History & Background of the Franklin Castle in Cleveland, Ohio

When you think of haunted locations within Cleveland, Ohio, the Franklin Castle is a top prospect on that list.

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General History of the house & origin

Hannes was a banker who built this 20-room house and brought his wife (Luise), two children (August & Emma), & his mother (Wiebeka). Soon after this, the family moved into the house, and the darkness started. Their 15-year-old daughter, Emma, sadly passed away because of diabetes. Very shortly after Emma passed away, Wiebeka, Hannes’s mother, passed away. This did create some uneasy tension as people thought something was strange about this. During the three years after this situation 3 more of the Tiedemann children passed away. 

Hannes built a ballroom for Luise after the early darkness to help cheer her up and improve the house. He also built secret tunnels and passages throughout the house, for which there is no exact reason why, but they had many uses throughout its time. During the time Hannes lived in this house, he was not looked at as a wonderful person. Thinking that he had affairs and was cruel to other women. Right before he sold this house in 1896, his wife, Luise, passed away at the age of 57.

Hannes sold this house to the Mulhauser family, who only had the house for a short period of time and sold it to the German Socialist Party or German-American League in 1913. Rumors say around 20 people were killed during the time they stayed at this house. They sold the house in 1968 to the Romano family, and the deeper rumors and hauntings started to form.

Haunted history, New Owners, & House updates

While the family only had the house from 1968 to 1974, they started having many strange experiences. Some of the main tales formed by footsteps through the house, organ music filling the house, & ceiling lamps rotating. The most unsettling part is that the Romano children would say they would play with other children and wanted to give snacks to the crying and sad girl. The kids were convinced there were other children. When you think of haunted locations within Cleveland, Ohio, the Franklin Castle is a top prospect on that list.  in the house where they could play. Near the end of their being there, they had a priest come in and assess the situation. He said they should leave before the ghosts became too powerful and could not be removed.

At this point, the house was deemed haunted, which attracted a different clientele for its buyers. Sam Muscatello bought this house to make it into a church, but discovered human remains in the hidden tunnels, which made him move on from this home. In 1985, Michael

DeVinko bought the house and restored it with the idea that it would be focused on its haunted attraction. DeVinko was the late husband of Judy Garland, who, on top of his normal career, gave him some popularity behind him. This house swapped hands a few times, with multiple renovations and changes being done to the house. In 1999, someone walked in off the street and set fire to the house because he declared that this house was “pure evil”. 

According to the Franklin Castle history on their website, they state that this house was boarded up from 2000 to 2012 to be fixed and changed. It is also stated that this building acts as an energy amplifier, where good energy will increase the level of the spirits and negative energy will bring out darker spirits and ill will. 

Ghosts within the Manor

There is said to be a various amount of human souls connected to this place. Bootleggers, members of the German socialist party, and more witches, business people, and children throughout this house. 

One of the main ghosts is Rachel, who was a maid for the Tiedemann family and was not in love with their ways. The rumors was Rachel was strangled by Mr. Tiedemann. Guests say they can hear a woman suffocating, and when they go look, they see no one there. The other featured ghost is a younger girl who is the 13-year-old niece of the Tiedemann’s. Her name was Karen, and she was hanged within one of the tunnels because she was rumored to be insane (by Mr. Tiedemann). The real truth is that he caught her in bed with one of his grandsons.

The real dark part of this is that someone was killed with an axe in one of the rooms, and 12 younger children were killed within the house. They think a doctor lived in the house and used these younger children to experiment. We do not know many more details than that, but it is the dark truth behind it. 

Overall, if you understand the darkness that has passed through his house, it should not be a surprise that people sense darkness at this place. This castle is still open for business and is heavy into the ghosts and haunted history of this building. You can book your stay here and learn more about this house.