FEAR FACTS: Franklin Castle in Cleveland, Ohio, USA With the appearance of the quintessential haunted mansion, Franklin Castle was built in 1881 by Hannes Tiedemann several blocks from Lake Erie on Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio. Designed in the Queen Anne style of gray granite blocks with several gables and turrets, it stands four stories high and contains thirty rooms. It is clear that Franklin Castle was built to withstand the test of time which it has done much better than some of its occupants. Its interior only adds to its mysterious air with hidden wall panels that provide access to secret passageways and rooms. There is a tunnel that was built to connect the house to Lake Erie. The purpose of these unusual features is not known with certainty, but Franklin Castle’s sad and sometimes shocking history only confirms that the mansion may well continue to hold paranormal energy and secrets to this day. Hannes Tiedemann was a German immigrant that made his fortune as the founder of Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue Savings and Trust after starting out as a barrel maker and grocer. Tiedemann planned on enjoying his wealth with his wife, Luise, and the family they would raise. Their lives began happily with the birth of a son, August, and a daughter, Emma. But Emma’s death in 1881 at age 15 from diabetes set the lives of the occupants of Franklin Castle on a downward spiral. Tiedemann’s mother died in the house shortly after Emma. The deaths of the three youngest Tiedemann children followed over the next few years. One was an infant only 11 days old. Their childrens deaths devastated the Tiedemanns, and Hannes focused his energy on updating and remodeling Franklin Castle. Luise’s death certificate states ‘liver trouble’ as the cause of her death at age 57 in 1895. Hannes hired an architect to make the mansion more ‘castle-like’ so several gables, a turret, a ballroom and gas lighting were added. This is also when the secret passageways and rooms were added. Neighbors began to wonder if something peculiar, even evil, was taking place behind the walls of the castle. Hannes remarried a woman he met while on a trip to Germany, but the marriage was not happy. Hannes divorced her and left her nothing in his will. By the end of 1908 the entire Tiedemann family had passed on. Hannes was the last to go. He fell to the ground while on a stroll in a park. He suffered a massive stroke and died on the spot. To this day people report seeing the spirit of an older, well-dressed gentleman walking in the park. Franklin Castle was sold to the Mullhauser family who sold it to the German National Socialist Party in 1913. All the while, rumors continued to swirl about the activities that went on in the mansion. Some said Hannes had many extramarital affairs though he presented himself as the devoted family man. It was said he murdered a woman who became known as the ‘woman in black’. No one knows exactly who she is, but she is either a servant girl or a mistress believed to be named Rachel. One story is Hannes killed a servant girl on her wedding day because she rejected his advances. The other story is that he strangled his mistress, Rachel, in a jealous rage because she wanted to marry someone else. Most believe it is the latter because sounds of choking are heard when the apparition of the ‘woman in black’ is seen. There is another rumor that Tiedemann hung his niece from a rafter in one of the secret rooms of the house because either she was insane or that he caught his niece in bed with his grandson. Reportedly the German National Socialist Party held meetings and rallies in the mansion until they sold it in 1968 to the Romano family. The Party also reportedly rented out rooms to boarders. One might have been a doctor who did medical experiments there because in the 1970’s bones were discovered in one of the rooms on the upper floors during cleaning. They were sent to the medical examiner who ruled they were ‘old bones’. The Romano family and many owners after them tried to operate businesses in Franklin Castle but were unable to get them off the ground mainly due to strange sounds and sightings people heard and saw in the mansion. The Romano children reported seeing a little girl crying on one of the upper floors. Mrs. Romano reported hearing footsteps, organ music playing and glass clinking when no one was in the house with her. Reportedly, Mr. Romano asked a Catholic priest to exorcise the house. He refused, but he did say he felt there was an evil presence in the house. Over the years Franklin Castle has had a number of owners who have held it for a few years and then sold it. In 1999 vandals set it on fire, and in 2011 the carriage house caught fire. In the mid 2000’s Charles Milsaps, a real estate developer, tried unsuccessfully to turn it into a night club. He was also conducting paranormal ghost tours in the castle. In 2012 it was purchased by a European tapestry artist who is planning to occupy two of the three dwelling spaces he is having built in Franklin Castle. He said he hoped to rent out the third. Is it possible there are unseen boarders already in residence? Only time will tell. ~ VPI
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 11:06:32 +0000
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