There are haunted places in this world, places where violence, hatred, and dark things lie in wait. Places that fester with human pain and suffering. The very things that are inspiration for our darkest fears to come to light. Movies show us that these things are always separate from us, out in the country, on a lone hill, or in a small dark town with a dark history. The truth is that these places exist almost everywhere and you probably know of at least one.
Buried deep in a neighborhood in a mid-west town lies a house that carries a history of darkness and misery and was ruled by a man with an iron fist. A house that stood as the legacy of man that walked its dark hallways and ruled over his family as a lord of days gone by would have. A house that the people of the city hoped others would forget, so that the suffering that happened inside could finally find some rest.
That house is Franklin Castle and it is nestled in the small community of Ohio City, in Cleveland, Ohio.
From wish to reality
I have a boyfriend who never ceases to amaze and also, seemingly, knows what I want to do at any given point. This was no more apparent than when he told me that this year of my birthday that we would be staying over night in, none other than, the Franklin Castle. This man had remembered brief conversations we had about how I was taken to Franklin Castle twenty years ago by my friend and fell in love with it. I had also mentioned how I have always wanted to stay in a haunted house. This man… this man combined two of my long time dreams into one outing.
As if an overnight stay wasn’t enough he also purchased a beginning ghost hunting kit for us to use while we stayed the night and a tour of the castle before we stayed the night. Who has the perfect boyfriend… you guessed it, this guy right here.
Karl planned this night roughly six months or more ago, went online and reserved a room, which happened to be one of the rooms noted for spooky activity. he researched the best type of ghost equipment to start hunting with and got everything together. We went on the tour two weeks ago and but that time, I had read the book Haunted Franklin Castle by William G. Krejci and John W. Myers and added it t my knowledge of this unique and macabre house nestled into a cozy community of Cleveland. The tour was awesome because I finally got to get inside of this old piece of history. We go to see parts of the building that have been standing since the first stone was laid and how it has been updated. It piqued my curiosity of our stay and I started my planning.
Sleeping with spirits
Our stay at the infamous Franklin Castle was set for Saturday, August, 9th. As we drove up to the gates, it seemed as if the house knew we were coming. It stood there dark and ominous, almost teasing us about coming inside. We parked on the street and made our way to the side entrance to meet the caretaker. He welcomed us in and gave us a surprise, we were the only tenants in residence and would have the place to ourselves, for the night. He welcomed us in and led us up the ancient, creaking stairs to the floor where we would be staying. As we crested the landing for the second floor, Karl and I turned toward the Erie Suite, as that was the one Karl had previously reserved. Our guide advised us that we would be staying in the master suite for the night, Hannes Tidemann’s rooms. It was as if the house, itself, had a plan for our evening.
He gave us the keys, went over the few rules of the house and it was gone quicker than shadows turning to night as the sun sets. We settled into the room and decided we would grab dinner before we set about exploring and hunting. A night like this calls for a special dinner, so off we trekked to Happy Dog. Talk about fueling up for a ghost hunt!
We returned about an hour later and I started setting up cameras, once in the stairwell pointing out to cover the stairs up to the third and down to the main floor. One in the parlor of the room we had reserved, and one in the parlor of the suite we were actually staying in. We also placed a temperature sensor near one of the rooms reported to get cold spots during activity and placed some light up LED balls, in case of any interactions. As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and the house took on a twilight eeriness, we prepared to explore and hunt.
We made our way to the basement landing and looked at the architecture, remembering the details from our tour about how a fire started in this house and almost ruined it. We also looked into the room that was reported to have had a white mist and disembodied voices, as per the television show Paranormal Lockdown. Karl carried an EMF detector and a recorder with him, and I carried a recorder and a camcorder. From there we sat in the living room on the main floor. We turned down the lights, set up an LED ball and asked some questions. Karl decided to walk around and check out things and I did a small EVP session.
From there, we made our way back upstairs to the parlor of the Eerie Suite, that we had initially booked, a place known for childlike apparitions and various light interactions. Previously, I had placed three of those LED balls in a triangle shape on the floor and a camcorder to record any interactions, if we weren’t there. We did a small EVP session here and Karl even read some traditional 1800s scary stories that might have been told to children.
We both were getting rather tired and decided to pack it in for the night. I made sure that the cameras were set up and still working, two would alert us if any activity happened and one would silently record whatever happens in the room with the LED balls. Once done, we turned in for the night.
The next morning, we both woke up at eight am and said that it felt like one of the best sleeps we have had in a long time. Imagine it would take a reported haunted house to give us the best sleep we needed. Check out was at 11am, so we started breaking down everything and packing up. Once we were packed and out of the house, we stopped for coffee at River Star Coffee Roasters before heading back home.
The castle that remembers
Before I get to our findings, I want to impress upon you, my readers, that Franklin Castle is a piece of amazing history for Cleveland. It is a testament of how a German immigrant came to this country to find a better life for his family and created a legacy that would still send ripples of its influence until today. Whether that is in his beginnings as one of Cleveland’s earliest grocers, influential bankers, ambassador for German people to this country, or the lasting impression of a house that has stood the test of time, his influence is palpable.
Now, for the sweets, my sweet.
Franklin Castle is steeped in spooky history. From visions of crying girls dressed in white, the silent woman in black, disembodied voices, stomping down stairs, all the way to ripping sheets off beds, this place has stories. While setting up and walking through the house, Karl and I often did hear what sounded like stomping or walking around, on the floor above us. However, that floor was locked off, as it is a separate room to rent, so we could not verify those sounds. Sometimes we heard what sounded like beating on the walls but turned out to be a car with loud bass driving by.
The camera I had covering the stairwell did act weird from time to time. It would randomly switch between IR and Normal view modes, for no apparent reason. It had not done that when I used it before. Our camcorder recorded one room all night but when I tried to view the footage on the device, the camcorder said the file was corrupted. There are a lot of things to go over, I even checked the memory card for the camcorder and the files can be viewed, so I need to finish going over them.
While Franklin Castle is a spooky place to visit with some dark history, Karl and I did not see or record any ghosts, so far. Evidence has not been fully viewed, but from quick analysis, nothing out of the ordinary. I will say that none of that changes the fact that being alone in that castle, knowing its history, does add some creep factor, though.
During our stay, we did not see or experience anything overly paranormal. Does this mean that all of the stories about Franklin Castle being haunted are not true? Not exactly, we didn’t experience anything on the night we were there. Perhaps that was due to when we were there, maybe we didn’t come in with the mindset that the house was a dark and evil place, or perhaps there were not ghosts. Book your stay and visit Franklin Castle and find out for yourself.
The house that history built
As I said, yes, Franklin Castle is a spooky house with an even creepier backstory. I won’t go into every aspect here, as that would take away from an amazing book written by someone who has lived there for a bit. After our visit, I don’t see Franklin Castle as this dark looming monster house that so many believe it to be. Even history shows us that.
Hannes Tidemann was a respected business man in the early days of Cleveland. He sponsored a great many German immigrants that went on to be influential members of our city. He helped build a grocer and banking industry here. He was loved by his family and never, according to all verified reports, hurt a single member of his family. He only ever acted in their best interest and with love for them. There is no factual evidence for the vast majority of the stories people tell about this epic house, but truth will not take away from the vibe this house gives and will do little to sway those opinions when we get closer to the spookier time of year.
At its core, Franklin Castle is a beautiful house from the 1880s with a misunderstood and often inflated backstory, the likes of which would be the perfect introduction to any period horror movie. I absolutely loved getting a chance to hear the intricate history of this house and spend a few hours wandering its mystery soaked rooms and dark shadowy hallways. As a part of Cleveland History, staying here or making the tour is an absolute must, especially as we move closer to Halloween. Make your plans now.
What about you dear readers, what stories do you know about Franklin Castle, let me know in the comments below. And head on over to the Franklin Castle website and make your plans for an overnight stay or tour, today. You won’t regret it.
Gay in the CLE 