Haunted Locations in the Ohio State Area

I originally started this search in my own are of Youngstown, but found only 2 places with a reputation for being haunted. And not much information was available so I had to branch out a little. I found a ton of haunted locations in Ohio, from houses to bridges and cemeteries. And even a few castles here too. Some very interesting tales.If you'd like to visit a few of the haunted locations listed, check with the websites for guided tour information. I don't recommend trespassing of any kind, always be sure to try and get permission to visit a place if it isn't already open to the public.

I had to revise and shorten my list a little as someone else had already written about a few of the places that I was planning on using here.I didn't want to duplicate what they already had. So I added a few others instead, and there is still a lot more. If your an amateur ghost hunter, do a google search of haunted locations near where you live you may be surprised! You may end up with a spooky encounter of your own to tell about.

The Ashtabula Bridge

The Ashtabula Bridge Train Disaster as it is called, is the site of a bad train accident. The train went off the bridge and down into the icy cold water of Ashtabula Creek when the bridge collapsed.The two areas that are reported the most is the spot near the bridge and the mass grave site in the Chestnut Grove Cemetery for the passengers who died in the crash.The train was carrying 159 passengers and crew members. The bridge was a new construction design built by Charles Collins Engineer for Lake Shore and Michigan railroad and Amasa Stone, Architect and Designer. Although Collins didn't approve of the bridges "experimental" design, he approved it due to pressure from the company and others.

On the evening December 29, 1876, the Pacific Express crossed that bridge. The first part of the train made it across to the other side just as the bridge started collapsing. The second half broke away and fell into the ravine below. An estimated 92 men, women and children were killed. They did not die from the fall, but from being trapped inside the burning wreckage. Charles Collins committed suicide shortly after the court inquisition.There is a monument erected at the mass grave site to all who died there on that night. In the cemetery area near the grave site, witnesses mention seeing families dressed in period dress -- always in winter clothes -- wandering around the grounds, often carrying carpetbags and baskets. Reports of screams heard late at night, many visitors have smelled a burnt odor around the grounds and near Collins' crypt a man is reported to be seen walking around, crying out over and over, I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry.'"

Ohio State Penitentiary
Columbus,OH

Built in 1834 the Ohio Penitentiary was the third state prison.The building has been torn down now, but was once the site of a large prison holding hundreds of inmates.At one time they had over 5,000 inmates.The building had some terrible history. In the 1800's the types of crimes people were in there for were robbery, stealing horses, theft of any kind over the monetary amount of $10.00. Prisoners died of Cholera, sickness, and afflictions brought on by capital punishment in the form of whipping. The Death Penalty was also enforced. Part of the building was badly burned in a fire in the 1930's. A prisoner attempted to escape by starting a fire but his plan backfired when the guards couldn't open the doors. Smoke filled the building and over 300 people died. The prison was later closed down for good in 1979 and became property of the City of Columbus. The last of the building were torn down in 1997 and new construction went up, it is now the site of the Nationwide Arena.

Mansfield Prison
Mansfield,OH

Mansfield Reformatory was built on grounds that in the 1800 was used as a civil war training field. It became a prison in 1886. During its 94 years of operation, it was rumored to be a place of abuse, torture and death. It was finally shut down in 1990 and in 1995 was taken over by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society and opened up for ghost tours. It was investigated by a group of Paranormal investigators. Parts of the movies "Air Force One" and " The Shawshank Redemption" were filmed here. Some of the props used are still there. MRPS holds regularly-scheduled overnight ghost tours for those brave enough to explore this old building. One Paranormal Investigator, Dennis Lytle, whose website "Phantoms in the Dark" features his infrared video photography and EVP work, attended one of these overnight tours on June 25th, 2005. They were able to get some photos of orbs and a few EVP's. If you'd like more information or would like to attend a tour visit the MRPS website here http://www.mrps.org/.

Cleveland Agora Theatre
Cleveland,OH

The old theater was once an old movie house in 1910, then later became a theater for performing musician in 1949 with acts including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and later on when the old building was used for rave concerts, Marilyn Manson. The theater changed over many times from being a movie house to music concerts to rave scene for later rockers such as Manson and a list of others.There is still some of Marilyn Manson's belongings stored in the basement from some of his shows. The ghost that has appeared to some theater goers is a man dressed in a yellow raincoat that appears in various locations throughout the theater. No information on who he might have been.

Franklin Castle
Ohio City,OH

This large castle home was built by Hannes Tiedemann in 1865. And is reputed to be one of Ohio's most notorious haunted places. The castle located on Franklin Ave was home to Tiedemann, his wife, children and elderly mother. His children died under mysterious circumstances and no cause of death was ever reported. His mother also died closely around this time and her cause of death was also unknown. His wife died shortly after of liver disease along with his eldest daughter Emma who official cause of death was reported as diabetes. Hannes Tiedemann himself died later on in 1908 at the age of 72.

The castles reputation for being haunted stems from reports from later occupants after the castle had changed hands. Some of the things reported are: Strange voices coming from empty rooms , sounds of crying children, faces that suddenly appear in the woodwork, apparition of a woman in white, spinning chandeliers, cold spots, and mysterious ectoplasm...later on after the house had been sold the one of the new owners found the skeletons of at least a dozen babies in a small sealed room. There were rumors that Tiedemann killed his children and possibly other children born later and hid the bodies. He was known to be a rough and abrasive man and others believed that he had been responsible for the deaths of his family, and one of the ghosts that haunts his castle may have been a mistress of his.

This property was also speculated to have been a speakeasy during the Prohibition period due to the fact that he had built secret rooms and hidden entrances. It was also sold to and used by the German Socialist Party in 1913. It was later sold to a family in 1968.It changed hands a few more times after that.

Lock 4 Ohio and Erie Canal
Lawrence Township south of Canal Fulton in Stark County

The canal started construction in 1825, and was completed in 1832 built mostly by Irish Immigrants. There is a local saying "For Every Mile of the Canal, an Irishman is Buried." Mostly due to the fact that this was grueling and dangerous work, the mud in the canal was infested with all kinds of germs and bacteria from mosquito's. Hundreds of workers died from Malaria also called "Canal Fever" and were buried in shallow, unmarked graves along the canal. The workers endured long hard work days, very little food and poor shelter in tents or shanty's. The few deaths occurred that were attributed to violence were fights between the workers themselves due to labor uprisings.

www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm324168.htm
http://www.soarparanormal.com/Places.html
http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Mahoning/ysu.html
http://paranormal.lovetoknow.com/Haunted_Places_in_Ohio