Franklin Castle can be found on Franklin Boulevard in the part of Cleveland which was known as "Millionaire's Row," at one time, though the neighborhood now is in a somewhat depressed state, yet is clean and graffiti free.

Address: Franklin Castle, 4308 Franklin Boulevard Northwest, Cleveland, OH 44113.

Description:

This huge, 4 story, Gothic stone Mansion/Castle has 20 rooms, with secret passageways, hidden rooms, turrets, gargoyles, and sports a ballroom on the 4th floor. The rooms are filled with "beautifully carved paneling" and has the original wood plank floors. However, this gorgeous, one of a kind Mansion /Castle has an infamous reputation of having an evil, dark & brooding secret or two, as well as being haunted by some very disturbed, if not sinister entities that have terrified and annoyed the living.

Behind the castle there seems to be another living unit above the garage, which must of been the old carriage house.

Tom and I visited the castle, and it has a creepy / sinister feel to it, like no other haunted place we have visited. YIKES! Besides having all the windows boarded up, and the run-down condition of the yard, its personna gives one the goose bumps and radiates an uneasy feeling, which jumps out at the visitor. I wouldn't like to live next door to this property or even across the street from it. The stone work was impressive and it is a shame that it is still in a run-down condition.

History:

Franklin Castle, known also as Tiedemann Castle, was built in 1864, started off on the right foot, as it was the made-to-order custom dream home of the wealthy Hannes and Luise Franklin, who were very successful in the wholesale grocery and wine business.

However, in 1881, members of the Franklin family began to die under mysterious circumstances, the first ones being their 15 year old daughter, Emma, and Hanne's 84 year old mother. In 1883, three more of the Franklin children supposedly died of some illness, though the neighbors suspected something more sinister at the time. All these deaths devastated Luise, who was very distraught, and didn't deal with it well. She put all her energy into improving the mansion with hidden rooms and turrets, and other oddities that can be seen now in the present Mansion. After Luise died, Hannes sold the mansion, remarried, and moved away.

In 1913, the mansion was bought by the German Socialist Party, which used the place solely for meetings and parties for 55 years, and basically no one living stayed there, with the exception of one man. Since 1968, various families/ individuals have owned the Franklin Castle, and all have experienced annoying to terrifying events.

There was a fire in the castle around 2001, caused by a homeless man. The owner at this time was in the process of renovating and repairing the castle, but the damage caused by the fire eventually proved to be too big an obstacle, so he wound up selling the property to another individual around 2003 who had plans to turn the place into a private club. He has a sign posted on the front, advertising this new coming club, which isn't in existence yet.

When we visited the castle on our summer of 2006 cross county trip, the castle was still in its long in the tooth condition, as it seems renovation is going slowly for this owner as well. One wonders why.

Manifestations:

The unhappy, angry, and some say evil entities that make Franklin Castle their home, have had a long history of bothering, bullying and scaring the living, to say the least.

2) The one man to stay at the Castle during the thirties was ill, and needed the care of a nurse. She was scared out of her job one night when she heard the loud, mournful crying of a child, long dead.

3) In 1968, the large, unsuspecting Romano family, consisting of Mr. & Mrs. Romano and their 6 children, moved into what they thought was their new home, with plans to open a restaurant. They learned that they had unpleasant company as fellow housemates on the day they moved in. Busy with unpacking, the parents sent their twin 2 year olds and twin 3 year olds upstairs to play. They came down and told their puzzled parents about how they found a sad little girl in a long dress, and asked for a cookie to try to cheer her up. After a search of the upstairs no such child was found. This scenario happened several times.

4) Next, Mrs. Romano heard organ music coming from a non-existent organ. She also heard heavy footfalls, described as tramping/marching up on the third floor, as if telling the living to stay away from the third floor. Feeling that unfriendly presence(s) had claimed the third and fourth floors, and the living were unwelcome, the children were no longer allowed to play on those floors, and that the adults would no longer be going there alone.

5) Mrs. Romano's instincts were proven to be correct, when three friends came to visit them. The three friends decided to take a look at the third floor. As they went up the stairs to get there, they were surprised to see an eerie, "vaporous blanket of fog" materialize right in front of them. One brave soul walked toward this vaporous thing to investigate what it was. Before she could get close, she began to lose her eyesight, and her friends pulled her free from this insidious entity, before she fainted. After this scary incident, the third floor was searched and no possible physical explanation for this cloud could be found.

6) Whatever was occupying the top two floors, wasn't satisfied with only having half the floor space. On Halloween, the phone rang around 12:00 am, waking up Mrs. Romano. On the other end of the phone, a voice which sounded like it came from the grave asked her, "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Perhaps it was one of the ghosts of the dead children, wanting some comfort. Mrs. Romano screamed, and threw the phone. She vowed never to answer another phone call in the middle of the night.

7) About a week later, Mrs. Romano awoke from a deep sleep and found herself in the middle of the bedroom floor, screaming so loud that she had lost her voice. Some unseen presence was screaming with her.

8) Some unknown presence pulled the covers off the beds of the two oldest boys.

After consulting a psychic Catholic priest, Mrs. Romano learned that the main culprit that was tormenting her was Luise Franklin, and that at times she was actually possessed or taken over by Luise. He also identified the entity that was racing up and down the stairs and slamming the doors, as that of the 15 year old, Emma. The priest advised the family to move out because he felt evil presences that didn't accept them as owners of the mansion, and wanted them to leave. In 1974, the Romano family sold Franklin Castle because Mrs. Romano had become physically ill, and the house was "getting the best of her."

The next owner, Samuel Muscatello turned Franklin Castle into a church, and gave tours to raise money. One photographer, while sitting downstairs with the owner, heard a woman call his name. When he bounded up the stairs, no one was there. A disc Jockey who took a tour, saw something that shook him up, but he wouldn't share what happened. When John Webster, who came to the castle to get info for a radio program on hauntings, something ripped the large tape recorder from his shoulder, and threw it down the stairs, smashing it into pieces.

Muscatello sold Franklin Castle when the church idea didn't work out. After a couple of other owners. Franklin Castle wound up in the hands of George Mirceta who lived there alone during the week, and gave tours on the weekends. After each 2 hour tour, George passed out cards and asked his visitors to write down if they saw anything unusual. Some spotted a woman in black in the tower room, a woman in white, some felt temporarily paralyzed, and some found themselves "Babbling incoherently." George himself had heard babies crying, but he claimed he didn't believe in ghosts, and wouldn't be living there if he did. He rationalized everything that had happened there, must have logical explanations, even if he didn't know what they were.

Finally, George Mirceta admitted that the mansion was haunted, and visitors who took his weekend tours still experienced strange phenomena, saw apparitions and felt presences, as he had written down everything reported to him in a log.

Still Haunted?

Yes indeed as there is no reason why these disturbed spirits would leave; No successful exorcisms or blessings of the rooms have been conducted. Something creepy does indeed reside within these stone walls; one can feel it from the street. Perhaps a serious exorcism attempt would do some good, and make the place livable. Perhaps not!

Sources include: Beth Scott & Michael Norman: Haunted Heartland
and The National Directory of Haunted Places, by Dennis William Hauck.