McDonald B&B
Could this Indiana bed & breakfast harbor hauntings from its generations of past residents?
Paranormal Claims at
McDonald B&B
- Potential EVPs have been recorded by visiting ghost hunters
- Shadow figures have been spotted around the mansion
- Psychics and sensitives note positive feelings around the house
- Disembodied voices are heard
Farming & Family:
History of McDonald B&B
The McDonald B&B in Attica, Indiana, isn’t like any other lodge in the area. And that’s likely the point.
The 170-year-old manor has traded out its private residents for travelers and historical tourists. But, the McDonald B&B remains much the same as it was when it was first built.
While plenty of successful Indiana families have come and gone from the McDonald mansion over the years, some residents still purportedly haunt its halls.
Ghostly shadows, unexplainable sounds, and eerie feelings are common claims around Attica’s historic bed & breakfast these days. Could this historic home be one of Indiana’s most haunted inns?
Timeline of McDonald B&B's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see McDonald B&B through the years
1855
First built in 1855, the white mansion on Attica’s Jackson Street started life as the home of James D. McDonald. At the time, McDonald was one of Attica’s most successful residents. He operated numerous businesses in the area and owned sprawling stretches of farmland. McDonald brought the expansive, 4800 square foot Greek Revival home to life hoping it would demonstrate his position in society. Along with building his imposing manor, McDonald invested in the town around it, buying Attica its first wooden water pipes.
1962
Over a century came and went in Attica after James McDonald died in the late 1890s. Several different families took ownership of McDonald’s old mansion throughout the 1900s. Little is known about the home in this era. But, in the mid-20th century, Robert Scribner bought the mansion. It came to be known as the McDonald-Scribner House by 1962. As the 1900s drew to a close, age had worn down the historic manor, leaving its future uncertain.
2014
Into the early 2000s, the McDonald mansion was in desperate need of repairs. No longer habitable, the historic property quickly went dark and soon risked being forgotten about by the community around it. In 2014, the home appeared on Indiana’s 10 Most Endangered Landmarks list, lingering in an uncertain limbo for two years after that. Investor James DeGrazia purchased the home in this era, hoping to find a buyer willing to save it. After a few years, that buyer finally arrived.
2019
New ownership came to McDonald’s old mansion in 2019, and they had a grand vision for the property. Work started quickly after the purchase, and the manor received numerous necessary refurbishments into the early 2020s. After the needed repairs, the McDonald mansion opened to the public for the first time in its history. Operating today as a bed & breakfast, the McDonald house’s restoration work continues, and the property is ever-developing. But despite recent changes and updates, the mansion holds fast to both its history, and its ghosts.
Is McDonald B&B Haunted?
Since opening up to the public, numerous visitors have reported paranormal encounters at the McDonald B&B. The first ghost hunts around the McDonald B&B soon followed, taking place in early 2020. Results uncovered a tranche of unexplained activity, and spurred a new interest in the historic home’s potential haunts.
Since then, it has been visited by numerous ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts. Through these visits, even more ghost stories have come out about the bed & breakfast.
Self-described psychics and sensitives would often note strange feelings of presences in certain rooms, and overwhelming emotions from the entities said to linger within.
Most of these reports note the emotions and feelings as remarkably positive. It is like the mansion’s ghosts are protecting the house’s future, happy to see it restored.
Ghostly Voices in Guest Rooms
Over several years of ghost hunts at the McDonald B&B, one report stands out as especially common: ghostly voices. Out-of-place sounds and audible disembodied voices can be heard throughout the halls and guest rooms of the B&B today.
To date, no one knows who these odd noises and calls come from. As more ghost hunters stay the night at the McDonald B&B, more potential spiritual recordings come out.
The McDonald’s Many Mysteries
Along with the McDonald’s penchant for spooky noises, guests may also spot unexplained figures and shifting shadows around the old mansion. While not as common as disembodied voices, misty apparitions have become another popular McDonald B&B mystery.
Just like with the voices and sounds, nobody is quite sure who these visible specters are. They often only appear as translucent silhouettes or quick-moving shadows out of the corner of one’s eye.
Could the figures be signs of James McDonald, still tending to his house over 125 years after his death?
Book A Spooky Stay at McDonald B&B
Restoration work at McDonald B&B is not fully complete. In a way, the work may never be done at the storied Attica manor.
Continued bookings, driven in part by interest in the mansion’s ghostly reports, help support McDonald B&B’s preservation and help build its reputation both as a scenic getaway and a spooky stop-off.
Anyone interested in experiencing the ghost stories of McDonald B&B need only contact them and book a room through their AirBNB listing. Some passionate ghost hunting groups have even booked the entire house for full, detailed investigations into the mansion’s history and hauntings.
So, if you need a weekend getaway with a paranormal twist, look no further than central Indiana. Book a room, or perhaps a few, at the McDonald B&B and spend your night searching for Attica’s apparitions.
