Brecksville lore lives on in local ghost stories

by Charles Cassady

Ghost stories are common to cultures throughout the world – and throughout the year. In old Japan, the “rakugo,” a wandering spooky bard, would recount supernatural yarns called “obake” on warm summer evenings. A stated intent was to raise gooseflesh (“torihada”) on the listeners, as a sort of forerunner to air conditioning.

In autumn and October, people eagerly join “Ghost Tours,” visiting authentic sites of chilling regional legends and lore. Those who have done the research say that the American city with the largest quantity of supernatural guided walking tours is Savannah, Georgia, followed by New Orleans and Chicago.

The latest ghost-tour business in Cuyahoga County to commence, in downtown Cleveland and Flats, are 2023 tours led by local author/genealogist/historian William Krejci. Its perambulations can be found online at www.strangenspooky.com.

And of course, the nearer to home the scary stories get, the more delicious the fright. For who has time and gas money to go to Amityville, New York? Or even to the notorious Hans Tiedemann mansion (alias the Franklin Castle) in downtown Cleveland, where William Krejci lived, when dark rumors and spine-tingling accounts can haunt you right down the street? 

Here are some of the local rumors. Keep in mind that in the “boo! business,” actual facts are sometimes more tricks than treats, and the rise of the internet (just the latest version of tabloid media) has conjured many tall tales just for fun. Still, in the Halloween run-up, any ghostly gazetteer of Brecksville should have these sepulchral shades:

Farnham Manor –

Built in 1834, Farnham Manor, conspicuous on the Brecksville-Richfield border on SR 21, has been called one of the least-heralded but most “investigated” spooky sites in Ohio.

Original owner Everett Farnham is described as one of the nine children of original Connecticut-transplanted settlers John and Mary Farnham, who had started a profitable sawmill and other ventures. Everett built the home on the family’s thousands of acres that he had inherited from John. In 1841 Everett, a successful businessman, planter and landowner himself, married the much-younger Emily Oviatt, and they had five children.

Central to ghost legends of Farnham Manor was the 1858 drowning death of daughter Emily Farnham, 6, who fell into a water cistern while Everett was traveling. The tragedy reportedly broke the father’s heart. Both Everett and the elder Emily Farnham died in the 1880s, and the manor remained in the family for only a few decades more.

In the 1900s, the large house, now accented by a porch addition, passed through a series of owners, including an Akron police chief’s widow. The couple Theo and Ana Marie Kirk operated it as a popular restaurant, the Danish Smorgasbord. In its post-dining period, beginning in the 1970s, the aging manor began to fall into disrepair and a less certain existence. Vagrant bikers used it as a hangout, and even a coyote took up residence. Well-intentioned new owners made spotty attempts to turn into a bed-and-breakfast, but the house stood empty in the early 2000s, prey to vandals the elements. 

Ghost stories have often been helped along by previous tenants trying to publicize the manor. From the Danish Smorgasbord days comes an account that an employee was startled by a male apparition inside a walk-in cooler . Another informant who spent time in the home in the 1970s claimed to have beheld a lit “candle” held by invisible hands, floating along an upstairs hallway at night. Earlier folklore from the vicinity claimed that the Farnham woods were haunted by “Indian” spirits.

The tragic Emily is said to be the busiest resident ghost, appearing to numerous (alleged) witnesses all around the property as a little girl in white dress with a flower pattern. During the Manor’s open-to-the-public era in the 21st century, one bedroom was set aside as “Emily’s Room,” with a number of antique dolls. An unseen Emily is said to tug peoples’ clothing and move or hide objects. Ghostlore author James Willis claims local historians once turned up an child’s long-unworn white dress with the name “Emily Farnham” on the tag. Sure enough, it had a pattern-design of flowers and birds. The spot where Emily drowned, Willis writes, later would be covered with cherry wood floorboard and become the Manor’s longstanding kitchen.

Other alleged inhabiting ghosts include a Civil War soldier with his own room upstairs, one that dogs avoided; a giant male shadow called “Pete;” and an adult woman in a long white dress who paces the upper balcony, and sometimes the porch, with the sentimental legend that she is forever waiting the return of a lost love. Phantom footsteps and moving objects are reported from the carriage house, an add-on to the original 1834 structure.

Most recently, after being used for drum circles, Halloween seances, a mini-museum with historic tours and holiday concerts, Farnham Manor was purchased by Sam Petros, the developer behind Petros Homes who had an ambitious rehabilitation agenda. The structure is now a showcase commercial headquarters for Petros Homes building and residential design, at 4223 Brecksville Rd.

Even a few of the “Emily” dolls have been rescued and retained, and clients for Petros’ services have been shown the historic amenities. Farnham Manor is no longer open as walk-in attraction, it must be noted. The informant interviewed said no paranormal activity has been discerned – at least not during regular business hours.

Not far from the house is the Fairview Cemetery, where generations of Farnhams, including Emily, were interred. Folklore claims that before his death, Everett Farnham declared an intent to return to life as a crow, flying over his old homestead. It is also rumored that if you leave a pebble or stone on Everett Farnam’s grave, it will come back to you someday.

Burntwood Tavern

No less than The Plain Dealer newspaper cited the Burntwood Tavern as one of the top haunted places in northeast Ohio.

With a little imagination and camera angles, the Burntwood looks the part of a Dracula’s Castle-style place. The heavy stonework of the mock-Tudor-style building dates to the 1820s. At different times this was a schoolhouse, then a general store. Ghost rumors seem to have begun during the restaurant’s pre-Burntwood incarnation, under the names The Spanish Tavern, then Marco Polo’s, when it was a destination pasta and steakhouse. Diners might remember Marco Polo’s bore a conspicuous wall mural of the renowned explorer, whose eyes seemed to follow you.

Ghost stories referred to a man named George Stark, supposedly an original 19th-century builder or early owner. Stark’s beyond-the-grave voice would supposedly “speak” employees’ names and even touch them at times. This was interpreted as a sort of “initiation” to welcome new hires. It may or may not be relevant that the name “George Stark” has been used by more than one fiction author as a villain’s name, including Stephen King.

When this reporter interviewed a restaurateur in 2008 about the ghost reports, the response was that the only things haunting Marco Polo’s were sky-high operating expenses. Current management had no apparitions or other paranormal activity to speak about – though the vegan burger is reportedly out of this world.

Brecksville Metroparks –

Many are the highlights of the “Emerald Necklace” chain of Cleveland Metroparks, including a bald eagle nest, Deer Lick Cave (actually more of an overhang) and scenic waterfalls. But what about the phantoms? At a point where the railroad tracks of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad impinge on the Brecksville Reservation, rumors have circulated over the years of sightings of a woman holding the hand of a young child, walking along the ties, though none of the current Metroparks staff could confirm any definite reports.

Finally, for places no longer extant, the old Louis Stokes VA Medical Center on Brecksville Road gave birth to dire legends of manifestations by the many patients who had died there. Online reports claim sightings of phantom figures wandering the halls and grounds at night.

There also was an assertion that the old Brecksville Scbool of Music, which closed in 2013, was haunted. That address is now a popular candy store and the staff has denied having any paranormal experiences. One would like to think any the ghosts would approve of the emporium for trick-or-treat shopping. ∞

Photo: Farnham Manor, on state Route 21, is said to be haunted by 6-year-old Emily Farnham who fell into a water cistern in 1858. The building now serves as the headquarters for Petros Homes. Photo by M. Martin.