This is the hauntings list for Erie County. Remember that some of the places listed are merely legend or hearsay, but many are genuine and documented haunts. If you know of any more hauntings or legends for this county, please submit them to our Hauntings Submission Page.
Castalia
Castalia Cemetery - It is said that if one drives their vehicle through the cemetery at night, the vehicle will stall and you will hear yelling and screaming from the center of the cemetery. If you see smoke after the yelling and screaming stops, you will see your own gravestone on the way out of the cemetery.
Huron
Darrow and Barrows Intersection - The sounds of a deadly car accident can be heard occasionally at the original intersection of Darrow and Barrows Roads. The intersection was redid a few years ago, so the new intersection is in a different location. (Thanks to Brenda Pole for the additional information).
Kelley's Island
4-H Camp - The cabins of the 4-H Camp are said to be haunted. Thing move around when no one was around, voices can be heard by the deaf, and people sometimes report seeing dark figures walking on the beach, only to disappear in the blink of an eye.
Quarry Ghosts - During the 1840s, Datus Kelley ran a very successful limestone quarry beneath Lake Erie from the island. A foreman ordered a blast in the wrong place and the whole tunnel collapsed. Many of those who died were never found. Their ghosts are said to haunt the remaining tunnels beneath the lake. Rumors had it that their spirits pulled down ships, as is the case of the 1936 sinking of the Sand Merchant. Five of the twenty-four survivors described feeling like they were being pulled under the water by unseen hands.
Milan
Milan Cemetery - Abbot's Tomb is said to be haunted. Supposedly if one goes up and knocks on the door, the Abbots will chase you away. Many orbs are seen in the cemetery, especially around the tomb. A cross shaped tombstone in the cemetery sometimes mysteriously glows at night.
Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum - Reports of strange noises and mysterious music are common. Angel like figures are sometimes seen and young children see people when no one is there.
Sandusky
Cedar Point Amusement Park - A ghostly woman could sometimes be seen riding the military horse of the old carousel. It is said to either be the man's wife who carved the horse or that of a woman on her honeymoon. It is also said that the horse cannot be photographed without mishap. Employees have reported hearing music coming from the carousel at night, finding it to be spinning backwards. They have also reported leaving it at night and arriving the next morning to find the horses in different positions. Some even believe that the carousel originated from Michigan and was used by Al Capone to torture people before their bodies were dumped into the lake. Too bad the carousel was sold to a Pennsylvania Park. The old Hotel Breakers is also said to be haunted. A balcony where a couple made a suicide pact is haunted. The guy jumped to his death while the girl hang on to the ledge and lifted herself up to safety. Females have reported feeling a strong pull towards the side of the balcony as the ghostly guy tries to pull the into eternity. In one of the rooms of the hotel, a girl committed suicide in the shower. People staying in the room often hear crying and their shower turns on and off for no apparent reason. The ballroom is also the sight for ghostly activities. Mysterious music and ghostly dancers are sometimes reported. The Friday's Restaurant at the Hotel is said to be haunted, with pictures moving by themselves. Another ghost at the park is that of a little boy who drowned in the water just beyond the patio of the Breakwater Cafe. (Thanks to Brenda Poole and Jacob Freimark for the additional information).
Cholera Cemetery - This lakefront cemetery is haunted by victims of cholera who had not yet died, merely unconscious, and buried alive. The cemetery went untended for many years due to people afraid of being infected. The spirits who haunt the place are said to be vengeful.
Dollar General - The Dollar General at the corner of Huntington and Cleveland Roads is said to be haunted. Before the store was built, the Keller family mansion stood on the site. By 1922, all of the Keller family had tragically died. Elias, the father, died of an illness and his wife and three children later died in a boating accident. Two weeks after their death, an arsonist set the mansion on fire and it burned to the ground. Today, there have been sightings of apparitions along Huntington, in Dollar General, and several homes along the road. A driver witnessed a little girl holding a doll in her hands along the road. When the driver slowed down to ask if she was okay, the little girl disappeared. Spectral music can be heard in the parking lot and odd lights are seen. Witnesses have also reported seeing figures in the parking lot, only to see them vanish before their eyes. One eyewitness reported hearing a voice say "Mrs. Keller, Mrs. Keller, let me get that for you" in the parking lot. The only other person in sight was more than 500 feet away.
Lyman Harbor - Now the site of restaurants and nightclubs, the Lyman Boat Works occupied the site in the 1930s. A ghostly figure has been seen walking down the hallway of the Jumping Jupiter nightclub. Mysterious voices are heard and cold spots felt in the hallway as well. Patrons and workers at the Blue Heron dining area have reported feeling their hair tugged by unseen hands.
Mix 102.7 FM - This building houses Sandusky's WLEC, WCPZ, and WMJK radio stations. The building was once an Army barracks and is said to be haunted. Lights turn on and off, weird noises are heard, and near where a piano once set, shuffling cards are heard.
River Well House - The McGreen family was given a large sum of money as a gift in the 1800s. They argued among each other as to what they would do with the money. They finally decided to leave the money outside in their wagon over-night until they determined what to do with it. The next morning when they awoke, the money was gone. Mister McGreen was so angered that he killed his whole family, and then hung himself in the well. Mysterious happenings have occurred in the house ever since. Doors opened and closed by themselves, pets refused to enter the dining room, and plants would never live in it. Small fires would start themselves in the fireplace, and door handles were often wiggled. Shadowy figures darted around the house and images could be seed outside of a huge picture window. In 1979, the house mysteriously burned to the ground. The well is still there, however, and nothing will grow within a ten feet radius of it.
Sandusky Mall - There are reportedly restless spirits walking the corridors of the mall late at night. A township police officer reported seeing a mysterious red light at the mall's main entrance when sitting in the parking lot around 1:30am completing paperwork. As he approached the doors, the light disappeared. He contacted mall security who stated they were on the other side of the building, a near ten minute walk. An associate cleaning the fragrance table at Kaufmanns felt as if someone was standing behind her. She turned, thinking it was her relief for break, and a brush of cold air hit her and she fell onto the ground. Disembodied voices have been heard from the women's side of American Eagle. A woman's scream can be heard around midnight in front of Mastercuts and a noose has been found several times in the storage area of Cheers. A ghostly woman wearing a red dress has been reported near the center court, but disappears when approached. She is the most common sighting at the mall. She is usually spotted facing the Elder Beerman department store, as if waiting for someone to come out. A child told his mother that he was speaking to a lady in a red dress at the Kalahari/Kasper Off Road Adventure play area. An overnight security guard had also witnessed the lady in red, actually calling the police thinking she was an intruder. He stayed hidden in a corner behind Hot Topic waiting for the police to answer the phone. When they answered, he began to speak and the lady turned towards him. As he was backing away, the lady went towards him, disappearing into the Suncoast Studio door. The security guard no longer works for the mall. Other witnesses have seen a headless hitchhiker waiting outside of Kaufmanns and a car with no driver has been spotted zooming down Sandusky Mall Blvd. It is said that the area was used by gangsters to commit murders, including several men and at least two woman, one of which was called the woman in red who was a dancer at a local speak easy. Also in 1976 as the mall was being finished, a tornado hit the middle of the mall and rumor has it a woman stocking one of the stores was killed by a wall that fell on her. These two events could explain why the mall may be haunted.
Sandusky State Theater - The theater is haunted by at least four different spirits. One eyewitness reported seeing a ghostly figure wearing 1920s-era clothing walk across the stage as she was cleaning in the balcony. The figure that had a light blue glow stopped, looked at her, and vanished. An employee who was mopping the floor heard footsteps walking on the floor and turned to see footprints being made on the damp floor. And yet another incident occurred in the projector room, that still has its original 1928 units. During a performance one evening, the projectionist head someone whisper "Change the focus". When he turned, no one was there. He went back to work, only to hear the same whisper several more times until the projector suddenly stopped.
Sleep Inn - Employees have reported that they feel that they are not alone when walking the halls on the third floor at night. The television in Room 317 will turn on and flip channels all by itself. A laundry attendant was trapped in Room 315, as the locks are on the inside, and the doors open to the inside, but it would not open. Housekeepers cleaning Room 324 have periodically seen the curtains in Room 312 fluttering, but when the room was checked, the AC unit was off and the room vacant. Doors slam shut and footsteps can be heard when employees are on the third floor alone. Whenever they call out or go to see who's there, the hall is empty.
Vermilion
Devil's Heartbeat - See Lorain County Hauntings..
Gore Orphanage - See Lorain County Hauntings.
Kelm House - This house was a very dilapidated abandoned home off of Risden Road. It was said that the house was cursed, but no one knows why. The house has since been torn down and a new house now stands in it's place.
Maple Grove Cemetery - An angel statue in the cemetery was said to be both haunted and cursed. Supposedly if one looked into the angel's eyes, they would begin to glow. That person would die shortly after this. Due to the many teenagers going to the cemetery at night on ghost hunts and to screw around, the caretakers removed the statue. It is not known if the cemetery is still haunted.
