Whispers Estate

A Victorian home built in 1894 and owned by Dr. John Gibbons and his wife Jessie, who adopted three orphaned children. Rated by the Travel Channel as the 4th most terrifying place in America.

Whispers Estate in Mitchell, Indiana, is a two-story Victorian home built in 1894 that has earned a reputation as one of the most haunted houses in the Midwest. The property's dark history began in 1899 when Dr. John Gibbons purchased the home and operated his medical practice from the lower floor while his family lived upstairs. Dr. Gibbons and his wife Jessie were well respected in the Lawrence County community, known particularly for their compassion in adopting orphaned children and giving them a home.

The first tragedy struck shortly after the family moved in. Ten-year-old Rachael Gibbons started a fire in the parlor -- some accounts say she was sneaking a peek at Christmas presents when she knocked over an open flame. Rachael was severely burned and died two days later in her upstairs bedroom. The second death came when Elizabeth Gibbons, a ten-month-old infant, died from an unspecified illness within the home. The third was Jessie Gibbons herself, who died of pneumonia in the master bedroom -- the same room where baby Elizabeth had passed away. The weight of three deaths in a single household, all involving women and children, left an imprint on the house that residents and visitors have reported sensing ever since.

Whispers Estate earned its name from the phenomenon most frequently reported by guests: strange voices whispering directly into their ears. The disembodied whispers occur throughout the house but are most common in the upstairs bedrooms, and they are described as distinct, purposeful communications rather than ambient noise -- as though someone unseen is trying to tell the listener something urgent. The spirit of a young girl, believed to be Rachael, has been observed roaming the house, particularly near the parlor where the fire that killed her began and the upstairs bedroom where she died.

Jessie's master bedroom is among the most active locations. Guests who sleep there report waking to the sound of labored breathing and coughing -- consistent with the pneumonia that killed Jessie Gibbons. The closet doorknob frequently jiggles on its own before the door pops open, as though someone inside is trying to get out. A third bedroom generates nightmares: guests who sleep there report waking from horrible dreams to the sound of someone attempting to open their bedroom door from the hallway, the knob turning and the door rattling in its frame.

Additional deaths on the property compound the haunting. A gentleman who lived in the estate in the 1960s died in the upstairs bathroom, and later a young boy died from mysteriously falling down the front staircase. The circumstances of the boy's death have never been fully explained. These later tragedies added their own spiritual residue to a house already saturated with grief.

The property is now operated as a haunted bed and breakfast, and it has attracted significant media attention. WAVE 3 News featured the ghost of Rachael in a segment on the property, and the estate was featured in a 2020 episode of the series Paranormal Encounters. Paranormal investigation teams have documented EVP recordings, temperature anomalies, and electromagnetic field spikes throughout the house, with the parlor, master bedroom, and staircase consistently registering the highest levels of activity. Whispers Estate welcomes overnight guests and paranormal investigators year-round, offering an experience that the property's owners and hundreds of visitors attest is genuinely, persistently haunted.