mom and dad had an antique shop there. My mom always said it was haunted. I was the youngest and always scared to go to the bathroom when upstairs. There was a long hallway with the bathroom on the right. All the other doors along the upstairs hallway were shut or locked. I do remember being scared in that bathroom, just an eerie feeling. My brother could prob tell more and sister , the two oldest kids, It was prob in the 1970ish, There were graves in the backyard with tombstones. Dont know the exact story. But i use to have tantrums when they took me upstairs to bed, and would cry myself to sleep.
Are you kidding me? my Family has live in Portage for over 180 years. My Grand Mother was Goldie M Blake , the wolf Family built two houses the Wolf and the “baby”Wolf father and son built the homes and at one time they owned 6000+acres of land. no slaves and no one was killed. in fact one of the Wolf family married one of the Blake’s . people are so stupid
I don’t know about all of these different stories, I do know that I have had several encounters with this house over the years, I was driving home one evening west on 700 past Wolfe mansion and the light in the tower was on I have had that experience several times while the house was sitting empty some times the light would be on and sometimes it would be off…. the ironic thing was I have been in the house and the stair case leading to the tower was walled off with drywall.
I remember seeing that light in the bell tower on when no one was living there too. Then on the way back later that night it was off. Very freaky as don’t understand how that light could of came on in the first place when it was vacant. Made me a believer.
I remember a particular experience from when I was 3. My grandmother lived in Valparaiso, and my parents had to drive by the Wolf Mansion in order to get to and from her house. I remember asking my parents who the ‘creepy lady’ was, and I stated that she had white hair and a white face, and a frilly and old looking dress, and she was in one of the second floor windows. My parents didn’t see anything when they looked, but that is the only experience I recall at that location.
I too have seen the old lady. I ride the school bus past there every morning. She was dressed in a Victorian dress with her hair done up, she would be standing in a second story window facing South.
There was a 20 something year old, whose parents owned the house, hung himself in there in 1996-ish. I knew him from the local bar, Pepe’s Silver Bullet. Think his first name was Dan. He thought he was a magician or something. Well, he could not get out of that rope!
Slavery was abolished in 1865, so this is true.
His self hanging was over a girl & nothing to do with the house. He was just a weirdo.
Yeah. Mike, his name was Dan. Kinda weird but nice guy. I think he was found hung in the jail. — T. Staff
I was subcontracted by 2 different owners after 2000 to trim the trees. The first time the owner had an old map of graves and many structures that are longer exist. This owner and the next owner mentioned multiple tombstones stored in the cellar, due to previous vandalisms. Both owners mentioned lights flickering, voices, and especially oddities concerning the tower.
I was born in Valparaiso and am a descendant of the Wolf’s through Caroline. My dad grew up on a farm a half a mile away and wet to many family reunions in the Wolf Mansion. STOP these lies! Joeseph did not kill his slaves. He did not own slaves. He helped to free them. The bell tower is not a bell tower, it is a crows nest. He was proud of his success in life and wanted to be able to see all of the property he owned from his house. He likes to go up there and look across his land. The only murder was his own. He was shot by someone at night as he stood in his doorway. You can read the story about that in the newspaper report. Please stop making my family seem horrible. They were not perfect people but they were absolutely not murderers! The house is, however, haunted according to several family members.
Thank you for posting the true story of the house. Personally, I don’t believe in ghosts or deceased relatives sitting up there on clouds looking down at us. This story is similar to the story in Watseka, Illinois, about the little girl who was “haunted.” In that case, I think the child was mentally ill but, in those days, people were superstitious. I was also told scary stories about another house in Milford, Illinois, where I was born, where blood ran down the walls because the people were killed in the house. Believing in ghosts is just superstition as far as I’m concerned.
Do the current owners allow paranormal investigations if we pay to do them?
That was the story i was always told about some old woman with white hair in the tower. Wounder what role if any she had in the history of wolfe mansion.
I LOVE THAT HOUSE .I TOOK A TOUR 2015/2016 .SINCE I WAS 13 YEARS IM 70 NOW I WANTED TO LIVE THERE .IM NOT AFRAID. I EVEN ASKED THE OWNERS IF I COULD RENT A ROOM. BUT THEY SAI.D NO.I WANT TO BE THERE GO BACK.i told my granddaughter she wants to go. I went to the library copied everything still have it.i will give it all to the owners. They are so nice.i wish i could live there.is been my dream.
My uncle owned the house in the early 1990’s, I am a skeptic by nature and don’t believe in ghost. I have spent many of sleepless nights there and I can assure you that there is a disturbing element there. Finding gravestones of his children in the
attic of the barn/garage doesn’t sow seeds of comfort along with the voice in my cousins former room. The basement is damn near freighting. At any rate I would be happy never to return there.
We live about a mile away and pass this area daily. From afar— it can look eerie or spooky, however, unless you are related to their family or lived there—- people shouldn’t gossip. Life is short, pray for this house and the family. God bless all.
i have lived in South Haven since 1976 and i have been in wolf mansion dozens of times and well yall are dead wrong. There is a book in the South Haven library with the history of the house and family and none of what’s reported is NOT true, not one bit. I have spent nights sleeping in the mansion and even found secret staircase in master bedroom down to the kitchen pantry which current owner said was covered up now. I would get ticked at mom and go in through basement into house when it was empty. My step mom and her mom knew the last wolf family member and the story about hanging in the coupalo is fake. my step mom gave old man wolf a angel doll for christmas that he had hung in coupalo as a christmas decoration. That is the origin of the myth of him having his child hanging up there. as far as a light up there it is odd since there was a light removed in 1989 after movie blood bath in psycho town was recorded there. so if you say you saw a light up there you really need to eith show picture or video proof or put down the bong and quit telling tall tales online. It really is sad that paranormal community is mostly a bunch of people telling fake stories and making the field seem so far fetched and a joke. If you don’t have proof then stop telling lies.
I grew up in portage hearing many stories of the original owner hanging himself in the tower. I could never find anything to back up this tale.
An awful tragedy did occur, though..
In January 1933 Frank Percy, a civil war veteran abt age 90 lived there. A gang of 4 “bandits” threw a blanket over Percy’s head then threw him onto a chair. They tied him. They wanted him to tell them where he hid his money. They inflicted such torture upon him. They burned his hands and feet with hot irons. They struck him across the face with a club. They blackened both eyes and bruised his face. They poured gasoline on his bedding and throughout the house and threatened to light it. They ransacked the house. They left a knife stuck into a chair,
which Percy used to free himself. He then crawled to the neighbors house (Clarence Frailey) who notified authorities (Sheriff Ezra Stoner) Percy had no relatives. He was born in New York and served in the Civil War. For over 50 years, he resided on the Wolf farm, having been given a life estate on a small plot of ground by the late Josephus Wolf, for whom he was employed. Percy died of pneumonia and his death was superinduced by the horrible burns. He’s buried at the McCool Cemetery.
An awful tragedy did occur on the Wolf property…..
In January 1933 Frank Percy, a civil war veteran abt age 90 lived there. A gang of 4 “bandits” threw a blanket over Percy’s head then threw him onto a chair. They tied him. They wanted him to tell them where he hid his money. They inflicted such torture upon him. They burned his hands and feet with hot irons. They struck him across the face with a club. They blackened both eyes and bruised his face. They poured gasoline on his bedding and throughout the house and threatened to light it. They ransacked the house. They left a knife stuck into a chair,
which Percy used to free himself. He then crawled to the neighbors house (Clarence Frailey) who notified authorities (Sheriff Ezra Stoner) Percy had no relatives. He was born in New York and served in the Civil War. For over 50 years, he resided on the Wolf farm, having been given a life estate on a small plot of ground by the late Josephus Wolf, for whom he was employed. Percy died of pneumonia and his death was superinduced by the horrible burns. He’s buried at the McCool Cemetery.
I actually spent a lot of nights in that house when I was a child. Friends of mine lived in that house. I never had any encounters of any kind. I lived just a half a block down the street at the time. I was 8 years old at the time and stayed there till I was 12 yrs. old. My friend that lived there was Cindy Oakley. We had many adventures in the old house. I am now 61 yrs. old and live in Wyoming. I still can see the inside of that house room by room every turn. wish I could come back and see the place now. My house still stands also you can tell it by the U shaped drive to the north of Wolf mansion.
Dianalee (Selman) Prime