Ohio may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of scary places and hauntings, but this state has its fair share of haunted locations. Ohio is home to many tragic events that have left their mark, from murders and crime, to waves of disease that have left a wake of restless spirits in its path.
Keep reading to learn more about 12 of the most haunted places in Ohio to plan your next scary adventure!
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1. The Ohio State Reformatory, Mansfield, Ohio
Address: 100 Reformatory Road
Who doesn’t love a haunted prison? The Ohio State Reformatory is the sight of many horrific deaths. Tour guides and visitors alike report hearing hushed conversations in the halls and the chilling feeling of being watched by unseen eyes.
The list of tragedies that took place at the prison is endless. A prisoner in solitary set himself on fire, another successfully hung himself in his cell, and one prisoner killed another when kept in a solitary cell with him for too long.
There were more than 200 prisoners buried in numbered graves on the property, but it isn’t just the unfortunate prisoners that haunt this location.
On a seemingly normal day, a warden suffered a heart attack just sitting at his desk where he keeled over in his chair. Then the warden’s wife knocked over a loaded gun and wound up with a fatal gunshot wound.
And probably the most gruesome incident occurred just outside the prison wall when two vengeful inmates shot the prison farm boss, his wife, and their daughter in cold blood. If you visit, you may hear the panicked conversations of a warden and his wife.
2. Satan’s Hollow, Blue Ash, Ohio
Address: 4192 Georgetown Road
Next on this list of the most haunted places in Ohio is an old-fashioned portal to hell. This storm drain (to the unknown eye) houses a doorway to the underworld, according to paranormal investigators and spooky enthusiasts.
Visitors hear strange echoes and screams from the dark drain and the surrounding area. The storm drain is about five feet high and six feet wide. As you walk into Satan’s Hollow it quickly becomes a black veil–some say as black as sin.
Locals speak of a Satanic cult that used this location for their unholy rituals. It is even rumored that the Satanists successfully summoned one of Hell’s demons right here. That demon is said to guard the portal against curious travelers..so tread lightly.
Possibly the scariest part of this location is the ominous writing on the walls of the cave that seem to be warnings as well as threats directed at those that dare enter. These could have been left by pranksters or hooligan teenagers trying to scare people, or Satanists warning visitors of what truly lies ahead.
You’ll have to visit for yourself to decide if this is just a creepy cave or if there is something much more sinister.
3. Spring House Gazebo, Eden Park in Cincinnati, Ohio
Address: 950 Eden Park Drive
The quaint Spring House Gazebo has a dark history of bootlegging, adultery, betrayal, and murder. And this all encircles one brutal couple that seemed to leave nothing but a wake of pain behind them.
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Imogene and George Remus ceremoniously left their spouses to marry after carrying out an affair. They lived a blissful life of successful bootlegging during prohibition, and George earned the title “King of Bootleggers.” They even moved to Ohio to be in the center of illegal alcohol which made them filthy rich.
Alas, the high rolling life did not last. Authorities caught George and convicted him, leaving his wife with the immense fortune he earned through illegal liquor sales. She began an affair while he was in prison, stealing his money and filing for divorce upon his release from prison.
En route to their final divorce proceedings, George pursued Imogene in a raging car chase that ended with him murdering her beside the Spring House Gazebo.
People see a woman shrouded in dark clothing and sobbing by the gazebo, who many believe to be the ghost of Imogene, residing where her final moments played out.
4. Loveland Castle, Loveland, Ohio
Address: 12025 Shore Drive
If you’re in the mood for a little haunting but don’t want to encounter a demon, the Loveland Castle in Loveland, Ohio is home to a playful ghost. No, not Casper.
Loveland Castle was funded and built by a Boy Scouts leader named Harry Andrews, who was obsessed with all things medieval, including knights and sword fights.
He began the organization known as The Knights of the Golden Trail. Andrews firmly believed the return of traditional knights would lift society out of its uncivilized state and restore order.
He worked on the castle until his death in 1982 at 92 years old. The knights that live and work in the castle report that he never really left!
Objects go missing frequently or moved to random places, and the knights believe that this is silly Harry messing around with them. The workers state the presence does not act maliciously but merely enjoys playing a few pranks on the castle visitors.
If you visit this glorious castle, you may see a wispy figure in the halls, hear voices whispering, or find your eyeglasses somewhere you didn’t leave them!
5. Buxton Inn, Granville, Ohio
Address: 307 E. Broadway
The elegant Buxton Inn was once a safe stop on the Underground Railroad and housed famous figures like Abraham Lincoln. Unlike many of the haunted sites on this list, nothing gruesome or tragic occurred at the Buxton Inn.
The apparitions people report seem to be former owners and workers of the inn that poured such care and passion into the inn that they simply never left after they passed on.
The most famous spirit that presides at the Buxton Inn is the Lady in Blue, who people think is the ghost of Ethel Houston, one of the previous owners.
She brings with her the scent of gardenias, even in the winter months. Ethel Houston’s cat will even curl up in bed with visitors, making it an example of a friendly spirit.
Another previous owner, Major Buxton, hangs around his former property and brings the distinct smell of cigars along with him. So if you’re looking for a light-hearted haunting devoid of gnarly murders or tragic deaths, the Buxton Inn is for you!
6. Palace Theater, Lorain, Ohio
Address: 34 W Broad St.
The Palace Theater is home to a large group of different spirits that roam the halls and aisles. If you visit a night show you might just feel a wisp of cool air brush your neck.
The Palace Theater is one of the most haunted places in Ohio for many reasons. In the 1920s an F5 tornado devastated the town and the theater without much notice. The entire theater had to be rebuilt and it has remained a main stay for a century.
The theater was owned by Warner Brothers, and showed the first ever movie with voices. Although today you can hear more voices than those coming from the screen.
Many spirits haunt the theater, including a murdered man that worked at the shipyard behind the Palace, and a spirit that overdosed on heroin.
One investigator experienced several chilling events. They witnessed black clouds and encountered many different spirits during their visit. Several of the spirits were those he claims were killed in a 1924 tornado, unable to move on to the afterlife due to the sudden trauma they experienced.
7. Moonville Tunnel, Athens, Ohio
Address: Hope-Moonville Road
The Moonville Tunnel is part of a railroad constructed in 1856. The railroad is mostly gone now, as the elements took over the track when railways became obsolete. But the tunnel itself still gets frequent visitors searching for the tunnel’s infamous ghost.
Locals and historians suggest the apparition may be the ghost of a brakesman fatally injured in 1859 by an oncoming train while working. The train wheels decimated his leg, which resulted in his death shortly after.
He carries a shining lantern through the tunnel that visitors report as a glowing orb of light moving through the tunnel. This tragic railroad worker is not the only ghostly rumor surrounding the Moonville tunnel.
There are unsubstantiated stories of a pregnant woman killed by a train, an unbelievably tall man also struck while on the tracks, and a small epidemic that took sick quarantined souls that never left the tunnel.
When you visit one of the most haunted sites in Ohio you’ll eerily feel the presence of these many ghosts whose lives were suddenly taken from them.
The tunnel is tough to get to. According to Atlas Obscura you should take this route:
GPS-: 39.31006,-82.32434 – Stop before the metal bridge on the roadway and park in the gravel pulloffs. This is Ohio Division of Forestry property and there are unmarked trails at the pulloffs. Follow the trail by the boulder along the edge of Racoon Creek. It will wind around through the old town of Moonville (nothing left but a few stones and a couple wells) until you climb a small hill to the railroad and tunnel. If you go past the bridge, you can see the tunnel.
8. Beaver Creek State Park, East Liverpool, Ohio
Address: 12021 Echo Dell Road
Beaver Creek State Park was once home to a massive canal system with locks to raise and lower the water as boats pass through.
Two of the locks are said to be haunted: “Jake’s Lock” and “Gretchen’s Lock.”
Jake was a canal worker that was supposedly struck by lightning while walking over one of the locks and died and Gretchen was the daughter of a canal worker.
When Gretchen passed away, the canal worker kept her coffin in one of the locks with hopes to place it on a passing ship returning to their homeland. Sadly, the ship never made it to their homeland and was lost to the sea, along with Gretchen.
People report seeing or hearing these spirits near their locks, but no one thinks they are hostile or malicious spirits.
9. Fairpoint Harbor Lighthouse, Fairpoint Harbor, Ohio
Address: 129 Second St.
The Fairpoint Harbor Lighthouse is haunted by a cute little cat! This furry haunting is rather endearing when you know the story of the Babcock family.
Mary and Joseph Babcock were the first keepers of the lighthouse and suffered a series of tragic deaths in their family. One of their three children died at only 14 years old from smallpox. Soon, Mary fell critically ill.
She surrounded herself with cats to keep her company, and her favorite was a gray cat her husband found in the basement of the lighthouse. Sentinel, the sweet gray cat, haunts the lighthouse, and many visitors see him walking around.
10. Malabar Farm, Lucas, Ohio
Address: 4050 Bromfield Road
Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio has a tragic, rich history that will send shivers up and down your spine.
A young woman, Ceely Rose, fell in love with a young boy. Unfortunately, this love story does not have a happy ending, as her love was unrequited. To spare her feelings, the young boy said they could not be together because her family would never approve of him.
Ceely Rose then poisoned her entire family by putting arsenic in their cottage cheese. She murdered her mother, father, and brother. After she murdered her entire family, she spent the rest of her days in a mental asylum.
These horrid events seem to have left a paranormal imprint on the Malabar Farm. Haunted investigators have visited and reported cars moving unexplainably, the feeling of a cat that isn’t there, doors opening and closing on their own, and a strong medicinal odor.
11. Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio
Address: 2900 Sullivant Ave
The Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is home to a mysterious, sentimental ghost that has been seen by many visitors.
The elusive ‘Gray Lady’ places flowers on two graves every year. The two graves are that of an unidentified soldier, and then a man named Benjamin Allen. There is little known about him, and many speculate about who the Gray Lady is, but no one knows for sure.
The site was formerly known as Camp Chase, a camp for Confederate prisoners of war that was rather pleasant until the Federal government took over. The location holds a memorial service for the deceased every June, and many attendees report seeing this female figure.
Sobbing as she places a bouquet on a grave, she floats through the graveyard seemingly unaware of visitors. She pays her condolences, and then mysteriously vanishes away, leaving people mesmerized by what they’ve seen.
12. Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio
Address: 1100 Spaatz St.
Fun flight facts meet ghostly soldiers at Dayton’s Air Force Museum. Many believe the museum is haunted. The museum houses several fighter planes that were the site of tragic deaths brought on by enemy fire.
This isn’t a one-spirit haunting where just one ghost lurks around the museum, many believe several pilots and gunmen that died inside the planes remain close by.
One of the main reasons for this belief is that the men died in such a chaotic state they can’t find a final resting place to be at peace. Visitors report inexplicable footsteps, strange echoes, whispering voices, and flashlights turning on and off on their own.
The Air Force Base in Dayton also offers a spooky experience with similar occurrences that leave guests chilled. The Dayton Air Force Museum holds the vessels in which dozens of men were shot to death by German forces and may even hold the spirits of those unfortunate men, but you’ll have to visit to find out for yourself.
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