Monthly Archives: December 2013

Cincinnati Hauntings

Paranormal activity isn’t easy to find or witness if you don’t know where to look. Even Cinci Haunted Handbook COVER lo-reswhen you do know of a place with a  spooky past, finding a ghost comes down to luck most times, which leaves people skeptical. However, when a story is passed down, being told countless times, something paranormal has to be going on.

Below are several places in Cincinnati said to be haunted, all (+97 more) are featured in the book Cincinnati Haunted Handbook, by Jeff Morris and Garret Merk.

Cincinnati Museum Center: In the early 1990s, the center was experiencing theft of computers. A single security guard name Shirley was hired to catch the thieves. One night, she found the thieves on the fourth floor and was shot dead. Her body was later discovered in Northern Kentucky. She is said to still roam the halls of the Union Terminal. Many of the housekeepers will not walk alone after closing, and the sounds of locking doors and footsteops can be heard when few people are around. Also, a ghostly pilot is often seen in the museum in the airplane from World War II. Occasionally, you can hear people crying and welcoming back soldiers on the tracks.

Cincinnati Museum of Art: Security guards have often reported seeing a 7-foot tall specter with no human features rise up from a mummy sarcophagus and go straight through the ceiling. The specter is seen coming through the ceiling whenever entering a room. When guards would take a nap in the storage room, they would wake up to a glowing face hovering inches away from them. Some guards claim that the specter blocks their way as they attempt to maneuver around the storage room. Many security guards have quit, reporting the same story.

Eden Park: The apparition of a woman wearing a black dress has been seen standing by the gazebo near the park’s lake. The woman is thought to be Imogene, the wife of famous Cincinnati bootlegger George Remus. Remus killed his wife in Eden Park after she filed for divorce.

How an EMF Device Works

One possible way to detect ghost is through the measuring of EMF (electromagnetic Frequencies). An EMF meter is an instrument that measures fluctuation in electromagnetic fields.  Ghost/spirits seem to be surrounded by tiny amounts of EMF, so by scanning an area with an EMF meter it is possible to pick up traces of EMF which have no readily explainable “source” under normal circumstances. Using an EMF meter can not only be used to detect the presence of ghosts, but with a reading, it is possible to track or follow the movements of a ghost.

Before using an EMF meter to detect ghosts in a location, one should first take EMF readings throughout the entire site in order to establish any other sources of EMF, such as electrical appliances generators, electrical cables or other devices that either use or generate power. This is done to establish the normal readings for a location and to isolate any natural sources of EMF so as to avoid “false readings” i.e. mistaking a fridge as an indicator of supernatural activity (unless of course the fridge is opening and closing itself).

Knowing the base line EMF readings of the area is important in knowing what the normal expected frequencies are. Most normal readings for devices are in the range of 9.0 – 30.0 on the EMF meter. Always make sure to back up the meter’s readings with other pieces of evidence as well.

When using an EMF meter to detect ghost or spirits one should sweep the area methodically taking note of any readings. A thorough check is done to see if there is any possible natural cause for the reading, i.e. electrical appliance, power cable etc. If no natural causes are present at the location you are reading with the meter, you are dealing with paranormal activity.

A typical EMF reading both for normal and paranormal activity will lie within the range of 2.0 to 7.0. Any reading within this range that cannot be traced to a source is attributed to spirit activity.

Another characteristic of EMF readings to be aware of is that the closer one comes to the source the higher the reading will be. Take for example a T.V. if one points the meter at the T.V. one will get a reading and the closer one moves to the T.V. the stronger the reading will get.

A reading from a natural object will always occur in the same location and will not disappear or move unless the source is moved or removed. Readings from natural sources are always discarded.

EMF fields do not occur naturally, nor do they move or disappear and reappear. It is impossible for low level EMF readings to occur without a “natural source”. Any readings picked up without a “source” present are therefore attributed to spirits and/or residual energy from supernatural causes.

EMF meters have different distance ranges. They all work on the same principle. The meter’s field of detection is generally cone shaped similar to the beam of a flashlight. Its range depends on the model and how much you care to spend on an EMF meter.

Ghost of the Night Watchman

From the desolate stretch along route 278 through Lake Hope State Park, it’s hard to imagine a town of furnace worker shacks, a general store, a post office, and a tiny schoolhouse. Until you notice the crumbling monster of the old furnace shoved into the valley floor. Not much more than a fortress of thick stone slabs, bent iron, and a smattering of black, shiny rocks of slag remain to remind us of the past.

During the mid-to-late 1800s, the drive to pull raw iron ore from Southern Ohio’s fertile sandstone soil and turn it into iron brought mining, railroading and iron blast furnaces. There was Zaleski and Mineral, Ingham and Hope – all filled with workers and their families, eking out an existence working in the mines or at the furnaces to make a simple living. However, it’s the furnace by Lake Hope that remains haunted.

Whispers have always told of a night watchman for Hope Furnace who stumbled into the fiery stack. He burned to death almost instantly, not even a scorched bone to be found among the charred cinders at the bottom of the pit. The man’s name still remains a mystery and no newspaper article about his death can be found. However, it would not be uncommon for the furnace operators to hire a nameless tenant of a neighboring town or a vagrant passing through to work in their company.  Most were immigrants working for little more than enough food to get them by day to day. But the mysterious worker is said to be seen with an orange lantern still strolling across the top of the furnace on rainy evenings. He is seen as nothing more than a shadowy figure traveling as if walking on air where the old buildings once connected to the furnace.

Now known as the Night Watchman, a bright light can be seen bobbing up and down by the furnace. If you wait long enough, tales say the light moves quickly toward you, faster than any human could run.

If you’d like to explore the Hope furnace, from State Route 93-Take State Route 56 to State Route 278 south-following the signs toward Lake Hope State Park. The iron furnace will be on your right.

Please note: Always check with park staff to see when and where you can hunt for these ghosts. Because of the danger of many areas like the cliffs at Hocking Hills after dark, the trails close at dusk.