Ohio’s Most Haunted: Franklin Castle
Built in 1860, Franklin Castle was the result of a long-standing dream by German immigrant Hannes Tiedemann. Tiedemann had a reputation in town as a rude and obnoxious man, known for the iron hand he used towards his family and servants. Neighbors often heard the sounds of his family and servants crying and screaming from the abuse they suffered at his hands. Tiedmann, who owned a local grocery store and worked as a banker, was the brunt of many rumors yet his money spared him from any serious investigations.
The first person to meet their end in Franklin Castle was Tiedemann’s daughter, followed in quick succession by his other children, mother, and wife. In 1885, Tiedemann’s teenage daughter Emma died from diabetes complications. According to local legend, Emma actually hung herself in the attic to escape the pain her father inflicted on her daily as the oldest child, and Hannes used his money to cover up her suicide. The deaths of three more children, and his mother quickly followed, but history doesn’t note the cause of their deaths. Tiedemann left Franklin Castle following his wife’s death from liver disease in 1985.
Tiedemann did not have a good reputation in town. He was known for being rude to locals, keeping his family isolated in their mansion, and limiting the people allowed inside the walls. With all the secrecy Tiedmann brought upon himself and his family, rumors quickly swirled around the town. Rumors spread that Tiedemann kept several servants locked up, for his sick and twisted sexual needs. When one servant died, or committed suicide, she was quickly replaced and her death covered up. Several of the servant girls were believed to have bore Tiedemann children, which he also murdered before hiding their bodies. Tiedemann was also rumored to have killed one of his nieces who mysteriously disappeared during a visit to the Castle. Another rumor claimed that a servant who tried to leave to marry another, was murdered by Tiedemann.
The history, and rumors surrounding Franklin Castle didn’t die with Tiedemann. Beginning in 1913, the Castle was home to the German Socialist Party. It was by far not the only such group operating in the US during World War I and World War II, but like the others it was the center of some outlandish rumors. The worst rumor was that the Party found a group of 20 spies in their midst, and ordered the murders in the Castle. Many of the rumors during this time period can be blamed on the American opinion of Germans during the War, but also partially on the secrecy of the Party. They disallowed any outsiders from gaining access to the inside of the building, and conducted their meetings in complete secrecy.
Eventually, to gain money for their movement, the German Socialist Party began renting out rooms. It was rumored that a doctor who boarded in the Castle performed cruel and unusual experiments on women, hiding their bodies inside after their deaths. Given the climate of the US during this time, its entirely possible that the doctor performed illegal abortions in one of the rooms.
Adding to the mystery of Franklin Castle are the numerous hidden passages and tunnels that lead through the building. Since Tiedemann designed the house, it begs the question of why he needed so many secret tunnels and entrances. If he truly did rule his family with the iron fist that locals noted, then it seems he might have needed ways to secretly watch over his family. Tiedemann is also responsible for the hidden rooms, secret tunnels, and even the ballroom, all of which he added nearly 20 years after the house was built.
Others claim that Tiedemann used the secret passages to carry out his fantasies and desires, without the eyes of outsiders watching his movements. A passage leading from the ballroom is believed to be the site where he murdered his niece, and it is also rumored that he kept a secret room somewhere in the Castle to hide the bodies of his victims. The Germans were rumored to also use the passages, and to have a separate secret room where they hid the members they ordered murdered.
Some people claim that one secret passageway leads all the way from the Castle to Lake Eerie, but during restoration, workers discovered that it ended significantly farther from the Lake. During restoration, some of the hidden rooms were also discovered. One room held a large still from the Prohibition era. Given that the Germans were using the Castle during this period in American history, it seems likely that they kept themselves cut off from the city to hide their moonshining. Restoration also found a strange portion of the floor in the carriage house, covered with cement. Given the location of the Castle, this could have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a hiding place for slaves.
Franklin Castle has been the site of several major renovations and restorations over the course of its history, and each one seems to reveal new and hidden secret. During the 1970s, over ten skeletons of babies were discovered in a hidden room. They were rumored to be the bodies of Tiedemann’s children, but if the doctor who boarded there did preform abortions, that would account for the skeletons. Another renovation uncovered an adult sized skeleton in a hidden room near the tower.
Most of the ghostly activity that visitors to Franklin Castle experienced is similar to claims of poltergeist activity; chandeliers hanging from the ceiling move on their own, a strange ooze dripping from the walls, and odd knocking coming from inside the walls. Then there is the activity reminiscent of a more traditional haunting. Visitors have heard voices coming from rooms where no one was, and occasionally inside the walls, and the sounds of a child crying. There is also the sound of people speaking in German heard in certain areas of the house. Other people in the house claim to have seen faces appear in the walls.
Apparitions are one of the most experienced hauntings at Franklin Castle. The ghost of a young girl dressed in black is frequently seen in the tower of the Castle, looking down with a melancholy look on her face. Some claim this spirit, known as Rachel, is the ghost of a servant Tiedemann murdered in that very spot, while others claim she was one of his murdered mistresses, who now wanders the Castle in her afterlife, looking for a way out. The sounds of a woman choking can often be heard in this room. Another young girl is often spotted wandering through the ballroom, but disappears when spoking to. Despite renovations, the ballroom floor has a large stain that resembles blood; the stain disappears after a thorough cleaning, but always comes back.
Whether or not the Franklin Castle is truly haunted, the building has had an interesting history, that only seems to continue. The house was sold by the German Socialist Party in the 1960s, and occupied for less than a decade before being sold again. One family left after their children began talking to their new friend, a young girl who kept trying; another ghost warned the family they would all die suddenly if they didn’t move. A handful of individuals have owned the house for a short period of time, and a local church attempted to use it for a few years. They planned to turn the building into a soup kitchen, and led ghost hunts and Halloween tours through the house. Eventually the church sold the building, but only after experiencing a young female ghost dozens of times.
Another man who purchased the house called in a paranormal investigation team. During their initial investigation, one of the team members ran from the house in fear. A man visiting the house the same year preparing for a television report, watched as something pulled his tape recorder off, and tossed it down the stairs in front of him. The television crew also witnessed the chandelier moving on its own. The same owner is the man who discovered the adult skeleton in a hidden room near the tower. Its been speculated that he placed it there himself, to draw attention to a proposed haunted tour of the house. After discovering the remains, he became sick, lost thirty pounds, and sold the Castle to the Cleveland Police Chief, for the exact amount he paid for the building.
The Police Chief sold the house less than a year later to a man who allowed visitors into the house, provided they record any experience they might have had before leaving. Visitors claimed to see the chandeliers moving, the sound of children crying, and a woman in white or gray walking through the ballroom. The owner consistently maintained the house was not haunted, and lived there for nearly a decade before selling it. The new owner lived in the Castle for 10 years, and spent countless amount of money on renovating and restoring the house, even finding the original key to the front door, and some furnishings owned by the Tiedemann family. The house once again sold, to another owner dedicating to preserving the building. He sold the building a few months later, but claimed he saw no evidence of ghosts or a haunting.
The newest owner of the Franklin Castle, has only led to the rumors and controversy surrounding the building. Michelle Heimburger purchased the building in 1999, planning to finish the restoration. The same year, a homeless man living inside accidentally started a fire that caused over $200,000 in damages. Heimburger continued to live in San Francsisco, and refused requests from the city to fix the damages. Her willingness to cooperate led to threats from the city to tear the building down. The city tried contacting her several times with citations requiring various repairs and issues, but she failed to respond. Heimburger did eventually appear in front of the court to argue her case, and agreed to make the necessary changes and improvements. After returning to her home, she hired a caretaker for the building.
Oddly enough, Franklin Castle has its own Web site, where it claims to be completely renovated and sells memberships to the Franklin Castle Club for $5,000. The caretaker Heimburger hired, Charles Milsaps was responsible for the Franklin Castle Club. Milsaps claims that he plans to buy the house directly, and use several million dollars to complete the renovations. In reality, Milsaps cannot even afford the few repairs he has completed. Several companies have filed suit against him for completed work that Milsaps failed to pay for, and another company placed a lien on the building. Milsaps also appeared on a website, looking for nude models, and mentioning the Castle in his ads. As for the Franklin Castle Club, no memberships have been sold, and most of the amenities described actually belong to someone else.
No matter what may have happened in the Franklin Castle, it’s a story just begging for the Hollywood treatment.
Sources:
www.franklincastleclub.com
www.prairieghosts.com/oh-frank.html
www.forgottenoh.com/Franklin/franklin.html
