Ohio provides plenty to do for amateur ghost hunters or just the curious. From local Inns to Taco Bells, this state has ghostly inhabitants everywhere.
Haunted Places in Ohio
Native American settlements, Civil war sites and the scenic homesteads of the Amish are all part of what makes the Buckeye State wealthy in beauty and history. It also provides the historic real life drama that often results in restless spirits! Ohio provides plenty to do for amateur ghost hunters or just the curious, just talk to the locals to find the most spiritually populated areas of this fine state.
The Air and Space Museum in Columbus Ohio has plenty for the aviation buff in your family, but you may get more than you bargain for with price of admission! Staff here will tell stories of strange noises at night, apparitions of pilots from the past, and the eerie echoes of small plane engines growling in the darkness. Conversely, the Air Force Museum in Dayton is rumored to have the ghost of a young Vietnamese boy roaming its halls at night. If you are lucky you may see the spirit of the Nazi fighter pilot who still waves from the cockpit of his plane.
While you are touring museums, check out the Cincinnati Museum of Art. Security guards report seeing a huge unexplainable cloud rise up from a mummy sarcophagus and tales of a glowing face appearing to napping watchmen.
If you are looking to crawl into bed with a ghost, there are more than a couple of places in Ohio that are able to accommodate you. In Cincinnati you will find the Country Hearth Hotel has a room or two with cold spots and unexplained pounding noises. Check into rooms 331 or 431 for a chance to experience some classic haunting phenomenon.
The innkeeper at The Riders Inn in Painesville Ohio will vouch for the ghostly activity at this local hot spot. The story goes that there is a civil war soldier sometimes seem standing by the window of the Inn, as well as the ghost of a former innkeepers wife, Suzanne. It is reported that Suzanne opened the inn for a young couple who had reserved a room there. The staff of the inn were out for the night, and were astounded to hear the next morning about the lady who pointed the way to the honeymooners the night before.
In Cambridge, The 1878 Mansion turned "The Colonel Taylor Bed and Breakfast Inn" is host to the ghost of Colonel Taylor himself! Taylor and the presence of a female spirit welcome guests by occasionally floating down the stairs or lightly shaking the beds of sleepy visitors. Cold spots are also common here.
For a longer stay, you may want to look into leasing an apartment at the Pauni Apartments in Cortland. Rumored to have been built on Indian burial grounds, tenants report apparitions, slamming doors and the uneasy feeling of being watched.
Hungry yet? Check out the Taco Bell in Twinsburg. Employees there will tell you about mysterious figures in the hallways and back rooms, the apparition of a young girl in a white nightgown, an otherworldly outdoorsman near the drive-through window, and the uniformed ghost that cleans the dining rooms. Most of these spirits are explained by the rumored relocation of a cemetery at this juncture between rt. 91 and highway 480, or by yet another bulldozed Indian burial ground. Whatever the reason, activity is present here and throughout the entire strip mall.
Got time for one more stop? Don't miss the Franklin Castle in downtown Cleveland Ohio. Reportedly visitors can hear the cries of a child from the carriage house, music playing on the third floor, and cold spots throughout the building. Previous owners have said that their children's toys would be moved or missing altogether and that occasionally they would actually find clothing from the 1900's.
The United States is full of haunted places, and Ohio is no different. Find more ghostly adventures by talking to local college students and walking through the old cemeteries along the way. Ohio has no shortage of traditional and otherworldly sites to see. Check it out.
