One of most haunted houses in United States: Cleveland's Franklin Castle makeover begins

CLEVELAND - With the Halloween season upon us, attention turns to ghouls and goblins and other things ghastly. And on the near west side of Cleveland, many folks wonder about what's going on at the historic, and allegedly haunted, Franklin Castle.

The castle has stood at 4308 Franklin Boulevard in the Ohio City neighborhood since it was built by Hannes Tiedemann in 1865.

( Read about the history of Franklin Castle and see pictures of the inside of the property )

Subsequent deaths within the Tiedemann family at the property have led to rumors that the building is haunted.

The castle has had numerous owners over the years - some of whom claim to have witnessed ghosts and other unexplained phenomenon.

A fire in 1999 caused major damage to the structure which was never fully repaired.

Last Halloween, a "caretaker" with access to the property was giving tours and inviting guests in costume to gather on the grounds for music, dancing and photographs.

Also last year, Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman told NewsChannel5 the castle property had been rezoned to allow a "multi-family" dwelling. Cimperman said an area architect had been been retained to redesign the living spaces.

Cuyahoga County real estate records show the castle and rear carriage house sold in late August 2011 for $260,000 to "Oh Dear! Productions LLC." Oh Dear! Productions is registered as a Foreign Limited Liability Company with the Ohio Secretary of State. Oh Dear! Productions LLC was organized in the state of Delaware in August, 2011.

A permit for residential exterior alterations was issued by the City of Cleveland Building Department in February, 2012. The project description lists new third floor windows and debris removal. Records show the property "awaiting re-inspection" as of July 24, 2012. No other permits or plans appear to have been filed.

With the exception of the new windows, no changes to the property are apparent from outside.

NewsChannel5 did leave a message with the purported architect -- no response has been received as of this writing.