9 Horribly Creepy Things You Didn't Know You Could Do In Greater Cleveland

With such a rich and unusual history, it is no surprise that a few utterly creepy places have popped up in Cleveland. One might immediately imagine that dilapidated and decaying mansions would set the “creepy standard,” if such a thing were to exist; however, many of these Greater Cleveland places are insanely beautiful with a haunting backstory. Each one of these places is creepy in its own way, but to a certain extent, that’s part of their charm.

Midwest Railway Preservation Society/Facebook

Hidden in the Flats is is the Baltimore & Ohio Roundhouse, a site that housed and serviced locomotives in a past life. Today, the site is a museum operated by the Midwest Railway Preservation Society (MRPS). A Lackawanna passenger car that is located on the premises collided with another train in 1943, killing around 200 people. Six of those individuals were Clevelanders. Today, staff and visitors alike have reported ghostly sightings, sounds, and interactions in the roundhouse. Could it be from the death car, or is it linked to another mysterious and creepy Cleveland-area incident?

The roundhouse opens to the public several times throughout the year. For more information, check out our full article here.

Ghosts of the Farnam Estate/Facebook

Nestled in Richfield is a picturesque farmhouse built for Everett and Emily Farnam in 1834. Unfortunately, from its start, the site was beset by misfortune. Prior to construction, a road on the estate was used in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The Farnams later lost a daughter on the site when she drowned in a cistern where the building now stands. In the 1920s, when the site was a speakeasy and brothel, a young woman died in the home. The pattern of tragedy would continue half a century later, when the home was a restaurant and its owner died on the premises. Today, the manor is a museum, but it showcases much more than just artifacts. Here, the ghosts of the past are much more than figures of speech.

For more stories on the estate's haunted past, read our full article here.

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Tim Evanson/Flickr

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a Cleveland icon that has stood watch over the city for over a century. However, many do not realize that it also stands watch over Cleveland's subterranean tunnels. The tunnels once served as storage for the city, and at one point they even served as an emergency fallout shelter.

So, where in history do its ghosts come from? The truth is, nobody seems to know. Still, visitors continue to report disembodied voices and footsteps, and apparitions continue to appear in pictures. For the full story, click here.

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Landoll's Mohican Castle/Facebook

As the castle was only built in 2002, one would not expect this charming getaway to have any ghostly activity. It's not the castle that is haunted... it's the land! In the early 1800s, the site housed a church. Its members spoke English and German, and there was a dispute over which language should be spoken during services. When English won the debate, the Germans left. They later returned to dig up family members from the adjacent Heyd Cemetery. The church eventually burned down, fueling rumors that the site was cursed. Perhaps it is, as the modern restaurant on-site burned down in 2007. Many of its ghosts are said to be lingering on the premises because their graves were disturbed, but others can't be explained quite so easily.

For more information on the castle and its haunted cottage, read the full article here.

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David Steele/Flickr

Kirtland is stunningly quaint; a picture-perfect town. Its history is flawlessly preserved in the architecture of its oldest structures, and the community certainly has its own personality. However, some say the area is stalked by beings known as "Melon Heads." Their origin is said to trace back to a man named Dr. Crowe, a local who purportedly took in orphans and conducted terrible experiments on them to develop symptoms of hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain." Legends say the tortured and unloved children went mad and burned down the home. They retreated into the woods, now feral beasts, and there they stayed. Some still report seeing their deformed silhouettes.

Where could this local lore possibly have come from? Find out more in our full article.

Dittrick Museum of Medical History, CWRU/Facebook

Knowledge comes from trial and error, and that leads into a haunting history when considered from the perspective of the medical field. The Dittrick Museum of Medical History has a vast collection of medical instruments that demonstrate exactly how our knowledge evolved and changed over human history. As you may imagine, some of their artifacts are downright gruesome, while others are delightfully bizarre.

For more information, check out our full article here.

Tim Evanson/Flickr

The final resting place of this Sauk Chief can be found in a 200-year-old cemetery across the street from Progressive Field. He had hoped to die where he was born in Minnesota, but he did not make it there. His spirit is upset over his burial in Cleveland, and some say he is bitter about the controversial Chief Wahoo. Not only did the chief's ghost break his own headstone, but he is also said to wander between the cemetery and the baseball stadium. For more on this local legend, read the full story here.

Tazbee/Tripadvisor

"The Angel of Death Victorious," colloquially known as the Haserot Angel, is a stunning statue marking the graves of Francis Haserot and his family members. The bronze has weathered in an unusual way that makes it appear as if the angel is crying black tears. Many find the statue unsettling, especially considering rumors that the surrounding grounds are haunted. For the full story, click here.

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Buckland Gallery of Witchcraft & Magick/Facebook

The Buckland Gallery of Witchcraft & Magick has one of the most unique collections in the world. Among its displays are ceremonial artifacts of the occult, pieces of artwork, knickknacks, and jewelry. This museum documents the history of modern witchcraft and the occult, and it is most likely the only place in the area where you can actually find a boxed up demon. For more information, read the full article here.

Cleveland and the surrounding community enjoy two centuries of intriguing history, but that long timeline has given locals the opportunity to shape and pass down local lore. Greater Cleveland is now rich with local legends and bizarre attractions, making it a pretty quirky community. Honestly, we Clevelanders wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ready to lighten up the mood? Get into the holiday spirit by checking out this brilliant holiday event at the Botanical Garden.