Vacation in Haunted Ohio
Abbeyville, Ohio – Cry Baby Bridge – a train bridge in Abbeyville is reported to be haunted. Located on Abbeyville Rd, there are two different stories about this bridge. One being that a young girl back in the 1950’s threw her baby off the bridge in an effort to hide her pregnancy. The church that is next to the bridge is also supposed to be haunted as black masses were held there decades ago. The story goes, if you park under the bridge and turn off your ignition your car will refuse to start again until you push it from underneath the bridge. The say you can also hear the baby crying when its completely silent out. A word of warning; stay off the bridge as it is still used by trains on a daily basis, especially at night.
Adams,Ohio – Blue Creek – Mt. Unger Cemetery – It is known to be that if you go there at night you can still see the image of a man who hung himself so that he could be with his dead wife, whom he killed.
Akron has several.
Akron, Ohio – Archbishop Hoban High School – The new art rooms, tutoring center and admissions office and the school were built in the remodeled building were the old Brothers dormitories had been (The school is run by the Brothers Of Holy Cross). It has been reported that on the feast of St. Joseph (the Brothers patron saint) a line of men in dark priest robe can be seen walking through out the wing of the school looking for their old rooms. They have never been seen anywhere else in the school. The men’s locker rooms are said to be haunted by a boy believed to have played basketball for the school, but was killed in a car crash in the late 1980’s.
The Akron Civic Theatre – Well-known story still told by some of the theatre’s tour guides is that of Fred the janitor. Fred was a life-long employee of the Civic, back in the days when it was called the “Loews Theatre.” He died on the premises, but his ghost still tends to his duties, namely keeping vandals at bay in the bathrooms. The Civic has been the site of many high school proms, and several sightings have been reported of a figure that “attacks” would-be vandals. Another ghost reported many times is that of a young woman who weeps by the canal that still runs under the theatre and through parts of the city underground. This same canal was the lifeline of the city in the early 1800’s, so many think she is a “shade” that remains from the early canal days.
Hower House and TKE House – The Hower House, currently owned by the University of Akron has a well-known female ghost purported to be one of the Howers. She apparently is angry due to husband’s infidelity and likes to scare male workers and guests. There are also reports that one of the fraternity houses nearby is also haunted. This ghost has been seen by students. The ghost is that of a young servant girl who died in the home when it was still used as a residence and is buried in a hard to find grave located behind the house. She has been seen both in the house itself and on the grounds outside.
Norton – Cry Baby Bridge – There is a bridge over in Norton, OH that has been the talk of Akron for a haunting for years. The story is that a pregnant woman had her baby in the lodge house next to the bridge. The woman didn’t want her baby so she threw it over the bridge into the creek at midnight. The story is if you go to the bridge at midnight, you can here the baby cry and watch the lady throw the baby into the creek. There is a rumor that some type of animal guards the creek and it is said to be bigger than a man.
University of Akron – Sigma Nu House – The Sigma Nu House in Akron has been haunted for many years. The house was purchased by Sigma Nu from a sorority on the campus. Legend has it that one of the sorority members hung herself in the boiler room at the house. Many of the Sigma Nu members have had run-ins with her spirit. Still today, no member of Sigma Nu will go into the boiler room by themselves.
Athens also has several
Athens – Ohio University – the most haunted building on campus is Wilson Hall on West Green. County records show that the dorm was built over an old, Indian burial mound. Most of the Wilson Hall hauntings seem to be centered on the fourth floor. Students have reported seeing apparitions, hearing voices, mysterious slamming doors and flying objects.
Ohio University – Washington hall – there was a girl’s basketball team staying in the dorms at Washington hall for a basketball camp, and they were killed on the way home ad since they had such a good time the haunt the arch of Washington hall. if you stand under it long enough you can hear the girls bouncing the balls and giggling.
Athens – Ohio University – Wilson Hall – Reports of banging, cold spots, blood would appear on the walls no mater how many times it was painted. And other strange phenomena such as the face of a demon showing up in the wood grain on a dorm room door, where a girl believed to be possessed killed herself.
The Ridges – Old State Mental Hospital – after being closed in the 1980’s rumored to be haunted by the locals.
Strouds Run – They say that if you go to Strouds Run, at any time of night, you can see a buffalo drinking from the stream. The buffalo was the last buffalo of the area and it was made a law not to kill it. Later locals named the buffalo Stroud. Then one day the British or French, not sure which army it was, killed the buffalo. Well, the U.S got really mad and started killing all the soldiers in the camp. One of the soldiers took the skull of the buffalo and hid all of the army’s money in it then buried it… and it has never been found.
Bainbridge – Chagrin Valley Athletic Club – Library Guests complain of feeling somebody watching them, hearing a whip hitting someone and a little girl crying. The library was an old schoolhouse from the eighteen hundreds and a little girl was hit to death by her teacher.
Bowling Green is said to have several haunted place also.
Bowling Green – BGSU’s Joe E. Brown Theatre – rumored to be haunted by a ghost known as “Alice”. The Hat Room in the theatre is also known to have a strange presence and has sent many a student running out for no explainable reason.
Bowling Green State University – Chi Omega sorority house is haunted by a former pledge from the 1940’or 1950’s that got killed by train on the near by train tracks.
Holcomb Road – the story is that a bunch of kids where on a Catholic field trip and the driver lost control and every one disappeared and they say at night if you shut off your car some one will push it and no one will be there also at night this white thing goes past and there are red eyes far into the woods and in the day time you can see people made out of sticks hanging out from the tree and there is cloths scattered every where and dead cats in the ditches and writing in the stones
Bowling Green State University – There are two ghosts on campus. 1. Alice, a ghost who is suppose to haunt the Joe E. Brown theater on campus. 2. Amanda, a ghost who is suppose to haunt the Chi Omega Sorority house on campus.
Holcomb Woods – The Holcomb Woods are located on Holcomb Road, just off of 199 near Bowling Green. As the legend goes, a bus full of children was traveling down Holcomb Road when the driver grew incredibly angry and steered the bus into the woods, taking out a bunch of small trees and coming to rest at a large one. The driver was killed on impact. It is on this tree that the driver’s face is seen. The bus burst into flames, killing all onboard. If you take Holcomb Road from 199 just past the edge of the woods, you’ll need to turn your vehicle to face 199. Shortly after you turn off your headlights, radio stations will scramble and cell phones will lose signals. A single headlight will come straight at you and suddenly disappear when it reaches the tree.
Wood County Historical Museum – Bowling Green, Ohio Wood County Historical Museum, County Home Road. The museum was one an infirmary and nursing home. Ghostly noises have been heard in and near the shed where insane patients were locked long ago. Also, a padlock on a door was once seen to spin without being touched.
Cedar Point – Amusement Park – The carousel in the park is an old one, with hand carved horses. Legend has it that the man who carved the horses for the carousel caught his wife cheating on him with a jockey from the local horse track. He shot and killed them both for their infidelity. The carousel did not originate in Ohio it is actually from Michigan, near Lake Lansing. The locals there believe that Al Capone used to torture people on the carousel and then dump their bodies into the lake, which is where the haunting actually begins.
There is a black horse on the carousel with bones carved into his mane, and the image of a jockey is carved into the saddle of another horse. Employees have reported hearing the music of the carousel at night while it spins backwards. They have also reported leaving it at night and arriving the next morning to find the horses in different positions
Chillicothe, Ohio’s first capital also has several hauntings.
Chillicothe – Crybaby’s Tunnel – A mother and a newborn were crossing a bridge on a train track. While in the middle of the bridge, a train came which led the mother to toss the baby into the creek. The mother died along with the baby. At night you can see the mother’s spirit and hear the baby crying.
Elizabeth’s grave – Elizabeth is said to have hanged herself from a tree in the cemetery. Her actual gravesite is at the very front of the graveyard, but her tombstone is always located at the rear of the cemetery. It is said that if you move the tombstone to it’s original position it will move itself back to the place where she was believed to have died.
Majestic theater – Reports of hearing screams.
Schrader Road Tunnel – It is said that if you drive through the tunnel with your windows down you can hear the cries of a baby that was killed there. The story says a mother and her daughter died there years ago. The fashion in which they were killed varies on who you ask. There was also a woman that hung herself (or was murdered, then hung) from the north end of the tunnel.
Cincinnati may have the most hauntings in Ohio.
Anderson – Anderson high school – voices are heard by janitors at night and students belongings are moved to different classrooms after school hours.
Buffalo Ridge – There are many reports of hauntings on this road. One is of a car that was doing a gang initiation where you can here a car with stereo blasting, speeding up and down the hills. After a few times of them going down the hill you can hear the screams and the crash of the car. There are also reports of a woman who was killed while trying on her wedding dress, the reports state that she is seen walking around on Buffalo Ridge and East Miami River Road on the anniversary of her death searching for her head that was never found.
Cincinnati Museum of Art – Security guards have reported seeing a 7-foot-tall specter which has no features and merely looks like a huge black “blur” that rises up from a mummy sarcophagus exhibit straight through the ceiling. Another time when the security guards would sneak and take their “catnaps” in the storage room, there was a glowing face hovering inches away from them as the woke. They would proceed to try to evade the spirit but it would block their way as they would maneuver around the room. It would then just simply disappear.
Cincinnati Zoo – Believed to be haunted by a lioness, the sound of soft feet following you. You look back and there is nothing. If you speed up your pace, so do the footsteps a pair of green eyes at the end of the hallway.
Cornell Place Apartments – footsteps and voices are observed here.
Country Hearth Hotel – Strange occurrences noted in room 331. At night it gets ICY cold even when heat is on full blast. Curtain opens and closes on its own and a loud pounding noise can be heard against the wall on the outside of the building near that room and 431 above it. Also, personal items are moved about the room without knowledge. Hotel personnel admit there have been some complaints by guests in the past.
The Cincinnati Subway was built in the 1920’s and in 1924 was put on hold due to budget problems. After the great depression the project was scrapped due to high cost and shortages of steel. the subway tunnels and platform are said top be haunted by the many workers that where killed during construction of the tunnels
Eden Park – Apparition of a woman wearing a black silk dress has been witnessed standing by the gazebo.
Hamilton County – Cincinnati Museum Center – In the early 1990s, the Museum Center was experiencing theft. Apparently, computers were being stolen, and the only security guard to catch them was Shirley. Shirley caught them on the 4th floor, but was shot dead on the spot. Her body was later dumped in Northern Kentucky. She still roams the halls of Union Terminal. Many house keeping women will not walk alone after closing. Doors can be heard locking and footsteps are heard in hallways, when no one is there. One piece of the collection in the Cincinnati History Museum is an airplane from WWII. A pilot is seen inside the plane at night. People crying or welcoming back soldiers can also be heard on the train tracks. (Since Union Terminal was a great railroad station during WWII)
King’s Island theme park – A little girl’s spirit is said to haunt King’s Island along with several other ghosts. The girl has blond hair, blue eyes, and wears a pretty blue dress. She has been seen playing around in Water Works and scares tram drivers by playing hide-and-seek with them after the park is closed. She is thought to be buried in the cemetery that is located between the parking lot and the campgrounds which is on King’s Island property. Another ghost haunted the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. This ghost is thought to be the spirit of a young man who in a drunken stupor tried to climb the tower and fell to his death. It seems though that he has left. There is the ghost known as “the Beast” which haunts the roller coaster with the same name. Several guests have seen this ghost. There is a ghost that supposedly died on the ride “the Octopus”. There are many other spirits that roam this Paramount theme park.
Lick Road – A ghost named Amy haunts this road. Amy was murdered by her boyfriend. If you go down to the dead end of the road you can hear screams.
Maude Hughes Road – There are many strange occurrences here at Maud Hughes Road. Located in Fairfield. There is a railroad trestle were according to legend, a car stalled out on the tracks, and the man of the car left to go get help why his girlfriend stayed in the car. Upon returned he found his girlfriend hanging from the bridge above the tracks, and then he perished. At night, if you stop your car on the bridge, you hear the whole conversation take place, then hear the lady scream, and then the gentleman return only to be killed screaming
Mother of Mercy High School -This high school was built in the 1920’s and is home to a ghost named Sister Mary Carlos. She has been known to haunt the school’s auditorium that is named after her. People have reported the lights flickering and things being mysteriously moved about in the theater. Most of these strange occurrences seem to occur during a show. It is now a tradition for the drama teacher to invite her to every performance. Otherwise, something will go wrong.
Mount Notre Dame High School – A girl attending the school who killed herself in the early 40’s has been known to haunt the 3rd floor of the school. She opens up all the lockers on the 3rd floor. Also every light has been seen on in the building at night after the school has been locked up.
Music Hall – Many workers who clean the building at night have seen and heard many strange things. One maintenance man was going in the maintenance elevator in the back of the building when he heard people whispering very angrily at him. As a historical note I should tell you that Music Hall was built over a pauper’s cemetery and in the 80’s when they were renovating they found many graves. Anyway one worker was in the building at night by himself and he heard laughter coming from one of the ballrooms, when he investigated he saw several men and women dressed in 1800’s clothing. This next event took place during the day and several women witnessed it. Several women were preparing for an event that was to be held there when they all heard a beautiful female voice. They searched the whole building but they found nothing. None of them felt threaten because the voice was so beautiful.
Oak Hills High School – A short woman haunts the auditorium, rumor is it is the woman the auditorium is named after. She turns off lights, shuts doors, appears up in the crow’s nest, the cat walk above the stage, seated towards the back of the auditorium and wandering around stage.
Old Western Wood Mall – During renovation in 1998-99, a security guard reported to his supervisor that when he passed through a doorway back to where fitting rooms used to be, the ambient air temperature dropped about 20 degrees and there was a definite presence. The supervisor mentioned that she’d noticed this herself and not to repeat this information to anyone. Being a practicing witch, the guard returned the next night and attempted to contact the presence. Using a pendulum, he tracked the “source” to a sub-basement containing a water heater and meters. SOMETHING had happened there, but he was unable to a certain exactly what. Nicknaming the presence “Charlie”, he became accustomed to being “escorted” on his rounds through that section of the building.
Rapid Run Middle School – Its haunted by the guy who died in the auditorium while building it. He had fallen off a ladder. The lights have gone off, chairs were missing during the concert.
Satan’s Hollow – Located in Blue Ash, a suburb of Cincinnati, Satan’s Hollow is and old sewer system that used to house the infamous “alter room” in a mysteriously dry tunnel. This is where a group of Satanists made animal sacrifices and opened a door into hell. Female screams can be heard at night and there have been many sightings of various apparitions, including floating skulls and the demon YG, commonly known as the Shadow Man.
Spring Grove Cemetery – located on the outskirts of St. Bernard it has a nice history of weird and unexplained stuff. One of the most unusual is at lot 100, it is a bronze face about 7 feet off the ground when its raining the eyes do very weird things rumor has it contains his real eyes. Witnesses claim that the head will turn and look at you as you pass by. the Mitchell memorial a huge gothic style castle in the front of the cemetery on the front lakes if you sit on the porch high off the ground 2 white dogs will run by sometimes they stop and look at you they seem to shine. – WARNING – As with any of the places mentioned here, it is best to see if you need permission to visit these places, but above all RESPECT these places. This particular place seems to have a history of persons not respecting it receiving streaks of bad luck.
St. Xavier High School – There is a ghost here that was once a janitor working for the high school when one night, unexpectedly, he hung himself with a dishrag in a Men’s bathroom stall. He reportedly haunts the hallways and Men’s bathrooms throughout the school to this day.
Taft Museum – This ghost will lock a room that’s filled with art works using a chair under the doorknob, especially if you re-arrange it the night before.
Taylor High School – A while back a janitor was working in a small room between two science classrooms on a ladder alone. The man suddenly had a heart attack and was found by the secretary the next morning when she called for him and no reply she went up and found him….now during class there are doors opening and closing with no one nearby and at night janitors recall doors all being opened perfectly at 90 degree angle Also when the schools pool was first put in, a student wandered down there without even hearing about it yet talking on the cell phone tripped, and right into the pool drowning. Now when you go into the boy’s locker rooms you can hear toilets flush by themselves and splashing in the pool even when it’s not filled.
Texas Roadhouse – People have said to have seen a man dressed in a cowboy uniform walking around at night after the restaurant has closed. He is said to be looking for his lost love and his arm that was lost in a cattle drive.
Western Hills High School – There are adjoining doors to the now-empty swimming pool from the boys and girls locker rooms. One day, a foreign exchange student decided to skip gym class. He opened the first door, and the area was very dark. He heard a noise, and began running, stumbling right into the swimming pool. A janitor heard screaming, opened the door and turned on the light. The student was being pushed under water by something invisible. To this day, at 1:24 in the afternoon, you can hear screaming and splashing.
The Westwood Town Hall – is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former security guard who was employed there when Westwood was an independent town before merging with others. He was relieved of his position and hanged himself in a room close to the apartment that he lived in on the premises. He is known as “Willy”. Several people have reported stage sets, costumes and orderly things found is disarray that was used in performances.
Columbus – Children’s Hospital – The hospital is believed to be built over a grave yard, and if you go to the park at night time, you can feel things and you might see something.
Columbus State Community College – The ghosts that haunt it are there because the school was built directly on top of a Catholic cemetery. It is a few blocks away from Kelton house, mentioned above.
Fort Hayes Metropolitan High School – The school is partly built in remaining buildings of a civil war camp. Many of the old buildings still remain and are used for classes. One building was a hospital and it is home to many roaming spirits! People have heard the cries of dying and injured, spirits have been seen walking the halls dressed in old nurses uniforms and some soldiers roam it too. Another building is called “The Shot Tower” and it is home to numerous spirits. It was a tower to make ammunition during the Civil War. Many people lost their lives in the building, by accident, suicide, murder. Some students report they can not go to the top floor out of fear of what they feel is up there. The science building was once the mess hall and students have said one foggy mornings soldiers can be seen carrying their chow from the building and fading out of sight in the field across from the building. In the new buildings of the school, lockers have been said to open and close while the halls are empty. Footsteps are often heard in the stairwells at odd times. Many students say if they are in the halls during classes when the halls are empty, they feel like they are being followed or watched. There is more to the buildings and the fields at Ft Hayes.
Greenlawn Cemetery – is a site of multiple hauntings. The main mausoleum is haunted, as are a lot of the graves in the main cemetery.
Dayton – Witches Tower – It is a tower about 6 stories high, which was built on top of a burial ground in the time of the Civil War. The legend is that a woman climbed to the top of it one night and committed suicide. and actually see her standing up there, in a long black robe walking around on the top, and looking over the edge.
Greenville – McMecham road – it is said to be old burial grounds now newly built on it is said that many houses have hauntings as well as dark black figures will follow you down the road when walking late at night when you start to run from the figure behind you one will come from the front and they will try to chase you off there grounds
Greenville – Memorial Hall – This place for plays and musicals is haunted by an old man who once fell to his death changing one of the high light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
Springfield – North High School – The Stage in the auditorium is haunted by the ghosts of two children, a boy, and a girl. Before the school was built there, it was a graveyard to the children’s home across the field. All of the graves were moved to not to far away, to accommodate the school, but somehow, two tombstones were lost, maybe even the graves themselves. These graves were located where the stage is now, that is all that is known. Legend says, and it is commonly believed that the graves were left there, but this is not 100% known. Today, there has been sightings, of a boy playing on the catwalk, and you can here little footsteps and laughs like children playing there; a boy and a girl.
There is many more I have not listed. THE STATE OF OHIO IS FILLED WITH ALL MANNER OF LEGENDS & LORE, FROM HAUNTED MANSIONS TO FORGOTTEN PLACES. Every county in Ohio has its own haunted place so when in Ohio just ask residents if they know of any? I’m sure you will find a place to investigate and maybe run into a ghost or two so be careful in your exploration
