On this month's Morbidly Fascinating Page:

The Franklin Castle is reportedly the most haunted house in Ohio

While knocking down a wall in January 1975, Sam Muscatello (who owned Franklin Castle for a short time) made the grim discovery of a partial human skeleton concealed in a void within the castle walls of the second floor. Muscatello was using the house as a Universalist Church at the time.

Many people believe that Franklin Castle is haunted. Some of the location’s most infamous stories include:

• The skeletal remains found behind one of the walls
• The arsonist who wished to burn the old house down “because it is pure evil”
• All sorts of ghostly activity, such as strange noises and disembodied voices, the phantom of a woman in black, and a dark presence that makes people physically ill

The Franklin Castle today

When you're driving down Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland, the last thing you'd expect to see is a castle. But then again, when you're talking about the infamous Franklin Castle, anything is possible.

Often referred to as the most haunted house in all of Ohio, whispered rumors about Franklin Castle (aka the Tiedermann House) began almost as soon as Hannes Tiedemann had it built in the period between 1881-1883. Tiedemann, a successful German banker who had founded the Euclid Avenue Savings and Trust, was looking for a unique home that would also reflect his new-found success as a banker. Turning to the famous architectural firm of Cudell and Richardson, Tiedemann got what he was looking for. When completed, the four-story turreted Franklin Castle came complete with close to 30 rooms, a grand ballroom that took up the entire fourth floor, and even a carriage house. The outside of the house was adorned with gargoyles and intricate carvings filled the interior. The top floor of the Castle also provided wonderful views of both downtown Cleveland and Lake Erie.

Upon completion, Tiedemann moved with his wife, Louise, into Franklin Castle along with his mother, Wiebeka, and several servants. The first few years in Franklin Castle were happy ones for the Tiedemann family and were marked by the birth of several children. Soon, however, a dark cloud would come to settle over the Castle.

Hannes Tiedemann sold Franklin Castle in 1896--just one year after his wife Louise died. In the century that followed, the house saw many new owners and several new uses. For forty-seven of those years--from 1921 to 1968--the house was known as Eintracht Hall. During these years, it was the home of the German-American League for Culture, an ethnic cultural organization that, in its early years, was involved in political causes, and, in later years, functioned as a German singing club.

Around the time that the German club sold the house in 1968, rumors began to circulate around the west side of Cleveland that the house was haunted.

Who are the ghosts?

The Tiedemann family

The ghosts:

• The skeletal remains: Bones were found in one of the walls in the 1970s. The person’s identity was never confirmed. It’s unclear if they died in the house or were walled up after death. But their restless soul may be trapped in the place where their body was given such an improper grave.
• The Woman in Black: Several witnesses have seen the apparition of a woman in a black dress in and around the tower room. Some say it’s the spirit of a woman named Rachel whom Hannes Tiedemann fell in love with. But she didn’t love him back. When she mysteriously turned up dead, people in town suspected foul play. Did the bones in the walls belong to Rachel?
• Louise and Emma Tiedemann (Emma is said to be the "young girl in white" who is claimed to be seen by many) who died inside the old home.

Beginning in 1881, tragedy began to stalk the Tiedemann family. Tiedemann's mother, Wiebeka, and his daughter, 15-year-old Emma, died within weeks of each other.

Legend says that it was during this time that the infamous hidden rooms and secret passageways were constructed inside Franklin Castle. Why they were created is something open to debate. Some say they were created by Tiedemann simply as a way of taking his wife's mind off the recent death of her daughter. Others, however, say the rooms and passages were designed so that Tiedemann could commit heinous crimes, including murdering his niece, a servant girl, and even his own daughter, Emma, without being detected. There are still others who hold firm to the belief that Mrs. Tiedemann herself had the passages created so that she could sneak past her overbearing husband undetected.

When Louise Tiedemann passed away in 1895, her death was also attributed to the curse or worse yet, murder at the hands of her husband, Hannes, who remarried shortly thereafter. After Louise's death, Hannes sold Franklin Castle to a local brewer named Mullhauser and moved out. Some say that even Hannes' leaving the Castle was not enough to escape Franklin Castle's power and in 1908, Hannes died suddenly. Incredibly, Hannes' death brought about the end of the Tiedemann family tree as the rest of Hannes' entire family, including his grandsons, had all passed away before him. A family curse or just the early deaths that happened before the use of modern medicine?

Hannes Tiedemann

Hannes Johannes Tiedemann

Born April 12, 1832--Died January 22, 1908

Tiedemann's mother died, next his daughter Emma, and then his wife passed away at 57.

After so much death surrounded him, eyebrows were raised and suspicions surfaced about Hannes Tiedemann.

"Everything from doors opening and closing. Footsteps. Things moving around. Some people have reported putting something down and then going back later to find it, and it wouldn't be there, and then the next day, it would be in a different room on a different floor," said William Krejci, the co-author of a new book titled, Haunted Franklin Castle.

But, Krejci says any dark rumors about Hannes Tiedemann were completely unfounded.

"They were very kind people. Mr. Tiedemann was a benefactor of the community. He was a generous man. He gave often to various charities. He was not the monster that has been made out in all these stories about the castle. There's just no truth to that," said Krejci.

Krejci has had some of his own unexplained experiences while inside the home.

"Small stuff. Footsteps, voices and/or the radio turning on, on my phone. Things like that," added Krejci.

Hidden rooms

In 1975, a reporter found one of the many hidden rooms

Franklin Castle actually contains numerous hidden passages, secret rooms, and even a trapdoor leading to a defunct tunnel, with some visitors and paranormal investigators discovering secret stairwells and passages connecting rooms or leading outside, adding to its spooky allure and history of tragic events. 

Sam Muscatello (who owned Franklin Castle for a short time) also began searching the house from top to bottom for more of the alleged secret passageways. His first discovery was an old still that seemed to be leftover from Prohibition days. The most shocking discovery, however, was found behind a hidden panel in the tower. Tucked neatly inside was a pile of human bones. Although few deny that real human bones were removed from Franklin Castle, who they belonged to and how they ended up there has long been debated. The final verdict by authorities was simply that the bones were indeed human and that they were very old.

The interior of the castle

A tragic fire in 1999 left the interior severely damaged, creating a major setback for future renovations. The castle has changed hands multiple times, with many ambitious plans for its restoration never fully realized. 

What paranormal investigators found

The creepy-loving crew from Destination America’s "Paranormal Lockdown" are the only TV ghost investigators ever to be invited inside the ominous Cleveland icon.

Hosted by Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman, this show investigated the Franklin Castle (the Tiedemann House) in Cleveland, Ohio, in a landmark 2016 episode, making it the first TV crew allowed inside the famously haunted mansion, where they documented alleged ghostly activity, including disembodied voices and sightings of spirits like the rumored Woman in Black, encountering intense phenomena over their 72-hour lockdown. 

See the episode featuring the Franklin Castle HERE

Even though most paranormal investigation TV shows are not invited, you can spend the night in the Franklin Castle. Go HERE to learn how to book your stay...if you dare.