Cleveland Police Museum (Cleveland, Ohio)
The highlight of this free museum is a collection of death masks taken from victims of the infamous Cleveland Torso Killer. The website offers more details on the killings, for those not in the know.
Mansfield Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio)
Chrissy also informed me of this wonderful old prison: “We have a very old prison, a place where many terrible events have taken place, and many of those energies are said to still remain. It was shutdown several years ago because it’s condition was too horrible for inmates, overcrowding, murders from even the prison barber.” Sounds splendid to me! The prison, which incidentally served as the set for the Shawshank Redemption, is open for tours – see the official site for details. I’ve been on a couple of the all-night ghost hunts myself and they were a creepy good time (though there was nothing ghostly to report, naturally). Check out my Flickr feed for some photos I took with my Holga camera during my visits.
Lakeview Cemetery (Cleveland, Ohio)
Ms. Jukes recommends this cemetery: “This is the cemetery I grew up with. Naturally, I’m biased, but it IS famous and beautiful. Eliot Ness and John D Rockefeller are buried here, along with the enormously tasteful AND reverent (martyred President) Garfield Monument. A friend of mine, from a prominent family, was named to the board and created an outdoor sculpture garden of it. It’s HUGE.”
Franklin Castle (Cleveland, Ohio)
Chrissy writes to tell me of the infamous Franklin Castle. It’s an eerie looking place that is allegedly haunted (Ghosts Of The Prairie), and where they found a room full of baby skeletons.
Wood County Historical Museum (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Why stop in Bowling Green? Why, to see the fingers of Mary Bach, of course! Roadside America explains what it’s all about: “… their prized display — three human fingers in a jar. The fingers belonged to Mary Bach, who was murdered. The knife used to sever the fingers, and the noose used to hang the man who severed them, are proudly presented alongside the popular Tater Tot-like appendages. ‘Those fingers built this museum,’ the curator boasts.” (Special thanks to Kathy Harrington for sending me the Roadside America link.)