 |  | | Do you believe in ghosts? Maybe you should. They appear in the woods, homes and inns across northeast Ohio. |  | Franklin Castle Ghost It's been called Cleveland's most notorious haunted building.  Just the look of the massive, brooding four-story structure on Franklin Boulevard reminds you of a haunted house. Franklin Castle has quite an extensive history. It was built in 1864 by German-born banker Hannes Tiedemann. He spared no expense. The 28-room, 80-window home had a ballroom, spiral staircases, marble fireplaces, secret passages and, some say, several ghosts. Images: Franklin Castle Tour |  Video: Castle Laughter Occupants and owners over the years have reported seeing a child dressed in turn-of-the-century garb floating through the halls, old gas pipes that constantly vibrated and a laugh that was heard on a ghost hunter's tape recording. A ghost has allegedly been seen in the windows of the 9,000-square-foot castle. There are a lot of stories and legends about this ghost. Tiedemann Home It's believed she is the ghost of Tiedemann's 15-year-old daughter, Emma. She was a diabetic who died Jan. 16, 1881, in the home. A number of other people have reportedly died in the castle. Between 1886 and 1888, the Tiedemanns buried three children. By 1908, Tiedemann's entire family, including his son, August, and his children, had passed away. Tiedemann died later that same year.  The castle's ballroom is on the fourth floor. It was here that Tiedemann allegedly killed his niece by hanging her from one of the exposed rafters. The stories reported that she was insane and that he killed her to put her out of her misery. Tiedemann is also believed to have murdered his servant girl, Rachel, who was killed in the house on her wedding day. Some say that Rachel was his mistress and he didn't want her to marry another man. German Club In 1913, the castle was sold to the German Socialist Party. They used the house for meetings and parties, and possibly spy operations. Legend has it that Socialists were Nazi spies and that 20 of their members were machine-gunned to death in one of the castle's secret rooms. The Germans owned the house for 55 years before selling it. Romano Scare The Romano family moved into the castle in January 1968. The family wanted to convert the home into a restaurant, but they didn't stay long enough to make that happen. On the day the family moved in, Mrs. Romano sent her children upstairs to play. A short time later, they came back downstairs and asked for help for their friend who was crying upstairs. No friend was found. This happened a number of times, leading many to wonder if was the spirits of the Tiedemann children who died in the early 1880s.  Mrs. Romano also claimed to hear organ music, footsteps and sounds of glass clinking on the third floor when no one else was home. The family consulted a Catholic priest about the house. He declined to do an exorcism. He said he sensed an evil presence in the house and that they should leave. 70s Tours The Romanos sold the castle to Sam Muscatello in September 1974. He began offering guided tours of the castle. He also had problems with ghosts and strange sounds. "On the eve of tour six, people saw a faint green ball of light," former owner Tim Swope said. "It cast no shadow, and the green shone through fingers." Muscatello invited Cleveland radio personality John Webster to the house for an on-air special about the hauntings of Franklin Castle. Webster interviewed the former owners for a documentary. "Delores Romano is a lady who lived here nine months and moved out, she said driven by spirits," Webster said. "She told me she saw a little girl walking the halls at night or floating the halls, and she was dressed in turn-of-the-century garb." Webster says that one time while he was in the house recording, spirits intervened. "It was as if someone grabbed the recorder and pulled it off my shoulder," Webster said. "It rolled down a flight of stairs, and there was nobody behind me." Muscatello also made the most gruesome discovery. Muscatello found a secret room containing mounds of human bones of babies. He started to become sick after that and lost 30 pounds. Muscatello sold the home to a doctor, who sold it to Cleveland Police Chief Richard Hongisto. Less than a year later, it was abruptly sold again to George Mirceta. Restoration Michael DeVinko bought the castle in 1984 and attempted to restore it. He said he didn't have any problems with ghosts. After spending a lot of money, he put it back up for sale in 1994. It sold again in 1999 to Michelle Heimburger. She wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast. However, the castle was badly damaged by a fire in November of that year. Heimburger said she had a premonition something bad was going to happen. About $200,000 worth of damage was done. Private Club The current owner, Charles Milsaps, is trying to restore the castle, again. He hopes to turn it into a private club. Extensive work is being done inside the castle.  Milsaps and his security have heard some strange tales from visitors. One man claimed to see a face in one of the first-floor windows. No one could have been standing there because the floor drops about 8 feet below the normal floor level at that spot. Interestingly, before visiting the castle I made sure my battery was fully charged so that I could take pictures. Once inside, the camera kept shutting off on me saying that the battery was dead. When I got back to work, the battery had a charge again. You can get a chance to see the ghost of Franklin Castle. Ghost tours are once again being given. You can check them out at HauntedCleveland.net. | 
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