Franklin Castle: Ohio’s Most Haunted Home
Cleveland, Ohio — Perched on Franklin Boulevard, a grand but brooding Victorian mansion has carried a reputation for nearly a century: Franklin Castle.
The Origins
The house stood tall, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, with a warm glow that whispered promises of hope and a bright future.
It was 1881 when Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant who had clawed his way into wealth, ordered stone and timber hauled into Cleveland’s west side. To the neighbors, the house was a monument — turrets stabbing the gray sky, ironwork curling like frozen ivy, windows watching like cold eyes. It was the kind of house that whispered legacy.
But legacies are cruel things. Within months of the first hearth fire, tragedy set in. Emma, Tiedemann’s young daughter, died inside those grand walls — the first of many. His mother, then more children, and finally his wife, Louise. Death came so often that neighbors began to murmur: was it misfortune, or something darker bleeding through the mortar?
Tiedemann responded not with retreat but with obsession. He widened the house, carving in secret rooms and hidden corridors that seemed less for convenience than concealment. A grand ballroom was raised, though its laughter never outshone the silence of graves. Passageways threaded through walls, staircases curled without reason, and doors opened onto nowhere.
They whispered that Hannes stalked those shadowy corridors, a restless sentinel forever hunting an invisible threat. Whispers filled the dark corners of Cleveland, and people began to wonder: was the house cursed, echoing with the unseen grief, or a sanctuary built to hold secrets?
The stone held the answer. And the stone never spoke.
The Gothic Mystique
Franklin Castle is more than stone and mortar; it’s a riddle disguised as architecture. Every corner of its design seems to conceal a story, and none of them feel entirely innocent.
Behind its carved wood panels and heavy doors lie secret passageways, narrow enough for a man to slip through, winding into the bowels of the house. Some led to hidden chambers with no windows, no purpose, and no explanation. Others ended abruptly with a brick wall, as if someone had sealed away not just the corridor but what it contained.
There is a ballroom, too, a cavernous space said to have been built not for society’s glitter but for something more sinister. Rumors whispered of Tiedemann hosting private gatherings where propriety dissolved under candlelight. To stand in that room even now is to feel that the walls are holding their breath, waiting for the music to begin again.
And then there is the turret, a stone tower that rises above Franklin Boulevard like a sentinel. Its narrow windows watch the street below, and locals swore it gave the impression of eyes — following, unblinking, long after the Tiedemann family was gone.
Later owners uncovered even stranger details: doors opening to brick, staircases leading nowhere, and trapdoors that hinted at escape routes or hiding places. The house seemed less a residence than a labyrinth — a design with purpose buried too deep to read.
For Clevelanders, these details became more than quirks of construction; they became a defining characteristic of the city. They became evidence. Proof that Tiedemann had secrets, and that Franklin Castle had been built not to display his wealth, but to guard his sins.
Reported Hauntings
Franklin Castle does not give up its ghosts quietly. Those who’ve crossed its threshold speak of a darkness that breathes — an unseen weight that presses against the skin, as if the house itself is aware you’ve entered.
The first sign is often the crying of infants, thin and piercing, drifting from empty rooms. The sound climbs into the sharp keening of a woman, the wail echoing off stone walls until it vanishes into silence. There is no child, no grieving mother — only the memory of loss replaying itself over and over.
In the narrow halls, the air turns colder than it should, frost prickling across skin even in the heat of summer. Lamps flicker without warning. Doors slam with such force that the floor trembles, though no hand is near the knob. More than one visitor has admitted to running, the sound of heavy footsteps chasing them long after the corridor ended.
And then there are the shapes that should not be there. A girl in white, pale and flickering, seen at the landing where the shadows knot thickest. Some swear she turns her head to look at them, her eyes hollow, her lips parting to whisper words no one can understand.
On the main staircase, a darker presence lingers — a woman in black, her figure solid, her face obscured. Witnesses say she waits halfway up, unmoving, forcing anyone who dares to climb past her to brush against a chill that bites to the bone.
The castle is believed to be haunted by multiple spirits, resulting in numerous paranormal sightings and experiences. Reported hauntings include:
The woman in black: The ghost of Tiedemann’s wife, Louise, is said to appear in the top turret window, dressed in black. Her former bedroom is nicknamed “the cold room,” as it is believed to be significantly colder than the rest of the house.
The girl in white: The spirit of Emma Tiedemann is said to wander the halls and has been seen on the main staircase.
Crying babies: Visitors and former residents have reported hearing the sounds of crying babies emanating from within the walls.
Disembodied voices: Strange whispers and voices have been reported throughout the house.
Moving objects: Guests have described books flying off shelves and other unexplained phenomena.
It is little wonder that so many owners have fled the house after only a few months. They speak of bad luck, of unease, of “things they’d rather not discuss.” The neighbors know better. They whisper that the house keeps what belongs to it — and that once Franklin Castle chooses to show you its ghosts, you never truly leave them behind.
Pop Culture & Paranormal Spotlight
Franklin Castle refuses to stay quiet — even in the modern age. Cameras have been dragged through its shadowed corridors, recorders pressed to its walls, investigators daring the house to reveal itself. Shows like Paranormal Lockdown and Haunted History have tried to capture its essence, but what they record is often more unsettling than clear: whispered voices on static, sudden bangs in empty rooms, flickers of movement just beyond the lens.
Its reputation as Ohio’s most haunted house has secured its place on every ghost-hunter’s bucket list. Tour buses idle on Franklin Boulevard, their passengers clutching cameras and crucifixes, hoping for a glimpse of the infamous woman in black or the pale child said to haunt the upper floors. Guides lower their voices at the threshold, as though the house itself is listening.
Writers, too, cannot resist its pull. Franklin Castle bleeds into novels, lore books, and blog posts, each one trying to unravel the riddle of its history. Yet every retelling seems to add another shadow, another rumor — human bones in hidden panels, secret societies meeting in the turret, even whispers of curses that cling to those who stay too long.
In this way, Franklin Castle has become more than a building. It is a character — a looming figure in America’s haunted canon. And like all the best characters, it never stops evolving.
The House That Waits
Franklin Castle endures. It has survived fires, abandonments, restorations, and rumors that would have crumbled a lesser legend. Families have fled, tenants have sworn never to return, yet the house still stands — its turrets sharp against the Cleveland sky, its windows watching with a patience that feels almost alive.
Skeptics dismiss the stories as exaggerations, a carnival of shadows and creaking wood. Believers insist the house remembers everything — every loss, every scream, every secret walled away in its labyrinth of passages.
After a fire in 1999 and years of neglect, Franklin Castle has been restored by its current European owners. It is no longer a private residence and is now open to the public.
Overnight stays and tours: Visitors can book haunted overnight stays in different rooms and suites. Tours and late-night ghost-hunting experiences, led by a local historian, are also available.
Local landmark:
Franklin Castle
was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is a prominent and intriguing landmark on Franklin Boulevard, a historically upscale street in Cleveland.
Media spotlight: The castle’s ghostly reputation has been featured on numerous television shows and paranormal investigations, including Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures and Destination America’s Paranormal Lockdown.
And so, people come. Ghost hunters bring their meters, writers bring their pens, tourists bring their curiosity. All of them leave with something: a story, a chill, a photograph they cannot quite explain.
Because Franklin Castle isn’t finished, it waits. And whether you walk its halls in daylight or dare them in the dark, the house is ready to tell you a story — though not one you may want to hear.
So the question lingers, like the cold air at the back of your neck:
Do you dare step inside?
The Franklin Castle home site: https://thefranklincastle.com/
📚 Books
Krejci, William G. & John W. Myers. Haunted Franklin Castle (Haunted America). Arcadia Publishing, 2017.
Richards, Beth A. The Ghostly Tales of Cleveland (Spooky America). Arcadia Publishing, 2021.
Richards, Beth A. & Chuck L Gove. Haunted Cleveland (Haunted America). Arcadia Publishing 2025.
Willis, James A. The Big Book of Ohio Ghost Stories. Globe Pequot Publishing, 2019.
Kachuba, John. Ghosthunting Ohio: on the Road Again (America’s Haunted Road Trip). Clerisy Press, 2011.
📰 Articles & Local Features
Clevelandhistorical.org’s article by Jim Dubeiko, with research support by Raymond L. Pianka. Tiedemann House a.k.a Franklin Castle. Published on July 31, 2012. Updated on September 28, 2025.
Allthatsinteresting.com’s article by Kaleena Fraga, edited by Leah Silverman. The Tragic History of Franlin Castle, Ohio’s Most ‘Haunted’ home. Published on December 13, 2021. Updated on February 27, 2024.
Wkyv.com’s article by Ryan Haidet. Haunting of Franklin Castle investigated by ‘Ghost Adventures’ crew: ‘It is very disturbing’. Published March 5, 2020.
HistoryImagined.wordpress.com’s article by Becky Lower. Franklin Castle - The Most Haunted House in Ohio. Published on November 6, 2015.
🏛️ Historical & Reference
Wikipedia. Franklin Castle
📺 Paranormal Media
Scared to Death. The Ghosts of Franklin Castle. 2024, Episode 237
GraveYard Tales. Franklin Castle. 2024, Episode 257