Franklin Castle Haunted?

The ghosts in Franklin Castle are numerous and paranormal investigators will never be left wanting when they come to the castle. There is a small room near the rear of the house where a baby’s skeleton was found. The baby was supposedly the victim of an inept doctor and several people have reported hearing the cries of a baby within the house’s walls.

There are also many stories of an axe murder which took place in the front tower room. The victim of this axe murder can be seen occasionally standing in the window. The secret passageway in the house was where Hannes reportedly hung his illegitimate daughter, Karen.  It is Karen’s ghost which is one of the most popular and she is usually seen in the 3rd floor room, also known as the “cold room” because it is said to be 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house at all times. Karen is usually dressed in black. She is tall, thin and eerie.

The owners of Franklin Castle have been subjected to many hauntings. There was a couple who lived in the house for some time whose children told them that they wanted to give a cookie to a little girl who would not stop crying, presumably one of Hannes Tiedermann’s children. Mrs. Tiedermann is also said to have possessed the wife of one of the former owners for a period of time. No one stays in the house for long.

History

The house was built in 1881 for a German immigrant named Hannes Tiederman by architects Cudell & Richardson. The first death in the house was that of the owner’s daughter, 15-year old Emma. Not long after her death, the owner’s elderly mother also died. In the next three years the family would bury three more children.

To take his wife’s mind away from the tragic deaths, Hannes added a ballroom, as well as adding turrets and gargoyles, which gave the house the distinct appearance of a castle. It is rumored that there are hidden rooms and passageways in the house which were used for bootlegging during the Prohibition. Although there were many rooms, it has been verified that none of these secret passageways and rooms exist. There is only one small stairway which was used by servants to get them from the kitchen to the front door.

Hannes’ wife, Luise, died in 1895 at the age of 57. Upon his wife’s death he sold the house to the Mullhauser family and by 1908, the entire Tiedermann family were dead. The house remained unoccupied until 1968 when James Romano settled into what was once an abandoned building.

The most recent owner is Michelle Heimburger who paid cash for the house in April 1999. In November of that year a vagrant lit a fire inside and burned the place which cost $200,000 in damages. In 2011, the house was purchased by a European tapestry artist.