Friday Night Frights
In my Pepper Martin Mystery Series, I write about ghosts. Ghosts that are decades old, ghosts that are recently departed, it doesn’t matter to Pepper. She solves mysteries for the ghosts who inhabit the Cleveland cemetery where she works.
Thanks to Pepper, I’ve done some pretty cool research. I’ve been on a ghost hunt, and I’ve met Jason and Grant (my heroes!), from the TV show “Ghost Hunters.” This past weekend, I had another opportunity to get in touch with the woo-woo world on a tour from Haunted Cleveland.
Zorro and I boarded one of those luxury tour busses on Friday evening. First stop, the William G. Mather. For those of you not from this area, the Mather is an ore boat built in the early 20s. At one time, it was one of the biggest boats on the Great Lakes. As a side note: Zorro’s father once lied about his age (he told them he was 14) so that he could work on the Mather. I don’t know how old he really was, but it was his first taste of sailing, and he had fond memories.
We thought we’d simply drive past the Mather and hear spooky stories, but the folks at Haunted Cleveland had arranged a visit. We went up to the wheel house and heard a fun ghost story from a costumed actor, then back down to the main entrance where Erie (or is it Eerie?) Mary greeted us with a story about her lost sailor.
Erie Mary chose one special guest from the audience to join her on stage. Is it any wonder she picked our very own Zorro?
From there we went to the US Cod, a WWII submarine docked in Cleveland and now a museum. We got to go down into the sub and let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart! It’s not easy climbing down that tiny ladder, and it’s incredible to think that an entire crew manned those close quarters in war-time conditions. The ghost of the Cod is a sailor who was washed overboard.
Our next stop was a Lake Erie beach near where there was a shipwreck more than 100 years ago. There were 300 fatalities and the bodies were once buried on the beach. Legend says that at night, you can still hear the cries of the dying.
Squire’s Castle was the next highlight of our tour. What’s left of the “castle” was what was supposed to be the gatehouse of a grand country estate east of the city. When the owner’s wife fell down a flight of steps and died, he stopped construction, but they say her spirit haunts the ruin.
Last stop, Cleveland’s famous Franklin Castle, supposedly the most haunted building the Ohio. We had a private tour and though it was impossible to see all of the house, we got a glimpse of the old servants’ quarters and the rooms upstairs that are being turned int a B&B.
Did we encounter any ghosts?
Sad to say, no. But I did get some pictures of orbs both at Squire’s Castle and Franklin Castle. There are experts in the field who say orbs signify a paranormal presence, and others who say they’re nothing more than balls of energy. Still others might argue that they’re simply dust particles or pollen. I’ll let you decide.
We had a great time on the tour, and I learned a lot of Cleveland history. It may come in handy. You never know who Pepper’s going to run into in an upcoming book!
Check out Haunted Cleveland: www.hauntedcleveland.net
Orbs at Franklin Castle
Tried to include a picture of the orbs at Squire’s Castle, but technology is not cooperating!
