Berliner Park, Columbus

A popular site for suicides, Berliner Park is said to be haunted by the unhappy souls that took their lives there. Researchers have gotten many evps there, including that of a ghostly train.  It is also a big site for trysting, so the rustling you hear in the bushes probably isn’t of supernatural origin.

 

Buxton Inn, Granville Ohio

Ohio's oldest continually operating inn has been in business since 1812.  The Buxton Inn is rumored to be haunted by 2 of the former owners, a cat, and by old coachmen from over a century and a half ago.  Hot spots are the tavern in the basement, and rooms 9 & 7.  It's worth going to just for the food.

Camp Chase Cemetery, Columbus

Camp Chase was a prisoner of war camp for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.  Since then, there have been reports of a woman in grey, dressed in Civil War era clothing, hovering near the grave of a soldier from Tennessee.  The ghostly sounds of a woman crying have also been heard.

Central Ohio Fire Museum & Learning Center, Columbus

This building was originally a working firehouse built in 1908.  Now used as a museum, it is said to be haunted by the original fire chief there.  Employees have also heard ghostly horse noises coming from the area that used to be the horse stalls.

Columbus State Community College

CSCC is located on the site of one of Columbus' earliest cemeteries.  When Greenlawn Cemetery was opened in 1848, the bodies from this cemetery were relocated there in the interests of public health.  Unfortunately, they missed a few.  Construction workers are wary of erecting new buildings east of Cleveland Avenue, as they tend to dig up skeletons in the process.  Security guards and custodians have reported having some unearthly experiences on their overnight shifts.

The Elevator Restaurant, Columbus

The Elevator is housed in the old Bott Brother's cigar shop on High Street in downtown Columbus.  The story is that a woman killed her lover there in the early years of the 20th century.  Every February on the anniversary of the murder, one can supposedly see her footsteps in the snow as she runs out of the restaurant.  There is also an entity in the basement.

Fort Hayes, Columbus

The building that houses the Columbus School board offices is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Civil War private who was killed when a cannon he was firing blew up in his face.   The legend is that he was in love with the daughter of his commanding officer, who did not approve of the match and that the explosion may not have been accidental.  The building, coincidentally, had been the home of the commanding officer and his daughter.  There have also been sightings of a soldier in a WWII uniform in Drill Hall.  He is rumored to have died under mysterious circumstances while thrown in lockup overnight.

Franklin University, Columbus

A deceased office worker is said to be responsible for the miraculous reappearance of some missing paperwork.

Glen Echo Park, Columbus

The park is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of a vagrant who froze to death in the storm tunnel underneath the Indianola bridge, a young Goth woman, and a witch.  There has been a sighting of the vagrant, and orbs frequently show up in pictures taken near the center bridge where the Goth girl is said to hang out.
 

Greater Columbus Antiques Market

There's always something up at the Greater Columbus Antiques Mall, a former private home and funeral parlor.   Over the years, employees have reported sigthings of a man in a handlebar moustache, a lady in a yellow civil war era dress, and a man in a black cape.  Mediums have mentioned the presence of a little boy and girl around.

 

Hayden Mausoleum, Columbus

Legend has is that if you knock on the door of this mausoleum at Greenlawn Cemetery, a ghost will knock back.  Other researchers have reported getting evps coming from inside the structure.

 

 

Kampmann Costume Company, Columbus

Now a parking lot across from the City Center garage downtown, the site of the Kampmann Costume Company had been rife with ghostly activity.  Voices and footsteps were heard when employees were alone in the building.  Employees would come in the morning to find boxes had been pulled off of shelves and lights they were sure that they’d turned off were now turned on.  The owner observed a light swinging by itself with metronome-like precision for an extended period of time before he physically stopped it.  After investigating, he could not find any explanation for the movement.  One man felt a burning presence pass through him as he was walking down the hall.

 

 

Kelton House, Columbus

Built in 1852, the Kelton House was a stop on the Underground Railway and now serves as a museum. At least 4 members of the Kelton family loved their house so much that they never left, and other ghosts seem to have taken up residence there as well. They are known to be quite playful. There have been full body apparition sightings of 5 different entities in addition to lots of other activity. The Columbus Landmarks Foundation holds yearly tours there during the Halloween season.

Knox County Poorhouse, Mt. Vernon

Completed in 1877, this building had a long run as a poorhouse, then was used as the Mt. Vernon Bible College.  The grounds are rumored to have been littered with the graves of the poor who died there, and several deaths had also occurred in an elevator accident during the bible college years.  The Poorhouse recently had been used during the Halloween season every year as a spook house.  Ironically, it really is haunted. Witnesses have reported hearing voices speaking to them when no one else was around, and have caught bizarre images on camera.

Leatherlips' Grave, Dublin

The ghost of Chief Leatherlips is said to rise from his grave and walk to the Scioto River every year on the anniversary of his execution.

Lofts Hotel, Columbus

The Lofts Hotel was originally home to a transportation and storage company.  Workers there have seen the ghost of a woman around the stairs.  One witness was able to identify her in a photograph of people who worked there around the turn of the century.

 

 

Memorial Hall, Columbus

Numerous sightings have been reported of a ghostly Scottish terrier roaming the building.

The Mooney Mansion/Walhalla Road, Columbus

The North Market

The North Market is built on the site of the old North Cemetery.  Like the one Columbus State is built over, the city decided that it was a bad idea to have a cemetery so close to a populated area and had the bodies moved to Greenlawn Cemetery.  As usual, they missed a few.  Skeletons were discovered several years ago when a sidewalk was dug up for repair.  The site is said to be haunted by the ghost of one of Columbus’s early city leaders, whose body got left behind.

 

Ohio Historical Society, Columbus

Late one night back when the museum was still housed in what is now Sullivant Hall on the O.S.U. campus, a couple of security guards heard drumming and what they called “Indian war cries” coming from the storage area where artifacts that weren’t on display were kept.  They chose not to investigate further.  There had also been sightings of a WWI doughboy there who is said to have moved with them when they relocated to the new building on Velma Avenue in 1974.

 

The Ohio Theater, Columbus

The Ohio Theater is said to be haunted by three ghosts.  The main ghost is Charlie, who had been the stage manager there in the 1970's.   Charlie is known for playing pranks on the stage hands and opening the elevator for ladies.   He has been known to blow out light bulbs at the mention of the name of an old employee there who had been quite verbal about his disbelief in ghosts.   One old security guard claims to have seen him late one night.  Other ghosts include an old lady who hangs out in the upper reaches of the balcony and a small child in the basement.  

 

The Palace Theater, Columbus

The Palace Theater is haunted by a menacing presence up in the second balcony.  A séance held there revealed that a stroke ridden man had been murdered there.

Private Residence, Clintonville

Back in the 1960’s a family moved in to a house located off of near Glen Echo Park.  One of their young sons developed an “imaginary friend” - a little old lady who wore a red velvet dress.  They laughingly mentioned this to the neighbors one day, only to be told that the description fit the previous owner, now deceased, to a “t”.

Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, Columbus

The spirit of J. Fred Schmidt, who started the business, is said to still be around keeping an eye on the place.

 

Seneca Hotel, Columbus

The sounds of a child crying had been heard in the basement back when the building was being used as offices for the EPA.

The Thurber House, Columbus

The Thurber house is the home of Columbus’s most celebrated haunting, which was immortalized by the writer, James Thurber.  When he was a teenager, he and his brother heard the footsteps of an unseen man pacing around a table downstairs, then racing up the stairs.  Later he found out that one of the earlier owners had committed suicide in the upstairs of the house. People working in the house in recent years have seen such inexplicable things as a hat floating down off the coat rack to land at their feet.

Undisclosed Site, Columbus

An old factory near the Ohio State Penitentiary was apparently built over the original pauper’s cemetery from that site.  While construction was done, workman dug up scores of bodies, which had been sawn in half and buried vertically to conserve space.  Many tenants refuse to go into the basement because of unnerving experiences they have had there.  

The Unicorn Vintage Clothing Shop, Columbus

The old Unicorn vintage clothing shop on the OSU campus had its share of haunted happenings.  It is believed that the spirit of a dentist who lived and worked there never left.  Other people have reported a malevolent presence in an upstairs closet, and on one occasion, someone trying on a vintage piece experienced visions of the past while in it.  The Unicorn has been out of business for many years, but the building is still there.  The Unicorn happened to be owned by Chris Woodyard, writer of the Haunted Ohio series.  (Nellie’s note: I used to work there occasionally on a contract basis and had no idea about its reputation for being haunted.  One evening, I was working upstairs in a bedroom turned storage room.  I had the strongest sensation of being watched the whole time, but chalked it up to my imagination).


Want more details and more stories?  Take one of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation's Halloween ghost tours this October!  See http://www.columbuslandmarks.org/programs/#ghost_walks for more information.

 

copyright, 2006 Nellie Kampmann