Cleveland's Haunted Franklin Castle
Ohio Mansion - Site of Tragedies, Rumors and Ghosts
An excellent home for ghosts, Franklin Castle looks like a mansion that should be haunted. German immigrant Hannes Tiedemann built the mansion in 1865. There are over thirty rooms in the four story stone building that has gothic-like gables, turrets and gargoyles. Sliding panels hide doorways to secret corridors and rooms, one of which hid a skeleton.
Franklin Castle - Tragedies and Rumors
The first person to die in the house was Tiedemann's fifteen-year-old daughter Emma. Tiedemann’s elderly mother, Wiebeka, died soon after. During the next three years, three children died. Wife Louise died from what was said to be liver problems.
Rumors began to spread about strange events happening in the Tiedemann home. It was rumored that Emma committed suicide and hanged herself. There were allegations of murder. Some believe that Tiedemann killed Louise.
According to different versions of a rumor, he hanged his niece because she was insane or promiscuous. He, allegedly, killed a maid on her wedding day because she rejected his advances. People whispered that Tiedemann had affairs. There was gossip that he strangled Rachel, one of his mistresses, in the tower room after he learned she wanted to marry another man.
Romano’s Ghostly Experiences in Franklin Castle
In January 1968, James Romano, his wife and children moved into the house. On moving day, the children went upstairs to play. They returned downstairs to ask if they could have a cookie for a little girl who was crying. Mrs. Romano looked for the child and found none.
It's also been reported that there were sounds of phantom organ music, footsteps walking in hallways, glasses clinking and disembodied voices. Spectral faces appeared in the woodwork. The Romano’s consulted a Catholic priest. He didn’t perform an exorcism, but told them he sensed an evil presence and advised them to move. Ghost hunters were the next to be contacted. One of the team members fled the mansion in terror, interrupting the investigation. They sold the house to Sam Muscatello in 1974.
Franklin Castle Hauntings Witnessed by Muscatello
He planned use the building as a church, but, after learning about the hauntings, decided to make the mansion a visitors’ attraction. The ghostly phenomena continued. There were eerie noises, disappearing objects, items being wrested from people’s grasps and a chandelier turning by itself.
People have seen the specter of a woman dressed in black, believed to be Rachel. Muscatello searched for the secret panels and passages. He discovered a skeleton behind the panel in the tower room. After this, his health began to fail and he put the house up for sale.
Is Franklin Castle Haunted?
The mansions experienced changes in ownership more times after Muscatello sold it. Not all of the subsequent owners believed the mansion was haunted. Although George Mirceta experienced paranormal phenomena, he didn’t believe the place was haunted. He maintained that there had to be a logical explanation for the incidents.
Another owner was asked if Franklin Castle was haunted. His reply was that he wasn’t sure and added that he wasn’t convinced ghosts existed. He said many of his friends and family had inexplicable experiences in the mansion. The man admitted that the house was a bit creepy, especially in the middle of the night. He heard strange sounds, but they were like those of a place creaking in the wind or its pipes rattling.
There were other paranormal phenomena in addition to the ones the Romanos and Muscatello experienced. Some witnesses sighted a woman clad in white and heard babies crying. People have heard sounds of a woman choking in the tower room where Rachel was said to have been killed. One woman said she felt like she was being choked in that room. People have seen Tiedemann’s specter.
Could it be possible that some of the rumors were actual events that caused the hauntings?
Articles Related to Franklin Castle
People who enjoyed reading this article might like Hauntings of Halcyon House, along with Myrtles Plantation Ghosts and Ghostly Residence – The Whaley House.
Source:
Haunted Places, Dennis William Hauck, (Penguin Books, 2002).
Gargoyles Add to Franklin Castle’s Mystique
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