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The Wademan House,
Navarre, Ohio
 One of the
most pivotal, and interesting times of my childhood came when my family
moved into a huge old Victorian house on Center Street in Navarre, Ohio.
It was built in 1850. The foundation was made from 4 feet thick slabs
of limestone, and the structure itself was put up with huge oak
timbers.
In the basement was a narrow and frightening tunnel that was
once part of the infamous Underground Railroad. Although an impressive,
and certainly historic home, through out the town it was known simply as
the Wademan House.
For many years, a very old, and somewhat eccentric lady lived there by
herself. She had always wanted to restore the home to it's former
glory, but never had the money to do so. When my parents purchased the
home, it was directly from Mrs. Wademan's daughter.
My Mother has always been an antique nut, and she just went haywire
making plans. The large house had 14 rooms in it, and represented quite
an undertaking, but by the time my family completed the painstaking
restorations, the results garnered the opportunity to have our home
included in Ohio's Tours of Historic Homes.
The trouble began, however, when we first started the restorations. The
house had been quite pleasant and peaceful initially, but once we
started tearing things apart, many strange, inexplicable, and
unsettling happenings started to occur.
For example, there was a cold spot in the music room that was absolutely
freezing and never seemed to go away, no matter what time of year it
happened to be.
There were many, many
instances were things would turn up missing, or would be moved around to
some other location in the house. Rocking chairs would frequently be
observed rocking all by themselves. It was pretty much the usual freaky
fare, that you'd read about in haunted house stories. Of course
skeptics could argue that it was the result of a drafty old house or
common forgetfulness.
But some things just couldn't be explained away at all, like a picture
that we had tried to hang with a large nail, that kept immediately
falling to the floor each time we turned away. With each attempt , we
could say with conviction, that nail wasn't bent, it wasn't lose, it was
in fact, securely in the wall and the hanger on the back picture wasn't
damaged, bent, or ripped in any way. We finally decided not to hang the
picture. We heard footsteps at all hours of the day or night walking
through the downstairs hallway, and of course, no one was ever there.
We once babysat my Grandmother's dog for a week, and she went crazy most
of that week barking, hackles raised, and ready to lunge when ever she
heard the phantom steps.
There were many, many beautiful antiques in the home that we had
acquired to decorate the house, unfortunately there were quite a few
that were knocked or thrown onto the floor and broken. Apparently,
there was someone present who just didn't like those particular pieces?
Hanging in the kitchen, we had a large old chandelier that probably
weighed about 60 pounds, and came from a castle estate in England. On
many mornings we would get up for breakfast, only to see all of the
light bulbs removed from it, and laying scattered on the floor or on the
counter top.
We sort of got used to all these occurrences, and learned not to be
afraid. But none of our friends would dare spend the night there after
they either heard the footsteps, or witnessed the other strange events.
To us, most of the
occurrences didn't seem so severe, just eerie. Like a cool breeze on
your cheek when you'd be watching TV, or you'd find your clean clothes
dumped on the floor after putting them away.
These strange occurrences continued in the house for 5 years, the total
time of our restoration project. My Mother had developed a theory that
it was the departed Mrs. Wademan, who, when she saw her dream starting
to come true, just had to "check it out". When the restoration work
was finally finished, so were the freaky events.
Things just suddenly ended with a snap the day we were finished with the
house. I guess it seemed even weirder to me, not to have these little
tidbits going on all the time. I mean, don't all folks want to live in
a haunted house?
A
true account from our friend . . . Dragon
Dr. Von Zuko 1998©
The Water Tower: Chicagoland
 A survivor of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Water Tower is perhaps the most
famous landmark in Chicago. Standing watch in the heart of the city since 1869 it has been
witness to much of the cities turbulent and sometimes sinister past.
Constructed of
limestone quarried in near-by Joliet, its very fiber is rooted in the area’s past
since time began. With such an inexorable link to past memories, is it any wonder that the
tower has a few unusual memories of it's own?
It is said that on
occasion, in the wee hours of the morning, a gaunt and pale man can be seen peering down
into the streets from the windows in the upper floors of the tower. The building is always
locked tight and no one is ever found when authorities enter and search the building. It
is also reported that at times, passers-by have heard a strange melancholy whistling
coming from inside.
Legend has it that the tower's inhabitant (or at least this one) is
the spirit of a man hanged from the tower for an undisclosed crime he committed in the
late 1870's. (Photo taken in 1973 by Dr. Von Zuko)
by: Dr. Von Zuko 1998© |
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Stickney
Mansion
Crystal Lake, IL
Crystal Lake is a popular and booming northwest
suburb of Chicago. Growth is so dramatic that homes are likely to sell nearly as
soon as they go on the market. However, just north of the city, a bit off of
the beaten path, you'll find a rather unusual but large stately home that no one
seems to want.
This remnant of the past, was
built in 1849 by George and Sylvia Stickney. Unfortunately, George and Sylvia (or
someone) still appears to inhabit the house. Persistent disembodied sounds and
strange occurrences night or day, have caused more recent owners to abruptly vacate the
house and give it back to the Stickneys.
The Stickneys were seriously
involved in the Spiritualist Movement
that was considered to be fashionably vogue in the Victorian era.
The house started to gain it's
rather dark and sinister reputation early in its existence. The Stickneys were known
to hold frequent and numerous séances in the house, and socialites from Chicago and
other mid-western cities, traveled to the remote country house in hopes of communicating
with the dear departed.
A rather unique architectural
characteristic of the house, is that it was built almost exclusively without corners.
One set of Spiritualist beliefs theorized that evil
could sometimes be trapped or lurk in the corners of a normally shaped square room.
Only one room in the
house was built with a 90-degree corner. Allegedly, it was in this corner that
George Stickney was found dead with a frozen terrified expression on his face, and his
hands clutching at his throat. His exact cause of death, however, remains a mystery.
by: Dr. Von Zuko 1998©
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