Franklin Castle

Purported to be the most haunted site in Ohio, Franklin Castle was the scene for a series of tragedies experienced by the Tiedemann family who lived in the house until 1895. Built by Hans Tiederman in the mid-1800's, the 21-room mansion also features numerous hidden passages. The house was also used as a club house for a Nazi organization, and a site for bootlegging during Prohibition. Reports of ghost sightings are also numerous. Babies can be heard crying from within the walls, and a baby skeleton was recovered from the building, suspected to be the victim of a bad doctor who held a practice in the mansion at one time. Following a dispute among Nazi sympathizers, a group of men were gunned down in the mansion, and their discussion can still be heard today. The main ghost to be seen is that of Katie Tiedermann, who is said to have been hung by her father, Hans, in one of the secret passageways. Her spirit appears as a thin lady in black. Four other Tiedermann children died in the house, three as babies and a fifteen-year-old girl named Emma, who died of diabetes. Tiedermann's wife died of liver disease in the home as well. The owners of the mansion have been subject to the hauntings. One family reported that their young children wanted to give a treat to a young girl who wouldn't stop crying. Mrs. Tiedermann is said to have possessed one former owner. The mansion received extensive burn damage after a vagrant set fire to a portion of the building.