The History of Franklin Castle, the Most Haunted House in All of Ohio

Strange voices, sounds of crying children, apparitions, spinning chandeliers, cold spots...these are just some of the mysterious occurrences that have been reported at Franklin Castle. Many believe that the home is extremely haunted. In fact, it is said to be the most haunted house in all of Ohio. Strange deaths, hidden rooms and secret passageways, Nazi spies, and mysterious bones found in the wall are a few of the many things rumored throughout the years to be associated with Franklin Castle. Is it all true or is it just a legend?

The mansion is located in Ohio City, a suburb on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is known to have many secret passageways. However, it is not known for sure how many. There is even a tunnel said to run all the way to Lake Erie. Of the many ghosts at the mansion, the most notorious is the Woman in Black. Visitors have reported numerous unusual occurrences such as hearing children, hearing crying, faces that appear in the woodwork and/or walls, doors that open and shut on their own, mysterious fog that appears out of nowhere, various voices, cold spots, and much, much more. One of the oddest findings in the home was the discovery of at least a dozen skeletons of babies in a small sealed room. The county coroner examined the remains. He was able to confirm that they were indeed the remains of human infants. However, he ruled out foul play. The only other thing he could confirm was that the bones were very old.

Franklin Castle has an interesting history. A German immigrant named Hannes Tiedemann built Franklin Castle in 1865 in. Prior to building the house, Tiedemann was a grocer and barrel-maker. After barely making ends meet, he made the decision to go into banking. It was a rather good decision because it made him quite wealthy. The new found wealth allowed Tiedemann to spare no expense when it came to the mansion. The mansion consists of four stories and more than twenty rooms. The outside of the home is foreboding with dark stone and a wrought iron fence. The roof has steep gables and the overall architecture is somewhat spooky. Both inside and outside are adorned with gothic design. The home features a ballroom that spans the entire fourth floor and is accessible by its own staircase. It also features marble fireplaces, wine cellars, and numerous hidden passageways.

After the home was built, Hannes moved his wife Louise in with him. They eventually had children. It was rumored among neighbors that Hannes was a strict man and they believed he abused his family. However, that could not be confirmed. Nothing unusual seemed to happen until 1881. On January 16, the Tiedemann's fifteen year old daughter Emma died. Although the official cause of death was diabetes, it was rumored that she was actually found hanged in the attic. A month later, Hannes' elderly mother was found dead. Her cause of death is unknown. Before 1888, the Tiedemanns buried three more of their children. Many believe there were more children born in the home that died, but that cannot be confirmed. Louise died in 1895 from liver disease. Hannes went on to remarry and sold the mansion. By 1908, the entire Tiedemann family was dead.

After Hannes sold the mansion, more rumors about him emerged. It has been reported that Hannes was responsible for hanging his niece from the rafters in one of the secret passageways. Moreover, he is believed to have killed his illegitimate daughter Karen in one of the secret tunnels near the ballroom. Now, Karen is said to be one of the more active spirits. He was also said to be responsible for killing a young servant girl on her wedding day. Hannes was reported to have many affairs with various mistresses. It has also been rumored that Hannes killed a mistress of his named Rachael by choking her to death. Since then, many people report hearing someone choking in the very room Rachael was murdered. Some also believe her to be the Woman in Black.

The home was sold to the Mullhauser family. Nothing unusual was reported to happened at the home while the Mullhausers owned the mansion. The family sold Franklin Castle to the German Socialist Party in 1913. It has been reported that the group was not truly Socialists. Instead, it has been said they were Nazi spies. The group owned the home for the next fifty-five years. Many believe the home was used for secret meetings and parties. On of the wildest rumors of the era involves the mass assassination of about twenty of the group's members in one of the secret tunnels. Of course, this has never been confirmed. For the majority of the time the group owned the home, it was unoccupied. However, the group did rent out in the castle to boarders. One of those renters was a doctor. It has been said that he performed unusual experiments on people.

In 1968, the Romano family moved into Franklin Castle. The family planned on opening up a restaurant in the home, but changed their minds. They began experiencing strange things almost immediately after they moved in. The Romano family reported hearing organ music in the house (there was no organ in the house), footsteps, voices, and other weird sounds. The Romano children also had imaginary friends. Mr. and Mrs. Romano believe it was the Tiedemann children because the Romano children never had imaginary friends before moving to the mansion. The Romanos even reported seeing one of the imaginary friends, a young girl who communicated with them. Mrs. Romano decided to consult a Catholic priest, but he refused to perform an exorcism on the home. The Romanos then turned to Northeast Ohio Psychical Research Society to investigate the home. Not much came of the investigation. One day, the girl ghost told Mrs. Romano of the impending death of her family. After that, the family immediately sold the home in 1974.

The home was sold to Sam Muscatello. He had an interest in the home and planned on turning it into a church. However, he changed his mind. Instead, he focused on turning the home into a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, he never had much luck. He began researching the home and found out about the secret passageways. Shortly after, he began discovering and exploring all the secret tunnels. In the tower room, he found a hidden panel. Behind it was a human skeleton. Afterwards, Muscatello became very ill. He eventually decided to sell the home.

Over the next thirty years, the mansion was sold many times. Cleveland Police Chief Richard Hongisto was the one who bought the home from Muscatello. Less than a year later, the mansion was again sold. This time it was sold to George Mirceta. Throughout the years, Mirceta told reporters about various strange occurrences that happened in the home. He conducted tours of the home and asked visitors to record any strange experiences they had. Although many strange occurrences were reported, to this day, Mirceta maintains that the home is not haunted. The home was again sold in 1984 to a man named Michael De Vinko. He spent the next ten years pouring money into restoration of the mansion. He also claims that he never had any problems with ghosts. Despite all the money spent on the home, De Vinko decided to sell the home.

In 1999, the home was sold to Michelle Heimburger. Six months later, a vagrant set fire to the mansion causing extensive damage. The owner had big plans of renovating the mansion. However, most of those plans never took place. It was only after the city threatened to demolition the property and prosecute Heimburger for the slow repairs that some renovations finally took place. Heimburger lives in Canada and leaves the care of the house to Charles Mislaps, a real estate investor. Mislaps had a vision of turning the home into the headquarters for a unique, members-only club. In fact, Mislaps claims this club exists. However, it does not. To this day, Mislaps makes claims that turn out to be false. The home doesn't even have running water. The home remains in poor condition and there are no signs of construction. Heimburger has $14,000 in unpaid property taxes and Milsaps has accumulated about $13,000 in liens and judgments for unpaid construction bills. It is very likely the mansion will end up on the Sheriff's Department's auction block in the near future.

Today, Franklin Castle is a frequent stop for ghost tours in Cleveland. Many people have gained access to the home, either with permission or without, to do their own investigations. Most of which maintain that the home is indeed haunted. With the likely sale of the mansion in the future, the idea that it is haunted can either hurt or help its sale. Although it is said to be the most haunted house in all of Ohio, it is hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the home's history. Is it haunted? Are the stories fact or fiction? You be the judge.