The OES visited Green Lawn Abbey on July 13, 2003. Originally called Woodlawn Mausoleum, the Green Lawn Abbey is located on Greenlawn Avenue in Columbus. This beautiful mausoleum is often believed to be affiliated with the huge Green Lawn Cemetery located just down the road, but they are not affiliated with each other what so ever and even have different owners. In fact, the Green Lawn Abbey was named after the cemetery to take advantage of the cemetery's good name. Built in 1927, the Abbey is an awesome structure built from Ohio limestone and Italian marble. It was the largest and finest mausoleum in Columbus with enough space for 654 interments. There are several notable residents of the Abbey, including world-famous Howard Thurston the Magician, five-time Columbus Mayor George Karb and members of the Lewis Sells family who owned the 2nd largest traveling circus in the early 1900s.
Of course a building of this magnitude is said to be haunted. The ghost of Thurston the Magician is said to roam the halls of the Abbey, as well as a woman who is said to haunt the second floor. Even if these stories are only folklore, the Green Lawn Abbey is a very creepy place inside. Maybe it is knowing that just inches behind the plaque on the wall lays the remains of someone who has been long gone. Since the Abbey is such a difficult place to get into, not many photos of its interior existed prior to our visit. We managed to take two 360º panoramic photos and recorded several EVPs when the place was open. We also shot video inside the Abbey, it may be uploaded to the site some day. We heard one of the metal gates open on the other end of the building from where we were during our visit. We were expecting to find a homeless person in the building, but upon inspection, no one was there. Restoration work on the heavily vandalized Abbey began in 2006. Please visit the Abbey's Official Website to make a donation to help with the restoration costs.
NOTICE: Green Lawn Abbey is regularly patrolled by police and now has an alarm system with video monitoring and security patrols. Anyone conducting illegal activity will be arrested and prosecuted. Please contact the Franklin Township Police Department at 614-462-3333 if you witness any illegal activity taking place at this magnificent building.