C Cleveland

Saturday, October 30, 2010

A few friends and I went to see Paranormal Activity 2 last night and since it sucked so bad, we decided to try some of our own ghost hunting.

Our destination?

Franklin Castle. Just named one of the Most Haunted places in the United States by MSNBC.com.

Built by wealthy wholesale grocer, Hannes Tiedemann, the house located at 4308 Franklin Boulevard, has a colorful history full of buried bones and ghosts. It was built circa 1865 by the prestigious architectural firm, Cudell & Richardson, who designed the rock faced stone mansion.

Hannes and Luise Tiedemanns lost 4 children during the time they lived in the home leading some to speculate on their cause of death. To distract his wife from her grief, Hannes began extensive construction on the home which included a 4th floor ballroom and changes to the façade to make it more "castle" like.



Before you think that Hannes was a compassionate husband, he was said to have killed a servant girl who spurned his advances and murdered his mistress for wanting to marry another man. And his wife died in the house as well. Coincidence? You tell me.

The house has had a number of different owners who tried to make it a church, a doctor's office, a soup kitchen and a family residence.



None last for long.

In the walls of a small room in the back of the house, a pile of baby skeletons were found and their cries are said to be heard in the night.

A black figured woman was seen in the windows and even walking down the street. She disappeared after the bones of a man were found in the front turret. Was she looking for her lover and he was finally found?

The current owner purchased the home for $350,000 in cash when she 25 years old. She can thank a little company called Yahoo for her fortune. A native Clevelander living in Californa, she dreamed of turning the castle into a bed and breakfast but a fire less than a year later halted her plans.

Four years passed and another entrepreneur offered to lease the house from her and turn it into a private club. Needless to say, that never happened, but oddly enough, the website for the club still exists.

Sadly, because of the state of the home and the lack of repairs, the home has been condemned by the City of Cleveland and rumor has it that the current owner has plans to sell.












I wanted to post this video because it shows you how HUGE the house is.



Our pics from last night







Check out the orbs!

We weren't getting in even if our lives depended on it. Which in that neighborhood, it might have.

No chance of seeing a specter in the windows since they're all boarded up

While I was walking around taking pictures, someone was flashing a light at me from behind the house. I think that's the carriage house where the guy lives who tried to turn it into a private club. When that didn't work out, he tried getting rich by shooting porn movies. The owner has given him 30 days to vacate the premises. Douche.

I really hope someone buys the property who can restore it to its former glory. Anyone care to invest with me??

4 comments

  1. Man it would be so cool to have a Halloween party at a place like this. Creepy as hell all night long.

    Peace, Love and Chocolate
    Tiffany

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm a candy arse. I want nothing to do with getting scared on purpose. LOL It does sound kinda cool but I want nuttin to do with it. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. What a faaabulous post, Chrissy!

    Awesome photos, and I had CHILLS while watching the video!

    I freakin' love stuff like this. Haunted houses, ghosts, spirits, ooooooooooooooo! Philly (being so old) also has a plethora of haunted houses. I actually took a ghost tour when I first moved back and it was incredible.

    Yeah, I agree...I hope someone can buy the property and can restore it to it's former glory, because it's a gorgeous home.

    Happy Halloween to you, Bernie, and Vinny!

    X

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Tiffany,
    Yes! In fact, about 8 years ago, my friend tried to rent it out and they said it was only available if you were pre-approved for a 500K loan. We didn't qualify. :-(

    @Simply Suthern,
    Really? I LOVE it!

    @Ron,
    I bet Philly has some great stories of its own. Glad you enjoyed it. Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete

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