The Slippery Noodle Inn Investigation
This blog post was written by Whitney Dankemeyer, one half of Two Halves of a Soul.
In 1850, The Tremont House was opened. Today, the original building still stands as the oldest operating bar in Indiana, now called the Slippery Noodle Inn. (Image from the 1940s)
The Tremont House wasn’t always the Tremont House before it was purchased by the owners of the Slippery Noodle. In fact, it was changed to the Germania House in 1860, only for it to be changed again to Beck’s Saloon once World War I started.
Around the years of the Civil War, the basement of the building was a way station for the Underground Railroad. Three doors and what’s left of the tunnel remain downstairs, where they would hide the slaves before leading them to safety.
This bar was even run during the prohibition. Its name was changed to Moore’s Beer Tavern prior, and had then been renamed Moore’s restaurant once the prohibition began. After the prohibition ended in 1935, it was switched back to Moore’s Beer Tavern. Brady & Dilinger gangs actually had target practice where the horse stables used to be for the Inn. Bullets can still be found left in one of the walls. As for the old stables, there is a section of the basement where old hooks and water lines can be found from where they butchered meat.
In the 1940s, the Inn was named Boris’ Place. The Inn was also ran as a brothel up until two customers quarreled over a sex worker in 1953. One man stabbed and killed the other, leaving the bloody knife on the bar. That’s when the bordello closed.
That wasn’t the only death on this property though. With all its popularity over the years, this building was known to have many shootouts, leaving many outlaws and cowboys to be killed.
It was in 1963 when the most recent owners purchased the oldest bar in Indiana. It was purchased by Harold and Lorean Yeagy, and gained new ownership by the son Hal in 1985 when Harold fell ill. The bar was named the Slippery Noodle Inn, and is still one of the most popular attractions in Indianapolis today.
This bar is also popular for its paranormal activity. There is a rumored caretaker on site who tends to the property. He’s usually in the basement and found wearing overalls. Employees like to call this man George. It is also said that you can sometimes find phantom slaves or sex workers roaming the halls of the building. People have even seen a cowboy on property.
That is of course why we had to check it out.
On September 3, 2022, Nicole, Swan, and I made the trek to Indianapolis. We were coming down for a concert, but we couldn’t go out of state and not investigate something, am I right? We picked a few different hot spots a couple weeks prior and did all the research we could before we left for our trip. We wanted to be prepared for all we were about to experience that weekend. Even though we spent hours looking into each location we chose, I still don’t think any of us were ready for all the evidence we were about to receive.
When we got into town, we checked into our Air BnB and headed straight to the restaurant and bar. When we got out of the car and walked towards the building, you could feel the energy vibrating your entire body, as if history was rushing through your veins. And when you walked through the door of the Slippery Noodle Inn, you could feel it even more.
Nicole’s take on the energy of the building:
“At our first location, The Slippery Noodle Inn, you could feel the history seeping through the walls. The vintage interior giving it a cozy, hometown welcoming feel.”
And Swan’s first impression of the building:
“The energy at the Slippery Noodle Inn was incredible and almost overwhelming; you can feel the history throughout your bones the moment you walk through the door. I had never set foot in the bar, let alone downtown Indianapolis, yet it felt so familiar and welcome.”
When we got inside, the walls were covered in decor and you could still see what was all the original woodwork of the building. We took a seat at the bar and were immediately welcomed by two gentlemen, who gave us menus and asked what we’d like to drink. The menus had the history of the building on the left side, and a solid fourth of the menu was taken up with all the celebrities who have been here before. I can clearly see why.
A couple drinks and a meal later, Swan asked our bartender what he knew about the history of this place. He went into the prohibition, bordello, and talked about the tunnels. Not too long after he shared his take on the building, he offered us a tour. How could we say no?
After gathering up an employee who had a few minutes of free time, we got our own private tour of the building. Probably not the first and definitely not the last, but who cares? It was exciting.
We got to see and hear all the history about the building while walking through it. We were taken up to the old halls the bordello ran in, taken into the basement and tunnels, and shown the upstairs bar. He told us about his own personal experiences and his favorite parts of the building when he shared the history of this place too. Having only been employed a few months, it was still really cool to hear his take on working at this bar and restaurant so far.
Once the tour was over, we went back to the bar where the bartender saved our seats, finished our drinks, and went back outside for pictures and to do the Estes Method. It was actually really difficult to say goodbye, considering we felt so at home and welcome at this establishment already. Not once did we get a bad vibe, but we all had a feeling that there were more people present than what we could see at the time. We knew the Estes Method would assist us with that.
As soon as we started the Estes Method session, spirits couldn’t wait to talk to us. They wanted to tell us about “Indy” and they all respectfully came through one at a time.
The first spirit we encountered only acknowledged themselves as “Somebody.” When we asked them to tell us what they remember about the place, Swan said she was seeing images of a door in her mind with a bell at the top of it. She heard it going Ding! And when I asked about the bell’s purpose, Swan shouted, “Success!” There was no bell on the door when we were entering the building that day, so we’re curious when it was a part of the establishment.
The next spirit we spoke to was Emma. We were first mistaken thinking she was a sex worker, because she said her time here was short. It wasn’t until she said escape where we realized we were wrong. I asked Emma if she was a slave and her time here was short because she had escaped. Her response was “Safety.” We proceeded to ask if anyone else was down there, but she said they were gone. I asked if she was still down there and her responses were “Yes” and “Me.”
Another spirit had come through this time, and we knew that because Swan said “Here” and “Hi.” We said hello and then Nicole asked the spirit how they were feeling. They said “Killed.” When I asked if they were killed, their response was “Cannon.” Not too long after this response, I looked back at Nicole and gave her a look before I asked, “Were you in a war?” Seconds later, Swan speaks up about how she’s seeing a soldier from the Civil War in her mind wearing a wool, gray uniform. Solidifying. Our later research found that the confederate soldiers from the Civil War wore gray; however, their uniforms were made of cotton and not wool. Swan says now she just remembers it being really thick.
We were getting a lot of quick, intelligent responses from the soldier, so we continued to ask him questions. At one point, he said “Up.” I repeated his response and asked if he was upstairs. He said “Cause” so of course I asked “Cause why?” His response (Which is incredible) was “High” and “It’s beautiful.” It wasn’t until the morning after when the bar was closed for Labor Day that we realized he also said to us “Get up here” and didn’t. He was inviting us upstairs, which only means we will have to go back and visit him again.
The next conversation was one of our favorites because it was fun and playful. We were in contact with a cowboy, and luckily, Nicole had a black cowboy hat in the back seat. We told him we had a cowgirl in the back seat that wanted to befriend him and his response was “Battle me.” Nicole jokingly said, “I’ll battle you, let’s go! Yeehaw! In a respectful way of course.” Swan responded, “Dude, yep” followed by a “We’re worried.” Swan then made a side comment that the voices coming through sounded playful, almost as if they were joking about something. This was incredible for us evidence wise, because we were clearly joking around with the cowboy talking to us. This was the first time we’ve ever had a conversation with a spirit like this outside of Swan's home.
The last spirit we talked to this evening was a sad and difficult one. We were in contact with the customer who was killed over a sex worker. We got the responses “Tender” and “Hold.” Before the “Hold” came through, we were trying to decipher if it was related to the bordello or when they used to butcher meat in the basement. Once we got the word “Hold,” we at least knew it was related to when the brothel was open and running.
When he was telling us his story, he was saying “Him,” “I,” and “Were no-” as if he was telling us about someone he wasn’t getting along with. That’s how we initially made the connection we were talking to the one who was stabbed. I asked if that’s who we were speaking to, and the response was “Uh huh.” We told him we were sorry to hear what happened to him and said we hoped he found peace. Remarkably, he answered “I have.”
Asking if there was anything further he wanted to tell us about what happened to him there (and also adding that he didn’t have to say anything he didn’t want to) he said “It’s embarrassing.” And with that, we didn’t pry, and proceeded to finish our conversation by telling him it shouldn’t have occurred in the first place and he shouldn’t feel ashamed of what happened. People are still paying for sex to this day, and people are still fighting over girls.
We left that night with incredible evidence. Everything you’ve ever heard about the Slippery Noodle Inn is true, and you can experience it all for yourself once you set foot on the property. You will be welcomed in with open arms by every employee, and they will happily tell you about the history and their experiences with the building. I hope you found our investigation of the Slippery Noodle as fascinating as we did, and maybe one day you will even go check out the location yourself. We can assure you that this was one of our favorite investigations yet, and it won’t be our last investigation there. Thank you so much for reading!
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