Places Near Dayton Ohio with Paranormal Activities

The Ghosts of Montgomery County, Ohio

Montgomery County is a fairly large area in Ohio. It is marked by the city of Dayton, which is one of the largest cities in the state. The area is also home to numerous ghosts.

Clayton, Ohio, in Montgomery County has the Clayton Fire Station which is haunted by a little boy. He has sometimes been seen running through the fire station, and is usually found in the main hallway. At times people have also heard strange noises, and found miscellaneous items lying around the hallway.

Centerville is one of the larger cities in Montgomery County, and has several ghosts of its own. The Wolfe Mausoleum in the Centerville Cemetery is haunted by two wolves who were buried inside with their owner. According to local legend, the two were buried alive inside the mausoleum, and even now they are still trying to escape.

The Normandy Church is Centerville has the distinction of being a former house that was turned into a church. Apparently the former owner doesn't like the change, as she still resides inside. Her perfume is often smelled in the church, and people inside at night sometimes hear odd noises. The Town Hall Theater in Centerville is rumored to be haunted as well. It is plagued by cold spots, lights that turn off and on, and doors that open on their own. Some also claim to have seen a man who looks like Abraham Lincoln peering out from an upstairs window.

Ohio's Germantown Cemetery and a Local Ghost

Dayton is the seat of Montgomery County, and is haunted by ghosts dating back hundreds of years. The Amber Rose Restaurant downtown is haunted by the former owner's daughter. The young girl lived there when the restaurant was still a private residence. She breaks dishes, and sometimes plays music inside. The Dayton Country Club is haunted by what sounds like a private party held on the grounds. When workers investigate the sounds, no one is every found.

If you're looking for a place in the Germantown/Miamisburg area of Ohio to see some ghosts and ghouls this Halloween, look no further than the Germantown Cemetery. The Germantown Cemetery is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in Montgomery County, Ohio, second only to the Air Force Museum, and possibly the Patterson Homestead.

Located on Route 725 in Germantown, the Germantown Cemetery is rumored to be haunted by a Confederate soldier. The legend most often associated with the Cemetery is that the soldier died in a battle in southwest Ohio, and there was no time to move his body. Another legend states that on his deathbed the Confederate soldier recanted his position on his death bed, and asked that he be buried in a Union cemetery. Still another legend claims that the soldier was an Ohio native who joined the Confederate Army because he agreed with their side. After his death, his family requested that his body be buried in Ohio.

Despite the true origins of the Confederate soldier haunting the Germantown Cemetery, his spirit is more sweet than scary. He is said to wander the cemetery, looking lost and confused. Possibly the spirit is trying to find his way back to the South, or to his lost battalion.

Growing up in the Dayton area, with an interest in ghosts and hauntings, this was one of the first ghost stories I remember hearing. After working in historic preservation, and in particular cemetery preservation, for a few years, I headed back out to the Germantown Cemetery with a different perspective. The Cemetery was founded in 1849, making it entirely possible that a Confederate soldier could haunt the area. Though Ohio was far north, it was a Union stronghold and had its share of Confederate skirmishes during the Civil War.
Don't go to the Germantown Cemetery expecting to find a small, historic cemetery like you would see in the movies. This is a large active cemetery, where people are still buried today. There isn't a sense of plotting with the spots; you may find a fairly large newer series of graves directly beside a few headstones from the early 1900s. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some of the headstones have been replaced, meaning that it might be hard to decipher between a grave that looks newer, and a grave that is actually new.

As for the ghost, I've never seen him myself, nor do I know anyone who claims to have seen them personally. Instead I've heard a lot of rumors, and second hand stories. If he does exist, he waited awhile to appear. Though the Germantown Cemetery was founded in 1849, its first burial wasn't until 1855. Its possible that he died in one of the last battles during the Civil War. There's also the issue of where his grave lies; there are several military graves in the Cemetery, but no one is exactly sure which could be his grave.

If you are interested in checking out the Germantown Cemetery for yourself, the chances are good that you might just have a good story to take home to your friends.


The Ghostly Legend of Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery

Over the years I have heard a lot of different stories about cemeteries, but one of my favorites has to be the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. My particular background and interest is in cemetery preservation, and I've seen quite a few cemeteries in my day. The Spring Grove Cemetery is by far the largest one I've ever seen.

The cemetery was formed in 1844 by an offshoot of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, and chartered in 1845. A few months later the first burial occurred. Spring Grove is the final resting place of several prominent Buckeye businessmen including the founders of Procter and Gamble, and the founder of Kroger. There are also a large number of Civil War veterans buried there, as well as Charles Fleischmann the famous yeast maker.

According to legend there is a more famous headstone inside the cemetery. Some claim that the man had a stone bust made to exactly replicate his facial structure. The end result was something that looked exactly like him, except made in stone. The only thing missing was his eyes. If you can guess where this story is going...Apparently the man requested that his own eyes be removed and placed in the bust.

Those who have seen the headstone and bust claim that the eyes seem to flicker and look lifelike. They also claim that the man swore those eyes would watch over visitors, to make sure that no one vandalized his grave. The story also claims that the eyes follow you around the cemetery.

There are a few variations on the story that are even more unbelievable. One is that the bust can move, to keep a better watch over those troublemakers. Others claim that the bust will actually talk to those it thinks are about to do harm. Whether that is harm to his grave, or anywhere in the cemetery is unknown.

This Cincinnati legend may sound funny, but there are some people who believe it. There is in fact a headstone with a bust on it, but the eyes are made of glass. Maybe someone alone in Spring Grove saw the bust, and felt as if someone was watching them. After some time the story may have been embellished and turned into the story we know today.
Oddly enough this is the only ghost story I've heard about the Cincinnati cemetery. Considering its age and history, it seems as if there should be a few more stories dwelling inside. Only time will tell


Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, is Full of Ghosts

Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state, and one of the most famous. It is also one of the most haunted.

The Woodland Cemetery encompasses over 200 acres of land, with over 100,000 graves inside, and is still in use today. The gatehouse and crematorium are both on the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in 1841 by John Van Cleve, the cemetery was started in an area far removed from the city limits. Dayton needed a new main cemetery, but wanted one that wouldn't interfere with the layout of the city. The original purpose of the cemetery was to provide locals with a park, as well as a cemetery. During its heyday, it wasn't surprising to see families strolling through the cemetery, stopping only for a picnic on an unoccupied piece of land.

Woodland Cemetery is more than just a place for the dead. It is a piece of Dayton history and is the final resting place of some of the city's brightest alumni. Orville and Wilbur Wright, the two brothers who practically invented the field of flight, are buried inside. James M. Cox, founder of the Dayton Daily News is also buried in the Cemetery. As a side note, Cox is buried on a small hill with only a plain headstone to mark his grave, while a large and elaborate mausoleum stands only a few feet away, unrelated to the Cox family. Author and humorist Erma Bombeck also calls Woodland her final resting place, with a 29,000 pound boulder her husband had shipped from Phoenix, where they lived part-time during their life together. Other "residents" include Huffy Bicycle Company founder George Huffman, Frank Patterson who died when testing a new airplane and whose name is now on the Air Force Base, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the most famous African American poets in American history.
While Woodland has its share of famous residents, some of its most famous residents refuse to stay buried. Johnny Morehouse is one such resident. During his life, Johnny's dog was his faithful companion, following him everywhere, and staying by his side at every moment; the two were rarely apart. According to the popular legend, Johnny drowned after falling into a local canal and after his burial, the dog still refused to leave his side. After his beloved pet died, a special marker was added to the headstone to commemorate his life. To this day people still leave behind candy and toys on the headstone, even over 140 years after his death. During a visit there in August, we noticed a few stuffed animals, and dog toys left on the marker.

According to the ghost legends circulating the Cemetery, Johnny and his dog can sometimes be seen running through the cemetery, or sitting on the edge of the fence near his headstone. Some people also claim to hear barking coming from inside. In 1997, the police were called in, to investigate reports of a young boy wandering through the cemetery after closing, but nothing was ever found. According to some, breath also comes from the dog sculpture at the grave site.

The other ghost spotted in Woodland Cemetery, is that of a young college age student. The story is popular enough to have been included in a volume of the popular Chris Woodyard series of books Haunted Ohio. The girl has blond hair and blue eyes, and is always dressed in jeans, white tennis shoes, and a striped shirt. She sometimes talks to people who walk by, but disappears when they look for her later. Some people also claim that the headstone she sits on glows green or blue at certain times. The legend varies from her being seen at all times of the year, to only on certain days. The legend also says that her father is buried across the cemetery, and she was unhappy at their separation.
Woodland Cemetery is located only steps from the University of Dayton campus. That may seem hard to believe, but I can tell you it is true. While attending the University of Dayton, I lived in the Stewart Street Apartments for one year, and we designated our apartment a "smoke free zone".

Every time I or my roommate wanted a cigarette, we had to go outside to smoke. The front of the complex led to a small courtyard, but the back entrance led to a small stoop only feet from the Cemetery. You could touch the eight foot tall security fence without leaving the stoop, and you could see headstones at all times of the night. We were also "lucky" enough to have the crematorium located directly behind our apartment; we could see the smoke billow from the chimney by looking out our bedroom windows. The other side of the Cemetery is located at the end of Woodland Avenue, at the end of a street full of student houses owned by the school. I also lived in one of those houses during my years at the school. And during my first year on the campus, I also had the chance to live in the Marycrest Dorm, which overlooks Woodland.

With all the legends and stories surrounding Woodland Cemetery, I should have some great stories of my time at the University of Dayton. After all, I did spend three long years surrounded by it. Unfortunately my experiences are very limited. People claimed that you could see the young female ghost from certain spots in the dorm, but despite us looking often, we never saw her or the glowing headstone. At one point during one of our many smoke breaks, we did have a creepy experience, but it turned out to be the guys that lived directly above the stoop.

On another night, as we sat outside smoking our cigarettes, and talking about our boyfriends at the time, we heard an odd noise. We waited a few moments, and then went back to talking when it happened again. From somewhere close by, we heard the distinct sound of a dog barking, and it sounded as though it was coming from inside the fence of the cemetery. Was it our imagination playing tricks on us? Was it the wind carrying the sound? Or, was it the sounds of little Johnny and his dog playing inside...?

If you are interested in visiting Woodland Cemetery for yourself, it is located at 118 Woodland Avenue in Dayton, Ohio.

Patterson Tower

Part of the mystery surrounding the stone tower that looms over Dayton’s Community Golf Course is who built it and why. The popular belief is that it was designed to serve as an observation tower. But others believe that it was constructed by a man named John D. Patterson, which is why the tower is often referred to as Patterson Tower.
Perhaps due in part to the tower’s foreboding appearance, over the years more macabre names have been used to refer to it, including Witches’ Tower and even Frankenstein’s Tower. As for the ghosts that are said to haunt the tower, they were first reported after a tragic accident took place there in the 1960s.
According to legend, a group of teenagers were enjoying themselves near the tower when a violent thunderstorm suddenly rolled in. The teenagers quickly ran for the tower, believing the solid stone the tower was constructed of would protect them. What they failed to notice was that the tower stairs came equipped with a long metal railing.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck a portion of the rail at the top of the tower. The metal rail allowed the electricity to race down the railing towards the teenagers. Two members of the group were leaning against the railing when the lightning struck. They were electrocuted and died almost instantly.
It is said that for weeks afterwards, visitors could still see the charred outlines of the teenagers on the tower wall. Officials ordered metal plates secured to the tower’s openings, but that did little to deter the curious; they simply pried the plates loose. Over time, though, visitors became less and less frequent. In fact, the tower may have faded into obscurity save for one thing; the ghosts.
Legend states that on dark and stormy nights (sorry) shadowy figures said to belong to the teenage victims are seen at the tower. It is said that if there is a sudden and violent bolt of lightning, the figures will illuminate and glow as if they have just been struck by lightning. After which, they will once again fade into nothingness... until the next storm.
Today, due largely to repeated acts of vandalism, "no trespassing" signs have been placed around the tower and the entrance way and lower windows have been more permanently sealed. But that has done little to stop the popularity of the tower and its ghosts. Indeed, in recent years, new stories have begun circulating that claim a woman hanged herself in the tower. There is even a story that claims the real reason officials sealed off the tower was because a young teenager decided to investigate it one night and in the darkness, fell to his death.
So is Patterson Tower haunted? It is hard to say with any certainty. While our equipment picked up nothing during our visit, The Ghosts of Ohio web site continues to receive e-mails on a regular basis from people who claim they have spotted darkened shapes moving about within this foreboding structure. So perhaps it is simply a case of us being in the right place at the wrong time. Or that maybe the spirits of Patterson Tower were dormant during our visit, preferring to wait for the next dark and stormy night to make their presence known.

Woolybooger Cemetery
Greene County, Ohio

Teetering on the verge of falling over onto our Vicious Rumors page is where you will find the strange and perplexing tale of Woolybooger Cemetery. Indeed, the only reason this story hasn't found its way onto the aforementioned page is because The Ghosts of Ohio have yet to find any concrete evidence of... well, of anything!
Perhaps most importantly, who (or what) is supposed to haunt this cemetery.
Situated along Big Darby Creek is a small cemetery that, for reasons yet unknown, has come to be referred to by locals as Woolybooger Cemetery. Although during the course of our investigation, others called it the Woolybooger. Interestingly enough, while everyone we spoke with knew of the cemetery and that it was haunted, no one could tell us why. But the most common response was that strange flashing lights were seen in the cemetery late at night, as well as strange noises.
Another common story we were told centered around the all-too-familiar reference to a "satanic cult" that worshipped in the cemetery. There were even two teenagers who swore that the cemetery got its name because it was home to a Woolybooger, which they described as some kind of Bigfoot-like creature. They also stated that "Woolybooger" is a term used in North Carolina to refer to Bigfoot.
We uncovered no evidence to suggest that there is any cult-like activity currently being conducted in the cemetery.
In fact, this cemetery if fairly well-maintained for one sitting so off the main road. And even if we were able to find evidence of such a group, no one we spoke to connect this mysterious cult with ghostly activity in the cemetery.
During subsequent visits to the cemetery, our equipment failed to pick up any readings out of the ordinary. This is not to say that there is no ghostly activity taking place in the cemetery. Rather, without having information related to who haunts the cemetery, The Ghosts of Ohio is unable to determine the best times to visit.
Concerning the Bigfoot connection, The Ghosts of Ohio contacted several of the leading Ohio Bigfoot organizations and were unable to obtain any reports of Bigfoot sightings in the nearby area.
And as for the enigmatic name of the cemetery, The Ghosts of Ohio discovered something interesting during the course of our investigation. It appears as though "Woolybooger" is the name of a type of lure used in fly fishing. And indeed, since the cemetery sits right next to Big Darby Creek, a popular fishing spot, the name may have sprung from the minds of a few late-night anglers. These fishermen, perhaps armed with flashlights, may also account for the reports of strange lights in the woods near the cemetery. Is there a connection? It's hard to say. But then again, it's hard to say anything about the Woolybooger Cemetery with any certainty


Kentucky's Most Haunted: The Vengeful Ghost of Carl Pruitt

Stories of a vengeful and killer ghost spread across the state of Kentucky in 1938. People claimed that the ghost was causing death and destruction wherever it went, though it seemed to be centered on a small area of the state.

The story started with Carl Pruitt, who seemed to be an ordinary man. Ordinary that is until he discovered his wife cheating on him, and not only that, but cheating with him in his own bed.
In a fit of anger, he grabbed a steel chain and strangled his wife with it, while the other man ran for his life. Seeing what he had done, Pruitt killed himself. Considering what he had done, the wife's family insisted that the two be separated, and Pruitt was placed across town in a different cemetery.

Pruitt's headstone almost instantly changed in appearance, and people swore that they could see a chain wrapped around the stone. It almost looked as if the chain was etched into the stone, and it continued to grow longer and take up more space on the headstone. Once the chain stopped growing, some suggested that the stone be removed, but it never was.

The first death came just a few weeks after the chain stopped. Several boys rode through the cemetery, and one tossed rocks at the headstone to prove his bravery. On the way home that day the boy's bicycle veered out of control and he somehow ended up being strangled by the chain on his bike. Though his friends swore that the boy broke the stone with one of his throws, no evidence of the damage could be found.

A few weeks later the boy's mother went to the cemetery with vengeance in mind. She attacked the tombstone with an axe from her farm, destroying it into a pile of rubble. The next day the lady was hanging clothes outside her house when the clothesline came loose. Somehow, and no one is quite sure how, the woman ended up being strangled by the clothesline. Some claim that once again the tombstone appeared perfectly normal.

Though stories of the deaths continued to spread, not everyone was afraid of Pruitt. A family driving past the cemetery witnessed the horrifying death of their father. The man shot at the headstone, declaring that he thought the whole story was fake. Right after that, his wagon veered out of control and the man was strangled to death by a chain on the wagon. Not only did the tombstone look perfect, but authorities were baffled to how the chain came loose to kill the man.

Following the last death, people began to talk. The talk spread to the point where authorities were sent to the area to examine the tombstone. One of the men laughed at the tombstone, and it would be one of the last things he ever did. While leaving the cemetery, his car crashed. A chain in the area broke through the windshield, wrapped around his neck, and strangled him.

That incident caused people to keep their distance, but once again there was a man who scoffed at the stories. He attacked the tombstone with a hammer, and people could hear the cracking as the tombstone broke in pieces. There was a short silence before people heard the man screaming.
When people ran to the cemetery, they found that a heavy chain from the cemetery gate had strangled the man. It looked as though the man had run right through the gate, caught his neck on the chain, and hung there until people arrived. Once again there was no sign of any damage to Pruitt's tombstone.

This was the turning point of the cemetery. Families began moving their buried to other cemeteries, and new burials rarely occurred there. The cemetery itself was destroyed in the 1950's, leaving only the story behind.

Even today people still talk about the mysterious deaths surrounding this one little tombstone. No explanation has ever been given, but people still love to tell the story of what once happened there.