Franklin Castle-A Castle of Scare

While Franklin Castle in Ohio is a large and beautifully constructed building, it is far from a fairytale mansion. Countless deaths and cruel murders have taken place within its walls, leading Franklin Castle to be considered Ohio’s most haunted places.

Built by German immigrant Hannes Tiedemann in 1865, the castle features at least twenty-one rooms, a ballroom, wine cellars, and numerous secret passageways. Over the years, it has served as everything from a German Socialist headquarters to a doctor’s office. It’s also home to plenty of ghosts, many of whom were viciously murdered or destroyed by disease as humans…

One of the most popular stories is that of a young girl hanged in one of the hidden corridors. Of course, there are many rumors surrounding her murder. Some say she was Tiedemann’s illegitimate daughter, and was killed solely for that. Others claim she had gone insane, and was hanged by her uncle who had been trying to end her misery. Still others have named the girl Karen, and say she was killed in a fight between her father and boyfriend. No matter what happened, her ghost is the one most commonly sighted in Franklin castle. She is described as tall, thin, and dressed entirely in black.

Unfortunately, soon after Hannes Tiedemann’s family had moved into Franklin Castle, tragedy struck. His teenage daughter Emma died from diabetes, which, back then, meant a long and painful death. His wife lost her life soon after to liver troubles, and three of his smallest children also suffered mysterious deaths.  However, Tiedemann wasn’t exactly the world’s most faithful husband. He allegedly shot his young mistress for wanting to marry someone else, and her choking sounds can still be heard in a certain room.

Franklin Castle was also the setting for a Nazi mass murder, a bloody axe homicide, and probably more. The political discussions of the Nazis can still be heard throughout the halls, and the axe-murder victim is occasionally seen in the front tower window. But perhaps the most eerie discovery was found in the 1970’s…a room filled entirely with bones. Human baby skeletons, to be exact. After being examined by medical specialists as well as the castle’s occupants, the accepted theory is that the children were victims of an insane scientist and his botched medical experiments.

While the home is usually not a tourist attraction, many visitors have still experienced the haunts Franklin Castle has to offer. On the very afternoon the Romano family moved in, the six children went upstairs to play. They rushed down a few minutes later, asking their mother if they could give a cookie to their “new friend”. The children claimed many times that they had seen a little girl crying, but neither parent could ever find anyone. However, Mrs. Romano often heard eerie organ music, as well as voices and the clinking of glass. She finally asked a priest to perform an exorcism on the house, and afterwards, he demanded that they leave immediately.

Not shockingly, the supposedly cursed mansion has many more surprises in store. A full skeleton was found in one of the secret panels, but it may have just been a publicity stunt. A large bloodstain can be seen on the marble floor of the ballroom, and many visitors have reported noticing “cold spots” throughout the house. However, seeing as Franklin castle is a historical landmark, people have been trying to renovate it for years. But I doubt its original visitors are ever going to leave…

True Tales: a “stranger” in the back seat

For nearly fifteen years, specifically after working for several years in the UAE then returning to Egypt, I decided to buy a taxi and work as a taxi driver as an additional income after finishing the definite time of my governmental work at 2 pm, I used to have my lunch quickly, then drive my car in searching for livelihood until the middle of the night then I go back home to sleep and start again my routine in the morning and so on , and in one of the cold winter nights while the time has exceeded 11pm and the streets were almost empty of pedestrians due to heavy rain and cold weather, so I decided to suffice and then come back home to gain warmth but I found a woman standing alone on the
road side while waving to me but I hesitated little bit ,

then I decided to stop in feeling pity for her from the cold as she was single without a man beside her at this late hour of the night, then I approached to her with my car and opened the window of her side to inquire about her destination then I found that her path is the same path to my house and I liked that and waved to her to get in the car, and according to the nature of my work I used to take a quick and close look at any passenger get in my taxi to investigate at any emergency events, the woman looked to be at the end of the fourth decade of her age and she was wearing a modest dress and looked to be dignified and wealthy, then the woman sat in the back seat and closed the door and I started to go with dreaming of a hot dinner and warm bed at my home after terminating the task of driving her to her destination, and there were moments of silence and then it seemed to me that I had heard the woman’s voice while she speaking from behind me , then I sat up and turned to her in a quick look and I said to her: “Excuse me , did you say something?”, but I did not get the answer so I thought that I dozed for a moment due to stress and that the woman had never say a word then I blamed myself to jump to conclusions and I was afraid that she doubt about my behavior so I kept silent and I returned to driving at this moment she returned to speak again at the time where cell phones were not used in Egypt yet then all my senses started to work and I looked at the front mirror and I saw her murmuring with misunderstood words while she was looking at her surroundings so I realized that she was insane and perhaps it was my bad luck, I was ready to any sudden movement of her, however I controlled myself in wishing that she was not crazy and I asked her: “Excuse me , to whom you are talking?!”, then she looked at me sharply as she saw me for the first time , then the reply was categorical: “This is not your business, you only have to ” so I felt panic because I erred in my thought as her reply was categorical and it was not showing that she was crazy , then I hastened in driving in wishing to be finished of this predicament and I decided to keep silent, then she returned to talk again and in a nervous way also and looked that she threatening something sitting beside her, then I swallowed my spittle as I was very tense, but I thanked God as I reached the desired address and I stopped and ready to proceed without waiting for any fees to get rid of her , but she got out the taxi and offered the specific money to me quietly, which did not has any doubts about her mental abilities but she has left the car door which she got out of it opened , then I asked her gently to close it, but she stood before the door and kept crying at who / which she thought that was sitting beside her to got out the car immediately or she would take revenge of him/it ,then I became crazy as it was too enough for me so I get out the car and closed the door violently and turned around quickly to go away with my car in maximum speed while she was waving to me in clear anger but I did not care about it and started on my way.

Another passenger 

Few moments later I felt a presence of heavy weight in the back seat and I dominated the sense that there was someone behind me and I felt a shiver applicable in my whole body so I began to recite some verses from the Holy Koran, but my feeling has not changed as I felt that this weight increasing and the car slacken and that this invisible presence is almost attacking my neck , then I turned my car with all my strength back to the same place where I left the woman because I thought that she left to me this thing which she was talking with and it was a surprise hat I found the woman has not leave the place where I left her since she got out of my car , then I felt a terrible fear which I have never felt it before as I had a nightmare , and I stopped before her then I got out of the car and begging her to take this thing which she left it with me, and fortunately the woman did not care about me and she started back to look into the car saying angrily: “Did not I warn you and ask you to go out, if you did not come out now , nothing good will happen to you” and I kept looking at the empty car and the angry and confident peremptory tone of the woman , I felt that the place is moving around me and suddenly the back door opened of its own with great force, then I retreated back and I was almost going to loose my consciousness then the woman shouted: “Come with me now and leave the car,” and the door closed with the same force then the woman turned to me and said to me in a peremptory tone: “Go quickly and do not look behind you “, then I ran in a very trouble and insanity case as my perspiration mixed with my tears and I felt very cold with intense heat like a volcano inside me and I drove the car on a state of non-described panic, although I did not feel such a sense when I was being accompanied by that strange thing , then I took a sigh of relief after several minutes and shouted with a high voice: “Praise God .. thank God”, afterwards I went to my house and told my wife about what happened to me , then I have not driven the car anymore since that incident and we decided to sell the car forever and we actually sold it and I followed my daily life satisfying with my governmental job after I was almost going to loose my mind.

Narrated by Abdul-Sattar (60 years old) – Egypt and Sent by Hossam Hamdi

Um-Duwais: The Myth of deadly temptation

The popular folklore in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Arabian/Persian Gulf region tells a myth about a female of jinn who called “Um-Duwais”, she is described as most beautiful women that can be experienced by a man because she own all signs of beauty and tenderness and sexy talking, her fragrance aromas emits from her tide movements with slowness and serenity.

Etymology
The origins of the name Um-Duwais is related to a killing tool she uses and it is similar to the sickle that is called “Das” in the local dialect of UAE, and Um-Duwais means woman of sickle.

Her descriptions
Um-Duwais is embodied in a figure of a very beautiful girl, elegant, graceful, smells of various types of beautiful perfumes and incense, one of her legs is a donkey leg, and the other is “Das”, and there are those who say that both of her feet are donkey legs and her hands are in the shape of (Desan) which means two sickles . In spite of her breathtaking beauty and magnificence of her features she has the eyes of a cat.

Places of her appearance
Um-Duwais appears in residential populated neighborhoods and in the large cities, small towns , small villages, and she may appear in deserts , prairies , orchards and in gardens, which means that she appears almost in all places which are inhabited with human beings whom can be seduced and killed by her.

Her stories
Popular literature of UAE is full of hundreds anecdotes about Um-Duwais

– Tale no.1
A lady says that she has a unique story with Um-Duwais, As she says: “We used to go out every morning to fetch water from wells which are near the old city, and we have been saying “walk tell” and each group of girls meet each other in one of our houses and we go together to the needed well which called “Altawa”, in one night I heard a knock on our door and I got up to the sound of the knocking and when I went out I found a strange girl on the door then I asked about her need, she said that my colleagues have sent her to hasten for going to the usual place! , and I believed her because I was still under the influence of sleep, I pardoned her to bring my water skin and when I came back , I had doubts about some strange things which I discovered in this girl as her clothes were very clean and elegant and her eyes are like cat’s eyes and her way of speaking and her suspicious and frightening looks, then I gave her my water skin and I requested her to wait me for little minutes as I had forgotten something important at my house, I entered my house and closed the door tightly and I fled to my room and closed down well too, then she Um-Duwais felt that I have discovered her and that I ran away, then she stayed knocking the door and crying at me to get out but I was committed to the silence.
Then she threatened me to tear the water skin but I proceeded with silence, and soon I heard the sound of tearing the water skin, can you imagine that?! , Tearing bottle of thick skin, but she is strong and powerful as she can do anything, and thank God that I still tell my story and I’m alive and in the best case.

Tale no.2
At the end of the seventies, It was one of the people who said: “I and my companion were on our way from “Sharjah” to “Batna” in Sultanate of Oman, and we were boarding a Land Rover car then we lost the road and we did not know in which direction we should go as the sky was cloudy and there is nothing in it that we could be guided by, even no star or moon light, Suddenly we saw headlights of a car back “red lights” which was lighting in the distance then we followed it and hope renewed, but we found that the distance between us and the car does not change, as we do not approach it at all, but we proceed hope that we may reach, and suddenly the car which we pursue is stopped and we have been approaching it slowly, then the hope renewed and we rejoiced again, till we were in near to access to the mentioned , and what a horror Surprise!, we got to the place of the lights and saw two women marching and dress some sort of illuminated clothes. from the back like a red lamp of a car, then we have been shocked by the severity of fear, and we got frightened as we never feel like that before, So we tried to pass through them quickly and I tried to look at their faces, but my friend pulled me violently screaming at me “You crazy! Do not look at her face, she is Um-Duwais”. then we fled from the scene, but it is strange that she did not catch us, and when we got to the first resting place in the way of (Albatna), we told some people there about what we have seen, then we have been told that we should have gone through of a haunted path “place haunted by the jinns” , so we thanked God, and the attendants wished us safety.

Tale no.3
Someone was traveling between 2 towns riding a donkey, coming from )Khor Fakkan) to (Kalba), and on his road towards the mountain which is located at the entrance to “Khor Fakkan” he saw a beautiful girl walking gently beside him, then she raised her face and nodded for him to follow her, as he says: “I began to follow her, but I awakened from my unawareness quickly and I said to myself who is she? and how she came to this desolate and far place which has no person in it? , then I realized that she was Um-Duwais, Afterwards I looked away, and I seek refuge with God from the accursed Satan and started to read the enchanter spells Mu’Aawazat (several protective Souras) and other verses of Holy Quran which I keep by heart then she disappeared”.

Fact or fiction ?!
People of the UAE discussing the existence reason of Um-Duwais saying: “She is the panacea and successful protection anti-vice and obscenity and she is the deterrent and the defense against the deviation and counter-ions from epidemics and against abhorrent moral calamities, as the surrendered to glamour and vices is surrendered to Um-Duwais and who is surrendered to her is surrendered to death, although the majority of people of the UAE acknowledge and believe in the fact of the existence of Um-Duwais, there are some older people who are known for their religiosity doubt about that and saying that it is just created superstitions to deter young people from vice, and there is a mother tells about Um-Duwais saying: “My father was calling the name of Um-Duwais on one of our female neighbors because she was using too much perfumes and if she passed through , she was known of her fragrance, and when she was passing in front of our house , we were able to smell her fragrance then my father was shouting from inside the house with a loud voice to make her hearing him “says”: “Um-Duwais,…Um-Duwais” and when I ask him why you brand her with this name, he said: “Her over-usage of perfumes is that which Um-Duwais doing and there is no God-feared Muslim woman can do that , as she is deviating men with this act, and she is sinner for that act ! “.

TV film
Sharjah Satellite TV channel (Sharjah is the 3rd biggest city in UAE) presented a short TV film (45 minutes) during the month of Ramadan, under the title “The return of Um-Duwais” which is written bySaleh Al Marzouqi and directed by Jommaa Al Sahli , this film hilights on Um-Duwais myth, As you can see some footages of that film on Female Students of Emirates forum.