Fairfield County Hauntings & Legends

Amanda

Amanda Clear Creek High School - A little boy in old fashioned clothes is said to haunt the school. Staff members have seen the boy on several occasions, but they do not know who he is.
Amanda Elementary School - The larger, condemned school that sat next to the current school was home to a few spirits. Children on recess at the current school reported seeing small children dart pass the condemned school's windows, and sometimes heard strange noises coming from within. A mysterious mist sometimes appears along the treetops of the woods directly behind the school. The school children often blame this on a mother, who put a curse on the former school after her daughter was made fun of. NOTE: The school has been demolished.

Delmont

Route 22 - In March of 1897, the body of a murder victim was washed out into an open culvert under what is now Route 22, then the Zanesville-Marysville Road. He was a well-dressed, middle-aged man who had his throat cut wide open. No one ever identified the man, so the townspeople buried his body in Elmwood Cemetery. His murder was never solved. Shortly afterwards, travelers on Route 22 began seeing the ghostly figure of the man pacing the highway. His ghost can still be seen at times to this day.

East Rushville

Large Brick House - This house is said to have belonged to a doctor during the antebellum period. A conductor on the Underground Railroad, the doctor helped many slave escape to freedom. One slave died on the way to Canada. This slave had wanted to earn money to go back and buy the freedom of his girlfriend, Nelly Gray. In response to the tragedy, the doctor's son wrote the Civil War song "Darling Nelly Gray," which became very popular in the North. Since that time, the house has been haunted by an unknown ghost. So much activity takes place there that the deed of the house notes that it is haunted. (Credits: Scott)

Lancaster

Baldwin Run - The wooded area at the intersection of Marietta Road and State Route 188 is said to be haunted by the spirits of those killed at an inn that used to occupy the site. A reformed pirate by the name of John Baldwin built the inn in the early 1800s. Often times, travelers stopped at the inn on their way to and from the farm market. It was not uncommon for those carrying large sums of money to come up missing after a visit to the inn. John and his accomplices is said to have murdered those with a lot of money and bury them in the woods nearby. The inn and the ground it stood on has been haunted ever since.
Beck's Knob - Part of the Schallenberger State Nature Preserve, Beck's Knob is said to be haunted by a man who shot himself there. Known as Hermit on the Knob, his ghost carries a lantern as he walks from the knob to a nearby creek.
BIS House - In 1899, a sixteen-year-old maid named Gail Parish and her father came from Athens County to work for the family of the mansion. Her father, a blacksmith, hired a young man named Johnny Kelly to assist him in the smithy. Gain and Johnny became lovers. When her father and the owners of the mansion discovered the romance, they forbade the two from ever seeing each other again. In a craze, Johnny broke into Gail's room one night and slit her throat with a shaving knife. Using her blood, Johnny wrote "If I cannot have you, no one can," on the stairwell. It is said that Gail's calico dress sometimes appears in the closet.
Clarksburg Schoolhouse - Just outside of Lancaster, this schoolhouse was said to be haunted by a man who was thought to have been killed by stagecoach robbers who ran rampant in the area. The school's bell tolled by itself, mysterious noises and the sound of horse hooves could be heard near the school at night. Once a man walking home reported being chased by a huge black dog. When he reached the schoolhouse, the dog vanished.
County Infirmary - Most recently occupied by the Fairfield County Department of Health, this old building was constructed between 1828 and 1840 is said to be haunted. Many people who have worked in the building have encountered people talking late at night, when no one was supposed to be in the building. The second and third floors are said to be haunted by a ghost named "Willy." A ghostly woman wearing 1800s style clothes and her hair in a bun has been spotted as well. Many employees are afraid to go into the attic, where old health department records are stored, due to a coldness and strange feeling about the place. The woman's restroom on the second floor is also avoided due to the same feeling.
Crawfis Institute - Built in 1889, this former school and teacher's college is often misidentified as an old mental institution or hospital. The building sat vacant for a number of years and is supposedly haunted by a wide variety of ghosts. It is now a private residence.
East King Street Residence - This home is haunted by at least three ghosts. One is a little girl who plays with children living in the home. A man who wears a brown suit has been seen, as well as the nanny of the little girl who appeared as a skull and boney hands. Cold spots are frequent and children's toys operate by themselves.
Hawk's Tavern at the Mill - This former warehouse turned restaurant is said to be haunted. Workers have reported hearing mysterious footsteps and some have seen a ghostly man in brown attire. The basement is also said to be haunted.
Madison Avenue Home - A home near the corner of Madison and Sixth Avenue is reportedly haunted. It is said that there was a fire there in the early 1900s where two children died. Some people who have slept in the home claim to have felt the children sleeping in bed with them. (Credits: Heather Howard)
Mudhouse Mansion - Perhaps the most notorious haunting in Fairfield County is that of Mudhouse Mansion. During the Civil War, a general had supposedly kept slaves in an outbuilding during the night. It is said the slaves dug their way out and went into his house one night, murdering his entire family. The ghosts of the family are supposed to haunt the place. Some say that this was the original home of Bloody Mary (you know...the legend that when you look in a mirror and say her name five times, she is supposed to appear behind you). A word of caution, the property owner has been known to shoot at trespassers and has police and security guards to patrol the property frequently.
New Lexington Road - Ghostly bells and shotgun blasts can be heard as you drive down New Lexington Road. It is said that many years ago, a boy walking down the road with his unloaded shot gun passed a church with no bell. Minutes later his mother heard the blast of a shotgun, followed by church bells ringing. She hurried down the road only to find her son dead of a gunshot wound to his stomach, his shotgun still unloaded. It was never known if the boy somehow shot himself or of some more sinister act was committed. From that day forward, the sound of a shotgun followed by church bells ringing can be heard, almost nightly.
Pleasant Valley - The area known as Pleasant Valley is said to be haunted by an old hermit and his mule. He is most often seen carrying a keg of rum and singing a song. He is believed to be the ghost of a man who went off-course one night and disappeared into a swamp.
Samuel Bush House - Also known as the Herbert M. Turner Residence and Spook Hollow, this house is located at 1934 Cold Spring Drive just north of Old Columbus Road. Built in 1806 and expanded in 1830, a ghostly horseman is said to haunt the valley where the house sits. It was said that he had a buried treasure in the area between the quince and apple orchard. Both of those landmarks are no longer in existence. There is a family cemetery located on the property as well. The horseman is said to ride through the valley at night, protecting his treasure. The house was abandoned for sometime in the 1950s, but is occupied once again.
Still House Hollow - This story dates back to the 1850s when a man named John Ornsdorf disappeared. His horse arrived at his home in Lancaster with his blood and pieces of his body on it. A search party traced the blood trail to a man's house named Crowley. Upon inspecting the home, neither Crowley nor Ornsdorf were anywhere to be found. The search party did report finding a dead yearling calf in a back room and the smell of sulfur was strong. Ever since, sightings of a human-like calf have been reported, sometimes even jumping on the back of the horse and riding along. These sightings especially occurred between the years of 1850 and 1880, when Foglesong Road closed. Since the closure, the hauntings seemed to have subdued.
Stone Wall Cemetery - This cemetery is said to be haunted. Legend says that if you climb over the wall during the night and walk around the wall so many times, the ghosts will try to pull you in. People have also reported seeing odd things within the confines of the cemetery.

Lithopolis

Abandoned House - An abandoned house near Slate Run Metro Park is said to be haunted by the ghost of a girl. She supposedly killed her family, hanging her father in the bell tower and killing her baby sibling in the barn. She then hanged herself. Ghostly figures can be seen in the windows and doorways, and the ghosts will sometimes physically touch people in or near the house.

Revenge

Johnson Covered Bridge - A woman is known to haunt the covered bridge that now resides in a small roadside park. It is unknown who she is, but there are two legends in regards to her death. In one, it says that she fell into Clear Creek while helping to guide her family's horses across the bridge during a thunderstorm. The second legend says that she discovered her husband's infidelity and hanged herself from the bridge. Witnesses have seen the ghostly woman pacing about the bridge, standing at one end, or even calling out to them.

Sugar Grove

Blue Light Ghost - The ghost of a woman who cut her lover's head off, carried it down a hill and then cut her own throat is said to haunt the hill. Located near a bridge on Sugar Grove Road, it is said if you call her name, "Anna," her ghost will appear as a blue light and hill come down the hill towards you.
Rushcreek Headless Woman - A headless woman is said to haunt the area near Rushcreek and Berne Union High School. She has often been seen carrying her head under her arm while walking through the woods at night. The sightings of her began to take place in the 1920s, but no one knows who she is.
Sugar Grove Cemetery - This cemetery is said to be haunted by an old warlock buried there.