Staff was SO friendly, helpful, and accommodating. My son wanted to stay and "ghost hunt" and they were the best: helped us with choices of rooms, a great guide, etc. And when he got too scared and we had to leave (lol) they were so kind, trying to figure out how to make the night better for him. Highly recommend for the staff alone. And you have to see the place yourself: the spook factor does not disappoint! read more

We too the Christmas tour of the Franklin Castle. It had been on my list of things to do for some time. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and seemed very invested in the history of the castle. Oh! My! The castle is rich in history. My guess is you could take three different tours and learn something new from each one. We were only allowed to take photos of the first floor. The other floors had Air BnB rooms. Everything from the paranormal phenomena to the tunnels from the carriage house to Lake Erie were fascinating. read more

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Fun fact: The castle is haunted! I recently had an unexpected chance to visit Franklin Castle in Ohio City, and it was a very interesting experience. The Victorian mansion is ornate and makes you feel the weight of its history. The ornate stonework, hidden passageways, and eerie ambiance all add to its mysterious charm. It's definitely picture-worthy whether you're walking by or walking in. The event organizers were friendly. I was at the castle for pop art show held by Zack Webb. It was so fun to see the juxtaposition of history/antique and bright pop art. There was no guided tour, just a hang out in the main area of the house, and basement lounge (both very cool). If you're into history, architecture, or the paranormal, Franklin Castle is a must-see. Although I didn't see or feel any ghosts. It's equal parts creepy and captivating. Whether you're a Clevelander or a visitor, go see it! read more

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Fun tour, got to see the whole house and it was a great experience. Did not spend the night. But I would like to in the future! read more

Franklin Castle - Main floor, only place you can take photos - Historical Tours Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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If you don't want guests to be early, please state during purchase of tickets instead of making us feel stupid for doing so. Also, if you don't want people going to the wrong door (the side one that was well lit) please make a sign instead of yelling at us from around the corner to use the other door. "Refreshments" were an option of hot tea or soda. The storytelling was awesome as is the house itself. It was the lack of professionalism from the guide that made me uncomfortable. read more

my sister got tour tickets as a birthday gift for me and we were not disappointed. were we touched or hear voices? no but the house is amazing. guided very well and very detailed history on house. I won't spoil the info passed on as it is best experienced in person. plan on returning soon for ghosts tour as well as spending the night. read more

I visited this castle on my birthday and it was the most surreal experience..I had a tour from a guy who lived there..he was so knowledgeable and a wonderful storteller...he took time with our group and the castle is amazing....Checked off my bucket list!!..I bought his book too...can't wait to read it!! Maureen read more

Last night, on Groundhog Day, we toured the Franklin Castle located at 4308 Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland, OH. As a preface to my review of the tour, I want to state that being born on Friday the 13th and having worked in a funeral home, I do not feel fearful of the dead, nor do I believe in superstitions. I do believe in spirits, both good and evil, and probably a mix of both, zooming around us. But I am not one of the people that you'd consider a 'ghost chaser'. I scare easily (just ask my husband and kids!) and am afraid of the dark. But I do love visiting cemeteries and learning about haunted places. All of that being said, I was born and raised on the West side of Cleveland, and have been aware of the Franklin Castle for as long as I can remember. As a kid, we would drive by this 4-story stone mansion often. As a new driver, I recall going with some friends to scope it out. At that time, you could not go inside, but we sat out front in my parent's minivan and watched the windows to see if there was any movement inside; we'd all heard that it was haunted. Haunted by who, we weren't sure. It was the late 1980s, and back then we weren't Googling things yet. Stories were passed by word of mouth mostly, on the news, or in our local paper 'The Cleveland Plain Dealer'. We'd heard about infants and small children who died in the house, bones being found there. Nobody knew for sure who was haunting it, though stories floated around. Alas, we saw no signs of life, or afterlife, on any occasion. Fast forward to the present time, February 2023. Since you can Google things today, I'll leave that to you because there are loads of details to learn about the history of this beautiful, yet ominous-looking place online. As for what we learned in person last night: I don't want to spoil it by sharing too much. I'll simply note that our delightful tour guide Jens (pronounced 'yens') warmly welcomed us through the iron gate around 5:45pm, and we did not conclude the tour until after 8:00pm. For over two hours, he led our group from dark room to even darker room, up and down through all four floors (basement to attic), while talking about the past residents, mixing oxblood paint, hidden panels, walking us onto and off of stone balconies, allowing us to take a photo by the black mirror, sharing details of one raging fire, some underground tunnels, and showing us a glorious ballroom. There were areas we could take photos, and areas where pictures were off-limits. Like I wrote, I don't want to spoil it by sharing too much. If you are curious, definitely go and experience it for yourself. It is well worth the money spent. In addition to the paid tour, they offer overnight stays. I plan to go back again, maybe next year on Groundhog Day to see the progress of the continued restorations and learn more about the paranormal monitoring that has been taking place. There won't ever be any overnight stays for this gal though! I don't have the constitution for that. While I did not see any poltergeists, I do believe the place is haunted. My spine was tingling throughout the entire experience. Thanks to Jens for the warm welcome to his castle. It far exceeded my expectations! PS: I bought tickets at https://thefranklincastle.com/ read more

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Dark and spooky is what's always good anytime a year but even more so during October as that's when you can just feel the Erie vibes that much more! Coming here it would have been cool to go inside but someone currently lives here so they are the ones enjoying it's mysterious beautiful vibes of which only one could imagine! Next door to the house is a park that you can get some great views of the house as well as a kinda spooky vibe as this park just has that interesting feel to it! Overall this castle was super cool to look at and to just see the vibe that it has was really awesome I do hope to get to venture inside at one point because that would be insanely awesome as I'm always looking for dark and scary places to find spirits that will manifest for you! read more

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Updated 11/16/23: I have received my refund. I went on part of the tour over a month ago and I must say that I am extremely disappointed. I arrived early (as did everyone) and was not let into the house until 5:55 PM (tour start time was 5:45 PM). We were promptly told to sit down and wait for the host (Jens?) to get ready. He was not ready until 6:15 PM. He proceeded to talk about the architecture and previous homeowners for the next 45 minutes (and told us time and time again he would get back to key details). This was incredible boring and the host kept rambling and was all over the place. At 7:00 PM he asked does everyone want a short, medium or long tour? He asked if anyone had any other plans (tour was supposed to end at 7:00 PM), which I did. I listened to him ramble some more and proceeded to tell him that we had to go because we had made other plans. This was supposed to be an hour or hour and 15 minutes tour and for us not to even see any of the rest of the house is unacceptable. We were visiting from Los Angeles and have been waiting for about 20 years to see the castle and this was all we got. If the tour is supposed to be 3 hours long, then the castle should put that in the tour description. When I returned to L.A., I requested a refund and was informed that I would receive one. I have never received it. read more

Very informative tour. Learned so much. Jens was amazing. Can't wait until the upgrades.

Beautiful Victorian looking "castle"/mansion, about 3-5 floors. Has a dungeon, gothic, rustic aesthetic. Small front yard however, there's a back house and backyard. Can't go inside due to "private property but if you're in Cleveland for a few days you could definitely stroll by and sit at the park next door to get aide views of mansion. read more

Franklin Castle - View from park side - Historical Tours Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

We loved our night at the castle. Jens was a terrific host who gave us the most incredible tour. Dinner was great. How did he know we all love German food? The beds are comfortable and the bedrooms and bathrooms are gorgeous. Thanks Jens for making our night perfect. read more

Excellent tour, with a tour guide that clearly has a passion and deep respect for the building and its history. Not enough time allotted within the tour to learn about the full history and our tour group seemed divided on being interested in a long vs short tour, but that was not the tour guide's fault. He was interesting, engaging and left the majority of the group wanting to know more. 10/10, would enjoy a longer tour option for people who really want to learn more. read more