8 places in Erie area rumored to be haunted
The Erie region is rich with history.
Along with that history comes folk tales, legends and passed-down stories of paranormal sightings, spirits, ghosts and presences from the past. Here are eight places and their accompanying stories that are suggested, by those who track such things, to house paranormal activity:
1. Ax Murder Hollow
There are a variety of versions of the tale, but they all have the same paranormal outcome. Different versions have been retold time and again for the past 60 years, all involving the now-developed Weis Library area of Millcreek Township.
One version goes like this:
"It's late one October night.
A teenage boy pulls his car off Thomas Road and parks. He and his girlfriend hope to see the ax-wielding ghost of a farmer. According to local legend, the farmer has haunted the woods since hacking his wife and her lover to death nearby.
At first as the teens wait, there's nothing, then a strange rustling close to the ground, like footsteps through dry leaves. Other sounds, like moans, approach the car.
'It's just the wind,' the boy says stoutly, to impress his girlfriend. The boy tries to start the car, to get the heat on, he says, but the battery is dead. The couple huddles close for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, until finally, except for a strange gurgling, the eerie sounds at last recede.
When the boy tries the car's engine again, it starts. And when the headlights come on, there is blood everywhere — on the ground and on the car and dripping from the trees.
Another version involves a gypsy king that haunts the woods since lopping off the head of his unfaithful queen, or that gypsies that once camped in the area told stories of the phantom farmer to keep others away.
As far as police and local historians know, there never was an ax murder in the hollow off Sterrettania Road. But generations of young adults once haunted the area in hopes of seeing the ghostly farmer and tell of stalled engines and eerie sounds during late-night vigils in the woods.
Stephanie Wincik tells a version of the story in her 2002 book, "Ghosts of Erie County."
"People say that on one side of the road, the grass won't grow, and on the other side, it does. Or that when you walk through the area in the middle of the day, birds will be chirping on one side of the road and not the other, where the old farmhouse used to be," Wincik said.
"There's another legend about three little bridges on the road," Wincik said. "If your car stalls on the third bridge at night, you're dead; the murderer will cut off your head."
There are also accounts of seeing the farmer's house, and bloodstained walkways or stairs, though there's no actual house associated with the story.
2. The Fort LeBoeuf Historical Campus
The French Fort LeBoeuf sat on the site which is now the Judson House and Eagle Hotel on High Street in Waterford. Legend has it the bodies were never moved from the cemetery at the fort and the town was built atop it.
The historical campus is made up of the Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society, Amos Judson House and Eagle Hotel, all of which are said to have ghosts and spirits roaming them.
The Eagle Hotel, 32 High St., was built in 1826. The building had a fire in 1868. It houses a restaurant, Sugar N Spice, now on its first floor, and a historical museum on the other two floors. Visitors report hearing mysterious sounds in the building, voices calling visitors' names and a baby crying. Staff members have reported inexplicable gusts of cold air, floor mats turned upside down and items moved around.
The Amos Judson House, 103 High St., has been investigated by numerous paranormal teams. One account includes a team communicating with a child in the house who was interacting with the group via a temperature gun. An investigator was said to be speaking to the child and asking it to walk in front of the gun, calling it a toy, and every time she asked the question, the temperature would drop 6 degrees.
3. Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne Blockhouse
Nestled behind the Pennsylvania Soldiers' & Sailors' Home is the Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne Blockhouse, a reproduction built in 1880 on the site of Wayne's death and burial.
The ghost story: "Mad" Anthony Wayne died in Erie and was buried under his fort on the bay. Almost 15 years later, his son exhumed his eerily well-preserved body, rendered the flesh from the bones, took them back east to bury them in their hometown of Radnor, Pa., and reburied the flesh in Erie. The ghost of Wayne now travels Route 322 once a year looking for the bones that were lost along the journey.
The building is a museum open to the public.
4. The Brewerie at Union Station
One of Erie's most popular restaurants is also home to one of Erie's most popular ghost stories.
The eatery and pub, 123 W. 14th St., offers haunted walking history tours, which is why its rumored ghostly inhabitant, Clara, is so well-known.
Legend has it that a little girl, Clara, fell down the staircase in the restaurant when it was a train station, Union Depot. Clara's parents were climbing to the second floor train platform when the girl's father turned to check on her and struck her with his luggage. She fell down the marble set of stairs to her unfortunate death.
Dozens of paranormal investigative groups have presented chilling evidence that point to a young girl's spirit lingering in the restaurant. Staff members report strange things happen regularly.
The restaurant says that there have been dozens of tragic and untimely deaths in and around the station through its long history.
5. Gudgeonville Covered bridge
The bridge over Elk Creek in Girard Township was destroyed by an arsonist in 2008, but paranormal investigators report the area where it once stood is plagued with paranormal activity.
Investigators report they have communicated with a little girl who was believed to have fallen from nearby cliffs and died, as well as other unrecognizable voices. Cameras have also caught what are described as apparitions and other strange phenomena.
6. Hotel Conneaut
The hotel, 12241 Lake St., Conneaut Lake, was built in 1893 and is said to be home to a few spirits.
A ghost bride, Elizabeth, has been reportedly seen wandering the halls. It's said that she died while honeymooning in a terrible fire that occurred when lighting struck the hotel's wooden roof. Apparently her husband escaped the fire and Elizabeth, stuck in room 321, perished. Legend has it that she still desperately searches for her husband on the hotel's third floor in her wedding gown, trailing a phantom scent of jasmine while softly sobbing.
Visitors say they have spotted Elizabeth throughout the hotel and even heard her whispering in random parts of the building.
Accompanying Elizabeth at times is also Angelina, a child who died when her tricycle either fell down the stairs or off a hotel balcony. Angelina has been seen in the halls looking for a playmate. More paranormal tales involve a mad butcher who was dismembered in the kitchen and an old couple seen frequently dancing in the ballroom.
7. Erie Cemetery
This one seems a bit self-explanatory, but the 75-acre cemetery, 2116 Chestnut St., incorporated in 1851, houses more than 50,000 graves.
Visitors have reported they feel they're being followed and have seen mysterious burn marks in the grass.
8. Cathedral of St. Paul
Many congregation members believe the ghost of a little girl named Katie lives in the Cathedral of St. Paul, 134 W. Seventh St.
Legend has it that Katie died in a car accident near the church. Church visitors and members have reported hearing a "jovial" laugh of a little girl. Reports of the sound of heavy objects moving around in empty rooms have been brought up. Paranormal investigators reported the church organ played by itself during an investigation.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 8 places in Erie PA area rumored to be haunted
