Not much is known about the Haunted Cheese Factory in Berne, Indiana. Haunted Places of Indiana writes:
"This old abandoned cheese factory has been known for its many unexplained phenomena. It is said to be guarded by spirits. Many people claim not to be able to spend much time in this area. It is located in the woods just east of the Kukleham Mansion. Also, it is known for its occult activity".
Check out the link here:
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/haunted/hauntedplacesofindiana.htm
As we dug deeper we found a little more out about the Kukleham mansion itself. It turns out this old abandoned place is rich in history. A mysterious writer - who we can't seem to contact - posted this on the internet: "Just north of Decatur, east of US 27, not far from the North Point Subdivision, stands an old mansion that was owned by a very wealthy banker. It is said that the banker went crazy because he always thought someone was after his money and slaughtered his whole family and hung himself. Many people have tried, including people with psychic ability, and have been unsuccessful in being on the property".
Well those people aren't the PENI Squad!
We've researched the Kukleham family and uncovered some pretty revealing information. It turns out that the Kukleham family was very prominent in the Swiss community, arriving and helping found the city in the nineteenth century. However, no records exist stating the Kukleham mansion murders or even the owners of the house, for that fact! A volunteer at the local library explained to us that, for some reason, certain records were being held in one of the historic buildings in downtown Bluffton. He claimed that during World War II safety measures were taken to protect important local documents in case of an attack by the Germans.
Here's the kicker. The building that held the documents conveniently burned down just months before we began our investigation. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Building-Fire-in-Downtown-Bluffton-133801708.html
Several people approached us and filled us in on some very interesting information. Unfortunately, they only agreed to speak to us under the promise of complete anonymity. The whole story that we've pieced together is as follows:
The Kukleham's opened a Swiss Cheese factory on their own property sometime in the early twentieth century. They flourished but unfortunately safety measures were not taken to protect their employees. Diseases such as respiratory failure from mold began to run rampant among the staff, killing at least six employees including the chief quality control inspector who died from acute constipation. The story has it that the janitor found him dead on the toilet in the employee restroom.
Outrage began to plague the community as family members of the deceased employees demanded justice. As time pressed on, the Kuklehams were faced with jail-time. Mr. Kukleham, unwilling to live with the shame he brought to his family, took it upon himself to kill them all, including himself.
To this day, the spirit of the chief quality control inspector haunts the property, seeking to be released from this earthly existence.
And we are going to confront him!
If you have any information regarding the Swiss cheese factory, or if you find any holes in it, please email us at
wehandlemonsters@gmail.com
This is the actual location where Victor Kukelhan hanged himself. The ceiling has since caved in. If you look closely, we believe that you can see a piece of the rope that he may have used.
