Part of the Weird US series by Mark Scuerman and Mark Moran, this book highlights all of the weird, quirky and wonderful people, places and things about the Buckeye State, Ohio.
It's broken down into sections. Ancient Mysteries, Fabled People and Legendary Places, Unexplained Phenomena, Bizarre Beasts, Local Heroes and Villains, Personalized Properties, Roadside Distractions, Roads Less Travelled, Ghosts of Ohio, Cemetery Safari, Abandoned in Ohio
Some of the items mentioned in this book include:
Gates of Hell / Blood Bowl
Located in the underground storm drains running under High Street in Columbus, this heavily graffitti-infested series of storm drains are a skateboarder or BMX rider's paradise. It's called the Gates of Hell because supposedly there is a portion of these tunnels that is an opening to the underworld. It's called the Blood Bowl because some kid was dared to ride in the pitch darkness on his skateboard and the outcome was grim
Thomas Lee Dillion, the "Unsportsman-Like Sniper"
-Thomas Lee Dillon was a gun enthusiast who often hunted both animals and humans. When the number of murders began to rise around the Canton area, where Dillion is from, the FBI were brought in. They compiled a psychological profile of the suspected gunman, or "unsub" in FBI lingo. It included that the person was a gun enthusiast, preferred to solve issues in a cowardly way, that they were isolated or a loner, etc. One former classmate heard about this profile and realized, with horror, it fit his former classmate perfectly.
The Ohio Grassman
This is the Ohio equivalent to the famed creature known elsewhere as Bigfoot
Clermont County Dead Man's Curve
With a name like that, you're sure to get someone's attention. There are actually two Dead Man's Curves in Ohio and they have to be referred by either the county they're in or the road they include as part of them to differentiate them. There's the Clermont County Dead Man's Curve and the Harrison Ave Dead Man's Curve. The Clermont County one runs through the small village of Bantam, Ohio, where State Routes 125 and 222 meet. This intersection is PITCH BLACK DARK at night. It has no streetlights. Originally, it was part of the Ohio Turnpike. Back then, it was a dangerous stretch of road. It turned sharply right atop a steel hill. It's since been leveled out and hopefully made safer. Not so much. In the fall season of 1969, A horrible car crash between a 1969 Dodge Roadrunner and a 1969 Chevy Impala occurred, killing all five occupants of one car. It was said that the Dodge Roadrunner had hit the Impala at speeds over 100 mph. Now, there's a spooky spirit who hangs here. He's known as the faceless hitchhiker and is seen between 1:20-1:40 in the dead of morning. He will attack cars passing by. He will jump out in front of drivers only to be "hit" and then leap up and race after the car. It's wise to avoid this stretch of road between the hours of 1:20-1:40 am in the DEAD OF MORNING otherwise you are doing this at your peril.
The Lake Drive-In
There was once a multitude of drive-ins in Ohio. Most closed down with the advent of the multiplex theaters and/or lack of business. The Lake Drive-In in Mt. Orab was one of the last to close. In fact, during a re-release of Gone with the Wind, ironically, a tornado came in. People knew trouble was brewing earlier in the day when the skies took on an eerie greenish tinge, a usual indicator of tornado activity. Sure enough, not too long afterwards, a tornado came in when the theater was showing Gone with the Wind. The big screen was destroyed in the high winds, but no one was hurt or killed. Now the theatre is abandoned.
The "Stain" at the Ridges Asylum
Before becoming known as The Ridges, it was originally the Athens State Hospital. It was a mental health facility taking care of those with mental health issues. When the hospital was evacuating patients, it was said that a deaf mute patient named Margaret Schilling hid from staff in her room. When she was unable to call out for help, she simply took her clothes off and lay right on the floor to die of hypothermia. Because of the sunshine from her window shining in, the sunshine caused some sort of chemical reaction to result in a ghostly outline or "stain" of her body.
Hell Town
Located in the Cuyahoga Valley in and around Cleveland, in an area known as Boston Township, Hell Town is a town worthy of its name. From chemical spills to incredibly dangerous Satanists lurking in the premises, it's wise to avoid this town at all costs. There are several churches in the area, incredibly beautiful to look at. But what's not so beautiful about them is the lurid activity which occurs within. Local devil worshippers summon The Dark One and practice black magic within these hallowed halls. Not only that, but a chemical spill years ago was said to cause all sorts of strange mutations on the local wildlife. This town closed down to the public in the 1960s when legislation was written to create more green space, and thus, more parks. The legislation written was for the National Park Service to buy up land to transform into national parks, in a process known as eminent domain. Which is where you can come in and buy up land with no problems. One house here even had the statement put on it "Now we know how the Native Americans felt". That's how the Cuyahoga Valley Park was born.
There are two roads in this town, both claiming to be dead ends, but you can see it continuing for miles. One is called End of the World. It's at a very high hill so that when you look down, it looks as though you're driving off of a cliff. It's also been said that the devil worshipping being done here is extremely high and that these worshippers are extremely dangerous. The local worshippers will ensure you meet a gruesome end to protect their secret rituals. The police here are constantly running off thrill seekers and warning them about the extreme danger of these local devil worshippers
The Screaming Bridge
Located on Maud Hughes Road in the affluent neighborhood of Liberty Township, this bridge got its unique moniker from when it was first built. Originally, it was steel rails on steel decking. When cars would sail over it, it would sound like screaming, thus the unique moniker was born. There was also an occurrence or two that would cause human screaming. A woman had a child born out of wedlock and in those days, that earned the woman plenty of shame from others. She took the baby and herself to the screaming bridge and threw the child off the bridge and then hung herself not long afterwards.
In the 1970s, two trains crashed here. A northbound train and southbound train were heading towards each other on opposite sets of tracks here, since there are two sets of rails running parallel to each other here. One set of trains was carrying iron rebar, the kind used in concrete work to set the frame in which the concrete is be poured around. Somehow they became dislodged and now were pointing out like a jouster's lance. They pierced the conductor of the opposite train, causing a crash. That conductor died on impact while the conductor of the other train died a slow, agonizing death from the boiler, which opened and scalded him to death from boiling water. Now it's said that a ghostly conductor waving a lantern traverses these tracks in addition to seeing a ghostly figure on the bridge, appearing to commit suicide. Because of the profane graffiti lining the walls under the bridge, that more than suggests some unsavory characters hang out here. It would be wise not to go investigating here. Not only that, but those tracks are still in use by various train companies. Watch out for trains.
James Ruppert Easter Sunday Massacre
This occurred on Easter Sunday in 1975 in the neighborhood of Hamilton. James Ruppert, an all around perfectly normal man, came down from his room at 635 Minor Ave and calmly shot each and every one of his relatives. He would shoot them twice, first shot being a disarming shot and then second shot being a kill shot either directly into the brain or heart. To this day, this house exudes an uneasy, almost malevolent vibe. This house is now known to all Hamilton locals and beyond as "the murder house".
Hitler Road
This is sure to get your attention. There are three roads in Circleville, Ohio named Hitler Road 1, 2, 3. They are named after residents in the area whose family name is Hitler (no relation, thankfully, to the evil Nazi Party leader, whose name was actually misspelled from Hiedler, his maternal grandmother's married name). The residents with the last name Hitler here are a farming family who have suffered agonizing demonization from people. One person with this last name was even asked to change his last name by his own employer
Jeffrey Dahmer
What a lot of people don't know about the famous "Milwaukee Cannibal" is that he was not born and raised in Milwaukee. He was actually born in Bath, a village in Summit County, Ohio. He was labelled "a weird kid" by most of his classmates. He had moved to Milwaukee later on and that's where his crime spree escalated. He was known for murdering Hispanic, black and Asian gay men and sometimes eating them after they were dead. He was also accused of committing necrophilia (sexual intercourse post mortem or after death). A lot of people believe that the only reason his crime spree continued in Milwaukee was because the police were homophobic and racist, because the victims were gay and also minorities.
Solid Rock Church, home of the "Touchdown Jesus"
Most Ohio residents don't know the actual name of the church in Monroe that holds this unique figure. They only know the church as "Touchdown Jesus". It earned its interesting moniker from the fact that the hands on the statue of Jesus standing there have his hands raised to the heavens, as if cheering for a touchdown. On the nearby highway Interstate I-75, people would clog the roads taking pictures of the statue, since it was very clearly visible from the highway. I-75 even suffered tons of car wrecks and deaths from people wanting to stop and take pictures of the so-called "Touchdown Jesus". It was evenly split between those who thought of it as an eyesore and those who called it "Touchdown Jesus". Unfortunately, lightning struck the statue and it burned to the ground. It was not made of concrete, but of some sort of material that was not weather-resistant and easy to catch fire. A new statue was rebuilt, this one made of sturdy concrete and now his hands are in a more reverent pose, outstretched with palms up, as if asking for alms for the poor. Locals still refer to this church, whose proper name is Solid Rock Church, as "Touchdown Jesus". When they refer to it this way, it's never offensively; it's always with the most reverent joy and respect and always a smile.
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| The so-called "Touchdown Jesus" |
The Road of Ester Hale
Located in East Liverpool, Ohio, this lonely stretch of road has an old house that belonged to a local woman named Ester Hale. When she was alive, she was planning her wedding, while her future husband was planning his escape. She spent all day on the day she was to enter wedded bliss in her wedding dress, but her future spouse never showed. When it was clear he wasn't coming, she simply became a recluse. When friends and loved ones and even the police had to find out why she seemingly dropped off of the face of the earth, they went to her house to find now yellowed wedding decorations and her dead in her wedding dress. It's said that if you go along this road, around the date of her supposed wedding, you'll see a woman in a wedding dress. WARNING. There's a legend attached to this that will keep you from wanting to pick up this frightening bride. If you allow her to touch you, she will become young and beautiful again and you will grow old instantly and die instantly.
Chippewa Lake Amusement Park
Located in Medina County, Chippewa Lake Amusement Park was the place to go for cheap, family entertainment. It closed in 1978 because Cedar Point, in nearby Sandusky, was proving to be too much competition for this small time park. The remnants of the rides are still out in those woods, rusting, left to the elements. Trees are growing up in and around the rusted hulks of these former rides.
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