Athens Asylum building (Athens, Ohio)

In 1873, the Athens Lunatic Asylum building was built. Lobotomies, electro shock therapy, and other trial treatments were performed on the patients here. Purchased by the University of Ohio, the hospital was closed in 1979 but the building still stands today and is called the Ridges building. It is rumored to be haunted by ghost and other unexplained phenomena.

One particularly haunting aspect of the Ridges is the famous stain. On December 1st, 1978, a 54 year old female patient named Margaret Schilling disappeared. She was found dead six weeks later on January 12th, 1979 in a seldom used part of the hospital on the top floor of ward N-20. After removing her body, her outline appeared impressed on the floor, revealing even her hairstyle and folds of her clothing. Its appearance is not scientifically impossible, because it may have been caused by the decomposition of her body in reaction with direct sunlight from the window. But the stain was repeatedly cleaned, and always reappears, and can still be seen today. Some say the ghost of Margaret Schilling and others who have died in the hospital wander the halls at night.

In 1981, a female college student visited the Athens Lunatic Asylum building. After a short stay, something scared her and she quickly left. That same night, for reasons still unknown, that female student killed herself in her dorm room at Wilson's Hall.

Strange things have been reported happening here by many people for many years now.

Hannings Cemetery (Athens, Ohio)

One of the five cemeteries of Athens Mental Health Center ,Hannings Cemetery was called the thirteenth most haunted place in the world by the British Society for Psychical Research. Frequent sightings of a phantom man wearing a dark hood and robe and holding a sickle have been seen in various parts of the cemetery. Some people have even claimed being chased out of Hanning cemetery by the evil hooded spirit.

Mansfield Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio)

The Mansfield Reformatory, (also known as the Ohio State Reformatory) is a historic prison located at 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield, Ohio, USA. The Reformatory was built between 1886 and 1910 by architect Levi T. Scofield.

The prison was designed in Romanesque Revival style to look like the old world castles and cathedrals in Germany. It was built on the site of a former Civil War camp, Camp Mordecai Bartley. It is also known for having the world's tallest free-standing, steel cell block, at six tiers high.

On September 17th, 1896 the first 150 inmates were brought to the prison. By the early 1930's the prison was extremely overcrowded and outdated. It wasn't until the 1980's that Mansfield Reformatory was deemed unfit to serve as a prison. The state officially stopped using it as a prison in December of 1990.

The Mansfield Reformatory has an incredible list of haunted tales that are part of its long history, probably because over 200 people died within the walls of the prison. Many were murdered, others committed suicide, and a few guards were even killed during a few escape attempts.

From 1935 until 1959 Arthur Lewis Glattke was the prisons Superintendent. Glattke's wife, Helen Bauer Glattke, died three days following an accident in November 1950 when a handgun discharged as she was reaching into a jewelry box. Rumors have it that the warden actually murdered his wife and a huge cover up ensued. Warden Glattke died following a heart attack suffered in his office on February 10th, 1959.

The Mansfield Reformatory is supposedly haunted with several paranormal "hotspots" such as the two chapels, the area around the warden's office, the infirmary, and the solitary confinement area. The cell that is marked with an "X" has also been reported to have unusual activity in it. The ghosts of both warden Glattke and his wife Helen are reported to haunt the reformatory's east administration building. Many orbs and mists have been photographed in the administrative wing over the years. Visitors to this wing have felt cold air spots while wandering its halls and have complained of camera malfunctions as well. The sound of slamming cell doors and someone running through the halls have been reported. Almost every visitor feels as though they are being watched from many of the cells. The Chapel is also an area of high paranormal activity. Orbs, mists, equipment failures, and mysterious shadows are just some of the strange events that occur here. Some people believe that the Chapel was used as an execution chamber before being converted into a place of worship.

The facility gained fame when it served as Shawshank State Prison in the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The prison today is a museum and tours and ghost hunts are offered during the summer months only.

Wilson Hall - Ohio University (Athens, Ohio)

Viewed from a map, the five cemeteries of Athens Mental Health Center form the perfect shape of a pentagram. Eerie coincidence but right in the middle of the shape sits Wilson Hall, an Ohio University building that opened in 1964. It was built on the same land as an original graveyard used by the asylum, and is the site of several reported paranormal occurrences.

Room 428, in particular, has had reports of objects flying off shelves, doors opening and closing of their own volition, toilets flushing, and sights of the ghost of a student who died in the room.

Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Dayton, Ohio)

Wright Patterson Air Force Base is located in Dayton, Ohio, on 1100 Spaatz Street. It is the oldest and biggest aviation museum in the world. It contains an awesome huge collection of aircraft and war memorabilia inside of 5 very big galleries all connected to each other by hallways.

All 5 galleries are interesting and very educational as well. The first "The Early Flight Years Gallery" contains alot of old planes from the 1920's and 1930's and stories about military flight before World War 2. The second gallery is the "Air Power Gallery". It contains a collection of uniforms from all of the services, heroes, and campaigns the United States has been in. It also has alot of planes from World War 2 and this gallery also features a number of different exhibits and artifacts that would take forever to mention all of them. In the third gallery, "the Modern Fight Gallery", a B-52 Bomber is on display, along with alot of other planes as well. A few Helicopters can also be seen here. The next gallery is "The Cold War Gallery". This gallery is a 2 hangar setup with all the planes used by our Air Force in that era. This gallery’s aircraft collection shows a wide variety of aircraft, such as fighters, long-range bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance air craft, heavy airlift and trainers, plus more. One modern aircraft on display here is the world’s only permanent public display of a B-2 stealth bomber. Another interesting thing here in this gallery is a section of the Berlin Wall from Germany on display. The last gallery is the "Missile & Space Gallery". The Challenger Space Shuttle is up on display here as well as a number of different missiles. Space modules used in the Apollo program is also on exhibit here.

With so many historic items on display here, its no wonder that the Wright Patterson Air Force Base is believed by many to be haunted by a number of spirits. Some believe that the old Air Force relics and planes on display at the museum attract the spirits of crew members killed in action or accidents. Janitors and guards have reported paranormal occurrences taking place here at the base such as moving objects, unexplainable voices, actual apparitions, and strange eerie sounds. One janitor actually reported being hit by an unseen apparition. Pilots and crews who loved their planes while alive, still might be attracted to them even after they are dead. WW2 planes "Lady Be Good", "Strawberry Bitch", & "Bockscar" are all rumored to be haunted by ghost here. Two vietnam helicopters are also said to be haunted by spirits, the "Hop-Along" and the "Black Maria".

Recently the TAPS crew, from the TV show Ghost Hunters, did an investigation here. They had a very interesting time and collected some pretty good evidence of the paranormal activity taking place here. In the end they agreed that the air force base is definately haunted by something or someone.

The air force base is open to the public year round. It is free to enter the base but a photo ID is required to get in. Along with your ID, dont forget to wear a pair of comfortable shoes because you'll do alot of walking here.