Franklin Castle

As a child in Los Angeles my fascination with all things macabre was unquenchable. I read everything I could get my grubby lil mitts on that was about monsters, ghosts and haunted houses. At 6 I read a book called Haunted houses and they had a section about the Franklin Castle. In the first paragraph it went on to say that of all the haunted houses in the world none could match the The Franklin Castle in looking exactly what you would expect a Haunted house to look like. Stories of the goings on in the castle as well as so called photo evidence fascinated me from that second on with this stately macabre beauty. One day my mother asked if I wanted to move to Cleveland and my immediate answer was yes "that's where the haunted castle is, can we live in it???" The answer was of course no, but I never let that deter me from studying this Cleveland anomalie. I after all these years now have the privilege of sharing The Franklin Castle with all those others who have been curious about this grand estate and its real history. After seeing how beautiful it is I often wonder how this house that once seeming filled with such happy memories turned into one of the most reported haunted houses of all time. Mired in a dark history, Franklin Castle's thirty rooms and four stories hold numerous secrets, and it still stands as one of the most purportedly haunted homes in Ohio. Tours are now being offered for you to personally judge if the 100s of reports about The Franklin Castle being haunted are real proof of otherworldly existence or just another example of peoples irrational internal fear getting the best of them. During the tour the known factual history of the Castle will be given and you may find it vastly different that the urban legends that have surrounded The Franklin Castle For Over 100 years. The following has been taken from the HorrorChannels { http://www.horrorchannel.com/ } page on The Franklin Castle. The Information is the document is the common knowledge of the Castle{some aspects have been changed to rectify incorrect dates that could be substantiated as well as updated information on the future plans for this Cleveland Architectural beauty. Many of the Claims made in the article have been researched but have turned up inconclusive because of lack of witnesses or poor record keeping.Reported History In 1861 a German immigrant named Hannes Tiedemann, a former barrel-maker and wholesale grocer who went into banking, built the lavish home and soon after moved in with his wife, Luise, and his mother, Weibeka. Over the next few years the Tiedemann family was blessed with the arrival of two children, August and Emma. Serenity, however, was not long lived in Franklin Castle, as aslo in 1881 the seeds of things to come were planted. The first casualty of the house was fifteen-year-old Emma, who died of complications due to diabetes. Since death from such diseases was commonplace at the time, not much thought was given to it, but soon after, Tiedemann's mother also died within the walls of Franklin Castle. Over the next three years Hannes Tiedemann buried three more children, the youngest of which was just eleven days old, and rumors began to spread that perhaps there was more to the deaths than originally thought. ? Tiedemann enlisted the aid of a prominent architectural firm and began to add on to the house. Over the next few years a ballroom was added on the fourth floor along with a honeycomb of hidden rooms and secret passages. Stone gargoyles were also added to the roof, giving the place a more sinister and castle-like design. It was within one of the secret passages that the first overt murder took place in Franklin Castle, and the victim was Hannes' own niece. Some claim the child was insane, and he simply put her out of her misery. Others tell a different tale in which Hannes caught the girl in bed with his grandson and made her pay the ultimate price for her promiscuity. In 1895, only a few short years after the death of her last child, Luise died at the age of 57. Hannes' remarriage a short time later gave rise to the rumors that something more than liver disease had ended her life and kindled the old notions that there were too many untimely deaths within the house's walls for it to be coincidence. Tiedemann sold the house in 1895 to the Mullhauser family and died within a few years of a massive stroke. Less than twenty years later the Mullhauser family sold the castle to the German Socialist Party, which used it for official meetings and such, though many believed they were actually Nazi spies. More blood was spilled within the walls of the house when twenty of the Party’s members were executed by machine-gun in one of the castle's secret rooms. Though they owned the house for nearly fifty-five years, most of the time the house was vacant. In January of 1968 James Romano and his family bought the house from the German Socialist Party and immediately began experiencing unexplainable phenomena. His children befriended a "little girl in the attic" who did nothing but cry in a dusty corner, but no child could ever be found. This event continued unabated despite the Romano family calling on the aid of a priest and even the Northeast Ohio Psychical Research Society. In the middle of the night on their first night of investigation, one of their team members fled the house in terror. Shortly thereafter, while investigating strange noises, Mrs. Romano discovered a hidden room, and inside she found the skeletons of at least one dozen babies. The Romano family sold the house to a man named Sam Muscatello, who was intrigued by its reputation and history. He began to explore the house in earnest and made a most gruesome discovery. Behind a sliding panel inside the castle's turret, he found a man's skeleton. The discovery affected Muscatello in a strange way as he became sick and quickly lost nearly thirty pounds in only a few weeks. The house continued to switch hands with each owner staying for less time than the last and often selling at a loss. Reports of babies crying through the night and unseen visitors pacing the halls continued to perpetuate until 1999, when Michelle Heimburger, who was well-aware of the castle's reputation, bought it with plans of renovation. ? Ghost storys: Restless souls abound in Franklin Castle, the most prominent of which is the "Lady in Black." In life her name was Rachel, a serving girl in the Tiedemann household and, rumor had it, Hannes' lover. On the day she was to be married, Hannes flew into a jealous rage and strangled her in the ballroom. He then stashed her body in one of the secret passages. She has been sighted in the turret windows as well as dancing through the fourth floor ballroom. A paperboy once went to the door of the house and knocked. He heard a voice calling to him to "come on in." When he did, he discovered no one home, but a woman in black sailed down the stairs past him, disappearing into an adjacent room. Another ghost is that of the child who interacted with the Romano family. She was always crying, they said, and the children seemed quite fond of her. The Romano's sold the house, however, after the child warned them of an impending death in the family. In addition, the sounds of babies crying can be heard at night in the house as can the sounds of an organ being played despite the fact that no such instrument is in the house. Other phenomena that have been recorded include footsteps on floors where there is no one and the main chandelier spinning about without any outside influence. Present Day: With the help of real estate investor Charles Milsaps and architect Robert Maschke, this beautiful mansion is being restored to its former glory. Owner Heimburger had slow going of it as part of the house was set ablaze by an arsonist a few years ago, but the renovations continue. The house is soon to be opened as an exclusive club in the near future. The Franklin Castle Club will soon be a private club serving lunch and dinner to its members. Its rooms will have been made into private suites for guests,dining rooms and a club, leaving the ballroom for large functions. The Franklin Castle Club will soon be a private club serving lunch and dinner to its members. Its rooms will have been made into private suites for guests,dining rooms and a club, leaving the ballroom for large functions. If you would like more information on Staying at the Franklin Castle's Bed and Breakfast when the renovations are completed go to http://www.franklincastleclub.com/ for updated information on the status of this incredible project or for information on how to become a member of the Franklin Castle Club. I personally would like to thank Charles Milsaps for taking on this Amazing Endeavor that will be reminiscent of a deliciously decadent history that has been lost to the past till now, as well gift towards the bright future for this fair city. I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.1