If you climb them at midnight, they say, something waits for you at the top. A figure — the undertaker of the cemetery — who shows you how you will die.
And if you dare to come back down and count the steps again, the number will never match. Miss the count, and legend says you may not live to tell the story.
This is the tale of the 100 Steps Cemetery, Indiana’s scariest urban legend.
Part Fourteen of Our Series
This is Part Fourteen in our series: The Scariest Urban Legend from Every State.
Last time, we explored Illinois’s infamous Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and the sorrowful White Lady who haunts it. Now we travel to rural Indiana, where a hidden cemetery and its staircase have terrified generations with promises of death, curses, and encounters with the unknown.
What Is the 100 Steps Cemetery?
Located near the small town of Brazil, Indiana, the 100 Steps Cemetery is a rural graveyard perched on a hillside. The cemetery itself is unremarkable — old headstones, overgrown grass, and a quiet, eerie atmosphere. What makes it infamous are the stairs that lead from the base of the hill to the burial grounds above.
These steps are the heart of the legend. Visitors insist there are exactly 100, though the count seems to change. And when you climb them at midnight, the experience becomes something far more sinister.
The Legend of the Steps
The Undertaker’s Vision
According to local lore, those who climb the steps at midnight will find themselves face-to-face with the ghostly undertaker of the cemetery. Silent and grim, he forces you to witness a vision of your own death.
Some claim he shows it in flashes — a car crash, a drowning, a shadow with a knife. Others say the vision is less clear, leaving you with only a gnawing dread.
Whatever you see, the legend warns, it always comes true.
The Curse of the Count
Once the vision fades, you must descend the staircase. Count the steps again on the way down, and you will find the number is no longer 100. If the count doesn’t match, or if you misstep, the undertaker’s curse falls on you — and you won’t live long enough to share what you saw.
No Escaping the Steps
Some stories say you can’t cheat the legend. If you try to climb without stepping on the stairs, the ground itself will shift, dragging you back onto them. Others tell of people who refused to look at the undertaker’s vision, only to meet their deaths sooner than expected.
At the 100 Steps Cemetery, fate is not something you can avoid.
Origins of the Legend
A Cemetery with No Records
The 100 Steps Cemetery is old, dating back to at least the 1860s. But little is officially recorded about it. The lack of historical detail only fuels speculation. Who built the steps? Why exactly 100? Was there truly an undertaker who worked here?
The silence of the cemetery’s past has given birth to its myths.
Rural Fear
Indiana is full of isolated cemeteries tucked into farmland and forests. For generations, these places have been a source of fear and fascination, inspiring ghost stories to keep children close to home after dark. The 100 Steps legend fits this tradition perfectly — a rural, cautionary tale that grew darker with each retelling.
The Undertaker Archetype
Ghostly undertakers appear in folklore worldwide, often as figures of judgment or doom. In Indiana, this archetype fused with the mystery of the cemetery steps, creating a legend uniquely tied to place but rooted in universal fears of death and destiny.
Famous Sightings and Stories
The Vanishing Count
One of the most consistent reports from visitors is the changing number of steps. Paranormal enthusiasts have tried counting during the day, at dusk, and at night, often with different results. At midnight, the count almost never stays at 100.
The Vision at the Top
Locals tell of brave souls who climbed the steps only to return pale and shaken. Some claimed they saw a clear image of their death — a gun, a drowning, a violent crash. Others refused to speak of what they saw, too disturbed to share.
Strange Accidents
Several stories circulate of people who mocked the legend, only to suffer fatal accidents later. While impossible to prove, these tragedies add weight to the cemetery’s curse.
Paranormal Reports
Visitors describe phantom footsteps following them, disembodied whispers, and sudden cold blasts of air on otherwise warm nights. Some report being shoved or pulled, as if unseen hands were forcing them to continue climbing.
Paranormal Experiences Reported
The 100 Steps Cemetery has produced a range of chilling phenomena:
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Apparitions – Shadowy figures glimpsed among the graves or waiting at the top of the stairs.
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Disembodied Voices – Whispers urging climbers onward, sometimes even calling names.
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Physical Contact – Visitors report being pushed, pulled, or grabbed by unseen hands.
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Time Distortions – Some climbers claim the walk takes far longer than it should, or that their watches stop working.
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Visions – The most terrifying experiences come from those who claim to have seen their own deaths at the top.
Why It Terrifies
The legend of the 100 Steps Cemetery resonates because it preys on universal fears:
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Confronting Death – The undertaker’s vision forces you to face mortality.
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Lack of Control – No matter what you do, the prophecy always comes true.
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The Uncanny – The shifting step count creates a sense that reality itself bends in the cemetery.
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Isolation – The cemetery’s rural location means that if something happens to you, no help is near.
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Curses – The idea that mocking the steps invites disaster makes the legend all the more ominous.
Similar Legends Across the World
The 100 Steps Cemetery may be uniquely Indiana, but its themes echo legends from around the globe:
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Resurrection Cemetery (Illinois, USA) – Home of Resurrection Mary, another graveyard where the dead refuse to rest. Both sites involve ghostly figures tied to fate and sorrow.
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Stull Cemetery (Kansas, USA) – Like Bachelor’s Grove, Stull is called a “Gateway to Hell.” The idea of cemeteries serving as portals between worlds links directly to the fears surrounding the 100 Steps.
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The Devil’s Tramping Ground (North Carolina, USA) – A barren circle where nothing grows, said to be cursed by the Devil himself. Both legends warn of places where supernatural forces alter the rules of nature.
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The Bridge of Sighs (Venice, Italy) – Though not a cemetery, this infamous bridge gave prisoners a last view of freedom before their deaths. Like the 100 Steps, it forces confrontation with fate.
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Japanese Tōrō Steps – In some shrines and cemeteries, steps are said to connect the world of the living to the spirits. Miscounting them is considered a dire omen.
These global parallels show that the 100 Steps taps into a timeless fear — the idea that certain places allow glimpses of destiny, but at a terrible cost.
How to Survive an Encounter
Locals and ghost hunters alike offer rules for surviving the 100 Steps Cemetery:
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Don’t Climb at Midnight – The legend only holds its full power at the witching hour.
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Never Mock the Undertaker – Disrespect invites his wrath.
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Count Carefully – Always note the number on the way up and down. If it changes, leave immediately.
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Avoid Going Alone – Bring others with you, both for safety and sanity.
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Trust the Fear – If your instincts tell you not to climb, listen.
Why We Still Tell the Story
The 100 Steps Cemetery endures because it combines everything people fear about death, fate, and the supernatural:
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It’s a real, visitable place, making the legend tangible.
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It ties into Indiana’s rural culture, where isolated cemeteries carry an aura of dread.
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It challenges courage — climbing the steps is a dare, a rite of passage.
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It leaves no comfort — only the certainty of death and the fear of curses.
For generations, Hoosiers have passed down the tale. Teenagers test their bravery on the steps, while parents warn children to stay away. Even skeptics admit there’s something unsettling about the cemetery.
Honorable Mention: The Demon House of Gary
While the 100 Steps Cemetery is Indiana’s scariest legend, the state also gained national attention for the infamous Demon House of Gary.
In 2011, a family reported terrifying activity in a small rental home — shadowy figures, swarms of flies, and children who levitated or spoke in deep, unnatural voices. Police officers, priests, and caseworkers all claimed to witness disturbing events, from footprints on walls to mysterious illnesses.
The house was eventually demolished in 2016, but its reputation lives on. Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures purchased the property and declared it one of the most haunted houses in America.
The Demon House may be gone, but the 100 Steps Cemetery remains — and its legend is far older and darker.
Final Thoughts
The 100 Steps Cemetery is more than a ghost story. It is a place where fate itself seems to stir, where an old staircase becomes a bridge between life and death. Whether the undertaker is real or just a chilling tale, the legend forces anyone who hears it to ask: would you dare climb the steps?
This concludes Part Fourteen of our Scariest Urban Legend from Every State series. Next, we’ll continue to Iowa, where phantom lights and restless spirits stalk the rolling plains.
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