This is the hauntings list for Perry 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.
Corning
Beach Grove Cemetery - Witnesses have reported glowing tombstones and the sounds of a bell in the tower, even though there are no longer bells in the tower. Others have reported being pushed over the fence by unseen hands when attempting to enter the cemetery.
Weaver Cave - The cave is haunted by those who were killed there by the Ku Klux Klan years ago. Ghostly screams can be heard coming from the cave at night.
New Lexington
Tunnel Hill Bridge - The ghost of a woman who committed suicide at the bridge, after learning of her husband's affair and killing him, is said to haunt the area.
New Straitsville
Tinker's Cave
- Tinker was a man who supposedly sold horses to Morgan's Raiders when they made
their sweep through Ohio during the Civil War. He was a horse thief and would
sell his stolen horses to anyone who would pay the price. Union troops found him
guilty of treason and hang him in a nearby tree. It is said today that you can
sometimes hear the ghostly horses there, and sometimes can even see Tinker
himself hanging from a tree.
Somerset
Clay Haus Restaurant - Ghostly men and women are seen on the stairs and strange noises are heard. The place was built between 1812 and 1820 and at one time, the present basement was the first floor. This is where many of the ghosts have been seen.
Otterbein Cemetery - Probably the most notorious haunted site
in Perry County, Otterbein Cemetery is home to the horseshoe grave. As the story
goes, a man named James Henry had two women that wanted to marry him, Mary Angle
and Rachel Hodge. One night while he was out riding his horse trying to decide
which to marry, he fell asleep. When he awoke, he found himself at Mary's house.
Taking it as a sign, he and Mary were married soon after, Rachel serving as a
bridesmaid. Mary became pregnant and on February 28, 1845, she died during
childbirth; the baby stillborn. She was buried at Otterbein Cemetery. Three
years later, James decided to marry Rachel Hodge, and did so on December 7,
1848. Rachel wore a black dress at the wedding and the two visited Mary's grave
after the wedding. About a week later, the cemetery's caretaker discovered that
a mysterious horseshoe had appeared on the back of Mary's tombstone. Reports of
strange noises and balls of light in the cemetery at night also began to pour
in. The next morning James went to the barn to do his chores. He stayed gone
longer than usual, so Rachel went out to check on him. She found him dead in the
horse's stall with the imprint of a horseshoe, identical to the one on Mary's
tombstone, on his forehead. It is said that
during the night, one could sometimes hear the pounding of horses hooves coming
down the road, towards the cemetery. Reports of mysterious balls of light and
eerie sounds still
plague the cemetery. The horseshoe on the back of Mary's tombstone cannot be
scrubbed off. Locals say that the current stone is a replacement for the
original stone, and that the horseshoe appeared on the current stone only days
after it was erected.
Saint Joseph's Cathedral - Being one of the oldest Catholic Cathedrals in Ohio, St. Joseph's Cathedral is said to be haunted by a former priest who lived there. His ghost has been seen roaming the halls and sometimes would extinguish the candles at the altar.
