<3 Anna
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Written in March 2016
Built in 1881 in Cleveland, Ohio, Franklin Castle gets its name from the street it sits on—Franklin Boulevard—and gets its reputation from the mansion’s dark history of unfortunate deaths. The imposing house was commissioned for Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant. With 20 rooms and elaborate fixtures, including turrets, gargoyles and a ballroom, the place truly looks like a castle out of a fairy-tale.
A short ten years after it was first built, Tiedemann’s 15-year-old daughter died of complications from her diabetes. Shortly afterwards, Teidemann’s mother passed away.
Then over the next three years, three more of Tiedemann’s children died, sparking speculation and suspicious in the community. Rumors flew about the family, involving sexual scandals and murder—perhaps linking the terrible alleged crimes to the house’s haunted reputation.
To distract himself and his wife from their grief, they performed extensive remodeling on the house, making it even more elaborate than ever before. During Prohibition, there were even unfounded rumors of hidden passageways used for bootlegging.
Teidemann’s wife died at the age of 57 in 1895, just four years after the first death in the house. The house was sold to new owners, and Teidemann would die some years later with no heirs to inherit his wealth.
It is believed that Teidmann’s wife stayed behind, in spirit form, after the sale of the house. Known as the Woman in Black, it’s said she is sometimes spotted lingering on a certain balcony and upstairs rooms.
In the 1960’s the house was inhabited by a family of eight, who soon began to experience some otherworldly encounters. The Romano family reported multiple ghost sightings, and even turned to exorcisms on the house, and ghost hunters. Eventually the family chose to leave the house than stay in the haunted place.
<3 Anna
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Written by Goya Dmytryshchak in March 2016
Sarah Langhorne died in 1871, but many people claim to have seen her ghostly apparition peering from a window of Altona Homestead.
The homestead, built by Sarah and husband Alfred in 1842, has long had a reputation for being haunted and has attracted international attention from paranormal investigators.
Now Lantern Ghost Tours will run guided tours of the homestead from next month as part of the National Trust Heritage Festival.
Company founder Jacqueline Travaglia says there have been numerous sightings of a forlorn Mrs Langhorne, who missed city life and whose beauty stopped her from making friends.
Her life was marred by tragedy after she lost two of her children.
“Sarah gave birth to Henry Langhorne at the homestead,” Ms Travaglia said. “He died aged seven months and she also lost a teenage daughter.
“Although Sarah is long departed, people have seen a sad woman’s face staring out from the lounge room window.”
<3 Anna
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Written in March 2016
Two ghost-hunters had to be rescued after becoming trapped in Derry’s best known haunted house.
A number of ghostly tales have for many years been associated with Boom Hall which was built in 1779 on the banks of the River Foyle at Culmore.
The historic building has been vacant for decades and has fallen into such a state of disrepair that the building and the area has been cordoned for a number of years because of fears that it could collapse.
However, it has emerged that the fences around Boom Hall have not deterred would-be ghost-hunters from having a look around the building.
Two men recently became trapped in the dilapidated building while on the lookout for ghosts in the dark of night.
A fire crew was called to the scene to help the two men to safety.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the rescue operation had taken place.
A spokesperson said: “We received a call at 7:24pm to a report of an incident at premises at the Culmore Road area of the city on Saturday 13th February.
“One fire appliance from Northland Fire Station was deployed to the scene of two men requiring rescue assistance from a property in the area.
“Firefighters were able to rescue the two men using keys provided by the property’s keyholder. Both men were uninjured.”
The NIFRS said the rescue operation lasted for around one hour.
It is understood the two men told their rescuers they were interested in ghosts and that’s why they were within the walls of Boom Hall.
When built, the building was named after the boom which had been placed across the Foyle during the Siege of Derry in 1689.
The boom was broken by ships which relieved those who had taken part in the siege within Derry’s Walls.
Throughout its history, Boom Hall was home to some of the local area’s best known families.
However, for many years, the building has been neglected although there are plans currently being discussed for its regeneration.
In relation to the ghost stories associated with Boom Hall, number of them were outlined in a book by Madeline McCully called Haunted Derry which was published last year.
One story involved a girl who was a relative of the family who lived at Boom Hall at the time.
She had been sent to Boom Hall to remove her from the attention of a young groomsman employed in her own home in England.
However, the young man followed her and hid out in the stables where they had secret trysts.
When they were discovered the girl was locked in an upstairs corner bedroom but the young man got away.
The girl pined and a few weeks later the bedroom went up in flames.
The family frantically tried to get into the room but to no avail.
When eventually the flames were extinguished the ashes were searched for the body of the young girl but nothing was found.
Legend has it that the ghost of the girl can be seen walking along the corridor at the top of the house.
<3 Anna
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Written by IrishCentral in March 2016
Isolated on the Hook Peninsula in Wexford, the once stately Loftus Hall is said to have been haunted by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman. This year the house is celebrating its 666th birthday with a series of spooky events.
The mansion, with a history of ghostly occurrences and misery, opened its doors to the public for the first time in 30 years in 2012. Would you be brave enough to take the tour?
In August 2014 a tourist snapped a shot of a ghostly female figure in the grounds. Thomas Beavis, 21, from Lewisham, snapped this shot while he was on the the tour.
It wasn’t until he’d left the Loftus Hall grounds that he noticed the figure – who is believed to be the spirit of little Anne Tottenham – and the face of an old lady at the window.
Loftus Hall is a 22-bedroom period mansion on Hook Peninsula in County Wexford. The house is set on 60 acres, overlooking a lonely stretch of the southeast coast. Since it was abandoned over three decades ago, the grand building has only had structural repairs.
Owner Aidan Quigley now hosts guided interactive tours, which he says are not for the fainthearted.
Built over the remains of Redmond Hall, and home of the Redmond family since around 1350, in 1666 it became the home of the Loftus family and was renamed Loftus Hall.
The ghostly tours are based on the story of Anne Tottenham and a visitor to the house in the 18th century whose body, during a game of cards, went ‘through the roof’, leaving a hole in the ceiling which is visible to this day, and left young Anne in a state of terror.
She was put into a room known as the Tapestry Room to rest, and it is here that she stayed completely silent until her death in 1775. The Loftus family abandoned the house in the early years of the 20th century.
Over the years since, servants claimed to have seen a dark, mysterious figure roaming the halls, causing disturbances.
On March 1 Quigley unveiled a new program of events for Loftus Hall’s 666th anniversary year, including an incremental restorative walled garden project launch, the opening of a new interactive visitors center and the Raymond Le Gros Norman Festival.
Quigley and his family purchased the Hall in 2011 and have been working on reviving and consolidating it as a unique tourist destination ever since.
“We didn’t have a blank canvas, as such, to work with when we purchased Loftus Hall, as it came with over 600 years of history, intrigue and some rather unexplained spectral phenomenon. However, we were determined to make the Hall’s 666th year rather special with a broad appeal to people of all ages and interests,” Quigley said.
Whilst Loftus Hall has provided hugely successful house tours and paranormal investigation lockdowns, particularly popular at Halloween, Aidan and his team are determined to showcase the other elements of the hall.
“The gardens and grounds of the hall are hugely significant. In the 17th century Henry Loftus took great care in enclosing the gardens to preserve newly planted fruit trees with high stone walls,” said Quigley. “We plan to progressively restore the five-acre garden in the spirit of the period and aim to plant trees, flowers and shrubs that would have been available to Henry Loftus in the 17th century. Fortunately, the walls are in a reasonable state of repair and some of the original garden ornaments remain on the property.”
Quigley also revealed the plans for the new visitor center which will open to the public on June 6. The new center will give visitors the opportunity to discover more about the fascinating heritage of Loftus Hall. A historical timeline will chart key moments in the hall’s history, such as the invasion by Norman knight Raymond Le Gros, the Redmonds’ Cromwellian battle, and the 4th Marquess of Ely’s extensive renovations in anticipation of a visit by Queen Victoria.
Quigley, who is currently in his final year of a Conservation and Restoration Diploma, is focused on broadening the historical appeal of the area and is working closely with Wexford County Council, The Three Sisters Bid Team and Failte Ireland’s Ireland’s Ancient East initiative to showcase the culture and appeal of Wexford.
“Wexford has a rich and varied offering, it’s coastal and rugged, lush and beautiful, historical and contemporary. By working together with local authorities, tourism providers and neighboring counties, Wexford and the southeast has the potential to become the go-to tourist destination for national and overseas visitors.”
“If we, collectively, can offer an experience that is unique, exciting, fresh and appealing, the region is destined to flourish.”
<3 Anna
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Written by St. Joe Channel in Feb. 2016
A northeast Kansas house with a spooky reputation is on the market.
Owner Luke Smith listed the Sallie House on Zillow’s real estate site for $1 million.
The Atchison, Kansas home at 508 N. 2nd Street has been called one of the most haunted places in the country.
The house gained fame in the early 1990s after the family that lived there had several disturbing encounters, including unexplained scratches on their son.
The family moved out in 1994 and since then, paranormal enthusiasts and curious visitors have explored the inside of the home for themselves.
<3 Anna
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Written by Michael Callahan in Feb. 2016
February 23, 1969:
On this day, it was reported that the Ashton Villa had been designated a Texas landmark, and one year earlier it had to be saved from demolition. The mansion was originally built in 1859 by James Moreau Brown, who was also key to the formation of the First National Bank of Galveston. According to Galveston.com, the villa was the first of many: the first house to be built on Broadway Boulevard, the first mansion to be built on the island, and was one of the first private brick residences in Galveston.
The villa is not open for public tours but is available for rental. However, be careful, the place may be haunted.
According to galvestonghost.com, the ghost of Miss Bettie Brown has been seen standing in the gold room, standing at the top of the staircase, and even playing the piano. And, she’s not the only ghost in the villa. The site is also haunted by Miss Tilly Brown-Sweeney, who was the victim of an abusive marriage. Now, the mansion was also used as a hospital for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and some have seen these soldiers on the grounds.
<3 Anna