Mounds State Park

A state park in Anderson featuring ten prehistoric earthworks built by the Adena-Hopewell peoples between 160 BC and 1450 AD. The Great Mound, the largest earthwork, is 9 feet tall and over 300 feet in diameter. The park also contains the historic Bronnenberg House.

Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana, encompasses over 250 acres of forested land along the White River, protecting ten ancient earthworks constructed by the Adena-Hopewell people beginning around 160 B.C. The Great Mound, the park's largest earthwork, served as a ceremonial gathering place aligned with astronomical events. The Lenape (Delaware) people later inhabited these lands before being forcibly removed from Indiana around 1818, and it is their folklore that gives the park its most enduring paranormal legend.

The Lenape spoke of beings they called Puk-wud-ies -- small, goblin-like creatures standing two to three feet tall with enlarged noses, fingers, and ears, and grayish skin that sometimes glows in the dark. According to tradition dating back thousands of years, Pukwudgies are trickster spirits that can shapeshift, turn invisible, create fire at will, and lure unsuspecting humans deeper into the forest. Some tales describe them as playful pranksters who toy with hikers who wander too close to the mounds, while darker accounts warn that they can cause harm or even death to those who disrespect them. The Indiana Historical Society has documented these legends, noting author Paul Startzman's account from 1927 in his book The Pukwudgies of Indiana, in which he described encountering "a little man half his size" with "dull blonde hair that covered his head like a helmet, which left his round ears to protrude." A woman identified as Eloise H., a resident of an Anderson nursing home, reported being approached by "a group of little people who seemed curious about her," speaking in high-pitched voices in a language she could not understand.

Beyond the Pukwudgie legends, the park's Bronnenberg House harbors its own ghostly reputation. Built around 1840 by Frederick Bronnenberg Jr., a German immigrant whose family settled on the land after their westward wagon journey was interrupted -- some accounts say by a broken wagon, others by a child's death -- the house remained in the family for generations. Visitors and paranormal investigators have reported seeing the face of Mrs. Bronnenberg peering from the windows when the house stands empty. The Herald-Bulletin of Anderson documented accounts of people seeing "a woman in the dressing mirror in full stage makeup, children running, things thrown from the balcony and other apparitions." Indiana Paranormal investigators detected two distinct presences: an older Black man in period clothing, believed to be connected to the family's history, and an older gentleman in a black suit with a vest and gold pocket watch chain -- described as balding with facial hair -- who expressed concern about the home's future preservation. Staff writer Kayla Moriarty of The Owl documented her own investigation of the house, reporting an overwhelming sensation of being unwatched and unwelcome on the upper floor, a black garment in Ransom and Sarah's Room that moved without any apparent air source, and camera equipment that repeatedly failed to focus in specific rooms.

Some visitors to the park have reported an even stranger phenomenon: time distortion. Upon spending what they believe to be a couple of hours exploring the trails near the mounds, they emerge to discover that six or more hours have elapsed -- a phenomenon some attribute to the spiritual energy concentrated around the ancient earthworks. The park itself has embraced its reputation, hosting annual Haunted Halloween Bronnenberg Home Tours through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, where visitors can explore the historic house and learn about both its documented history and its unexplained phenomena.