Highland Lawn Cemetery

You are here Home  > Cemeteries >  Highland Lawn Cemetery

Highland Lawn Cemetery has a couple ghostly legends. One is about Stiffy Green, a phantom bulldog. Stiffy Green belonged to John Heinl, a likable elderly man. The friendly dog was named for his stiff gait and bright-green eyes. When Heinl passed away in 1920, Stiffy Green refused to leave the mausoleum and was eventually found there dead, although folks brought him food and water. The townspeople raised funds to have Stiffy Green stuffed and placed inside the tomb. After this, the cemetery caretaker began hearing barks from the mausoleum. Both the dog and Heinl’s apparitions have been seen, along with the phantom smell of John’s pipe.

Another cemetery legend is about Martin Sheets, a businessman in the early 1900s who had a deep fear of being buried alive. He had a custom-designed casket with latches on the inside to thwart such a terror from happening to him, and he planned to be buried in a mausoleum instead of underground. Furthermore, the mausoleum was rigged with a telephone. When he passed away and was entombed in his mausoleum, nothing eventful happened, but Sheets had paid for the phone to remain in service for years. Several years later, Sheets’ wife was found dead of a stroke, clutching the phone, presumably trying to call an ambulance. But when Mrs. Sheets was entombed, they noticed that Martin’s telephone was off the hook inside the locked mausoleum.

If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know!



Rate this Haunted Place

What do you think? Is this place really haunted? Voice your opinion here! Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale.


Geographic Information

Address:
4520 Wabash Avenue
Terre Haute, IN
United States

Get Directions »
GPS:
39.475379, -87.35060190000002
County:
Vigo County, Indiana
Nearest Towns:
Terre Haute, IN (3.4 mi.)
North Terre Haute, IN (3.7 mi.)
Seelyville, IN (4.6 mi.)
West Terre Haute, IN (5.4 mi.)
Toad Hop, IN (6.1 mi.)
Riley, IN (6.5 mi.)
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN (6.7 mi.)
Tecumseh, IN (7.1 mi.)
Staunton, IN (8.7 mi.)
Fontanet, IN (9.0 mi.)

close

Please note: It is your responsibility to acquire appropriate permissions before investigating any location listed on this site. Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other local regulations. Many "ghost hunters" have been arrested because they failed to contact property owners and/or local authorities ahead of time.

Share Your Experiences

Close Comments

Comments (3)

  1. 1 the map at top is not highland. its the one down the road. i know i worked at highland for 5 years stiffy green is gone. was put down town in the historical society building 2 the phone was taken out of the mausoleum 3 there is no ghost hunting whats so ever after dark there. its owned by the city and will not allow you to go in after dark .4 yes the place is haunted way more then people think or know but being arrested is not worth try to find out

    • Haunting do not just occur at night its just that the night time makes people more scared want to go ghost hunting go during daytime open hours be respectable ^j^

  2. “Stiffy Green” is an oft repeated and totally bogus story. The dog was never alive. He’s a concrete casting that sat on florist John Heinl’s porch for years. In fact, “Stiffy” is now in the county museum.The only truths of the story are that the bulldog likeness belonged to Mr. Heinl and that the man was fond of it and asked that it be placed in his mausoleum when he died. The family had it removed after vandalism.

Share Your Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *



Have a photograph taken from this location? Use the "Browse" or "Choose File" button below to select an image to upload along with your comment.

 


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.