Cleveland Ohio
Squires Castle
The ruins of the gate house has an insane spirit, who first lost her mind here.
The surrounding parkland and forest have restless, dark, unhappy spirits.
DESCRIPTION
Squires Castle is nothing but a stone shell of its former self, meant to be the gate house to a grand British-style castle manor to be built for Feargus B. Squire, who was a British-born Standard Oil executive, working for Standard Oil, with offices in downtown Cleveland. The gate house sat on Squire’s large 525 acre estate, way out in the country where Mr. Squire was planning to build a glorious castle mansion, patterned after the grand estates in England, bringing a reminder of home to Cleveland.
This once-lovely 1890 three story gate house with a basement was built of stone, with tiffany glass, carved moldings and elaborate European furniture and fixtures adorning the rooms. There was a living room, a hunting room for his animal head trophies, several bedrooms and a basement, making this house a nice place for a weekend retreat. They also vacationed here at times in the summer months.
HISTORY
After poor Mrs. Squire lost her mind at the gate house, Mr. Squire lost interest in building his English castle, and sold the entire property in 1922.
Eventually, the entire estate was bought by the city of Cleveland, and made into a metro park in 1925. By then, the gate house was in ruins, but the city preserved what was left.
It is used for the occasional event, and open for people to just walk through the first floor, as the second & third floor and roof are long gone, and the basement was filled in with cement.
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS
Feargus B. Squire was married to a very “nervous woman” who wasn’t very strong in the mental health department.
Her stays at the gate house were torturous for her. She was scared of the quiet, the animal sounds of the country and wasn’t able to sleep. Eventually, she went over the line mentally from being semi-sane to being considered insane. The legend said that one night she was so terrified that she tripped over an animal trophy in the trophy room and died when she fell into a rope hanging down to the basement, breaking her neck.
On the web-site, cleveland.about.com, it is reported there that she didn’t actually die in the gate house, but she did loose her mind there, and died at a young age.
In the 1960s and 70s, strange people started to hang out at this park, and used the castle and surrounding area for some of their shady events.
Biker gangs, devil worshipers, & others doing animal sacrifices frequented this area.
There were quite a few suicides which happened in the woods and area of the castle over the years.
MANIFESTATIONS
Possible candidates: Poor Mrs. Squire? Or a soul dead by suicide? Some spirit conjured by devil worship?
An apparition of an anxious woman has been seen throughout the years, peering out the second floor window, shining a lantern.
An eerie red glow of a lantern has been seen moving from window to window on what was the second floor and on the first floor.
Anguished screams of a woman are heard at night.
Apparitions have been seen wandering the grounds.
Orbs have been photographed just outside the castle and in the woods nearby.
STILL HAUNTED?
Yes Indeed. But by whom? Lots of candidates, but no proof to identify the restless ones; just evidence that they’re there.
LOCATION
North Chagrin Reservation
Willoughby Hills, Ohio
(216) 635-3200
Squire’s Castle is located in Willoughby Hills, part of Cleveland’s Metroparks. North Chagrin Reservation, Cleveland Metro Parks System, Cleveland, Ohio 44144.
Our Photos are copyrighted by Tom Carr
Visit the memorable… Milwaukee Haunted Hotel
SOURCES INCLUDE
- Investigation of Squire’s Castle by Spirithunter on Tripod.com
- Paranormal Investigation of Ohio’s Squire Castle on Unexplained Mysteries.com
- The National Directory of Haunted Places
by Dennis William Hauck
Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr
Our Photos are copyrighted by Tom Carr
Visit the memorable… Milwaukee Haunted Hotel
