Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Hello friends! So, I’ve been going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to post about some spooky/supposedly haunted places because the last time I did I received some negative feedback. However, it is something that has always been of interest to me, and I feel I need to be true to myself. With that being said, I want to start this post off by saying I don’t necessarily believe that these places I will be sharing are “haunted.” I am just going to tell some facts and share some experiences had by others and I will let you make the call. Or don’t make a call and just enjoy some spooky stories! Anyways, somewhat soapbox over. Let’s get to some spooky!

Today I am sharing one of the cooler places I’ve visited in Cleveland! Lake View Cemetery is the resting place of many famous Clevelanders throughout the years. Buried in the rolling hills of Lake View are people like John D. Rockefeller, Elliot Ness, and James A. Garfield (tomb is pictured above), just to name a few. You might be surprised at some of these names, but back in the late 1800s/early 1900s Cleveland was actually home to more millionaires than any city in America. The oil and railroad trades boomed in Cleveland, making it a very wealthy city! That meant the wealthiest could afford to be buried in the most beautiful location in Cleveland, Lake View Cemetery.

The cemetery itself is massive, spanning over 285 acres. With all this land and lots of twisted pathways, it’s not hard to get lost. But, that is the beauty of Lake View, getting lost for an hour or two looking at all of the beautifully haunting graves.

It’s amazing to me the detail that was put in to making some of these graves. The beautiful mausoleums, intricate gravestones, and hauntingly realistic sculptures greet you at every turn. It’s not hard to get the sense of not being alone.

One of my favorite graves is for a family named Haserot. It is perhaps the most photographed grave in the entire cemetery because it is so foreboding. Nestled back behind some tombs sits the Haserot angel.

The name of the dark angel is actually “The Angel of Death Victorious.” The angel sits with an extinguished torch upside-down to symbolize life being extinguished. She stares straight ahead, unmoving. The eeriest part of the Haserot angel comes from years of being exposed to the elements; the bronze has worn and it looks as if she is crying black tears. Even if you see nothing else in the cemetery, you must  visit the Haserot Angel.

The final grave I would like to share comes with a bit of a story. Hans Tiedemann was a German immigrant who came to live in Cleveland in the late 1800s. He built an incredible home called Franklin Castle.

If you are from Cleveland (or Ohio in general) you have most likely heard of this house. Franklin Castle is known for being the most haunted house in Ohio. Years and years of stories and mystery have shrouded this home and they all trace back to the supposed horrors of Mr. Tiedemann.

Tiedemann and his family built the mansion (shown above) from 1881-1883 in one of the most influential and wealthy parts of Cleveland. He moved into the home with his wife Louise, and their two children. The Tiedemann’s lost several children due to the common diseases of the time, but rumor had it that more people had died in the home (of not so natural causes, if you catch my drift). The home switched owners several times through the years. Some say it was built above part of the underground railroad. Others say in the 1920s during prohibition, the basement was used as a speakeasy. Some even say it belonged to a group of Nazis. One thing always stays the same however, the owners always say the house is haunted. What is most commonly seen is a woman in black standing on the second floor balcony. People report mysterious mists appearing and the feeling of being pushed. I’m not quite sure if we’ll ever know what really happened in Franklin Castle, but it sure makes for a good spooky story! If you want to hear more creepy details about Franklin Castle I highly recommend the book “Haunted Ohio.”

Well, that’s all for this weeks spooky wandering post! If you ever get the chance to visit Lake View Cemetery in Ohio, it’s worth the trip! Say hello to the Haserot Angel for me… and let’s all hope she doesn’t say hello back.

❤ Abbie

Wandering Norwalk, OH

Growing up I visited Norwalk, OH often. My dad and I would drive down the tree lined streets and choose which incredible historic home we wanted to own. We went in the antique stores trying to find the next cool thing. We would go drink the best milkshakes and eat delicious BLTs at Berry’s Restaurant. Norwalk is always so welcoming, so I thought I would welcome you to this adorable town today.

Pretty much everything cool happens down Main Street. There are about three or four different antique shops that line the strip. My favorite is the Northern Ohio Antique Mall. There are tons of booths filled with cool antiques. I’m not talking the kitschy kind, I’m talking super old and awesome kind. Their prices are pretty fair too, which is hard to come by with antique stores.

There are two other shops I’d like to shout out that have just come around in the last few years. The first is Patina46, which is this super hip repurposed home decor shop. They have some really neat salvaged furniture and home decor pieces. I swear every time I go in the store I leave wanting to buy like ten things.

The other shop I want to shout out is called When Pigs Fly. This shop is so adorable and they have a great purpose! They are an upscale resale and retail shop whose proceeds go to help make life normalize for the children who may have a member in their family dealing with a major illness. Everyone in the shop is so sweet and helpful! I highly recommend stopping in! (They do accept donations, whether that be something you made artistically or some new or slightly used household items.)

As I mentioned before, my dad and I love driving (or walking) around Norwalk and looking at all the beautiful old houses! Below I’m just going to post some of my favorites for you to scroll through and admire!

Beautiful right? I saved my absolute favorite for the end, so you’ll have to keep scrolling to see that one! And do you know the best way to end the day? It’s with a BLTO (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion- my personal favorite) and a milkshake! Head over to Berry’s Restaurant! It has gorgeous Victorian style restaurant and soda shop decor, not to mention the food is fantastic! It’s the perfect way to end the day in lovely Norwalk!

Have a lovely evening!

❤ Abbie

Ps. If you want to buy me the house below I will gladly take it.

Wandering Wednesday: The Ringling

Happy Wandering Wednesday everyone! I am so beyond excited to share this post with you today! Last week Jackson and I both had Friday off so we decided to take a day trip! I have to say that since we both started working full-time it has been difficult to get the same day off, so we took advantage of it! We thought about going to St.Augustine, but we have already been there 3 or 4 times. We love it, but it’s not new. After much thinking and Googling we found The Ringling Museum in Sarasota. It was only an hour away from us, which was perfect! On Friday we headed to the museum!

The museum pass includes the Ringling Art Museum, Circus Museum, and a first floor self-guided tour of John and Mable Ringling’s Venetian Gothic mansion, Ca’ D’Zan. We got to the museum around 2:00 and we weren’t able to get in the mansion until 4, so we decided to go through the Circus Museum first! It was so stinking cool! I have this bizarre fascination with the circus and carnivals, so I was beyond excited!

They have actual costumes, banners, equipment and old photographs from different famous circus performers and circuses! They even have certain acts you can try and take photographs doing, like walking the high wire or trying to fit in a tiny car!

After you are done with the main room, you have to go in the Howard Brothers Circus section. Inside is the largest model circus in the entire world. It is so amazing! It’s hard to describe how cool this thing is, so I’m just going to tell you it’s a must-see!

After we finished up at the circus museum, we still had a little time before we had to be at the house for the tour, so we walked over to the art museum to look around for a bit! And let me tell you, it felt like we weren’t in America. I felt like we had been transported to somewhere romantic like Italy. The building is made up of several sections, some had modern art, some had Renaissance art, there was even an Ancient China exhibit going on. There was so much to look at!

The building makes a U-shape, so we did one side before we made it into the central courtyard. And let me tell you, I about died when I saw the courtyard. Perfectly manicured gardens, statuary, and an incredible view of the building were just some of the many reasons this place is stunning.

The classical art sections were definitely my favorite. It’s an incredible feeling to be right up next to massive paintings. Painting is one of the talents that I wish I were good at, so I tend to find them particularly interesting!

After we made it to the courtyard it was time for us to take a tour of the house. We walked under the banyan tree covered paths, and made it to Ca’ D’Zan (“House of John” in Venetian dialect).

The house was built in  Venetian Gothic style because the Ringlings had spent many vacations in Italy and had fallen in love with Italian architecture. The mansion was used as their winter home. While going through the mansion you can just imagine 1920s flappers hobnobbing on the terrace. It’s so Gatsby, and I was loving every second. The tour takes you through some of the incredible rooms and allows you to go onto the terrace which overlooks Sarasota Bay. It’s not hard to see why the Ringling’s picked such an incredible location!

The Ringling was so incredibly wonderful. I definitely suggest getting there sooner than we did, however. Three hours was hardly enough time to see everything and take in the beauty. If you liked this blog post, go check out my super awesome husbands’ vlog about our day trip here. I hope that one day you take the opportunity to take a short drive from Tampa and check out The Ringling!

❤ Abbie

Wandering Wednesday: Cleveland, OH

Happy Wandering Wednesday everyone! Today we are going to adventure in Cleveland, OH. My Dad and family live in Sandusky, OH which is about an hour away from Cleveland. For practically all of my life we have taken trips out to Cleveland for various reasons. It’s become something that we have to do every chance I get to visit! So today I’m going to share with you some really cool places to visit in Cleveland! (Some of my favorite places I’m going to leave out until October because I’ve got some great ghost stories about those places. So stay tuned.) The first place is the Cleveland Public Library. This library is beautiful. 

Marble floors, winding staircases, beautiful statues, what more could you ask for in a library? Well, books I guess…. but good news, they have those too!!

Feel free to wander around the Library and take pictures. They are really helpful and photo-friendly!

The second place we are going to visit is Tower City.

The tower is called Terminal Tower. It’s 52 stories high, and occasionally they have the observation deck open to look out on the city! It’s pretty much the landmark in the Cleveland skyline. If you go inside Tower city they have a shopping mall, train station, movie theater, and an entrance into the Quicken Loans arena where the Cleveland Cavaliers play! (GO CAVS!!!)

Now if you’re an Avengers fan you may recognize it. This was where they filmed the scene that was supposed to be Stuttgart, Germany when Loki was having his crazy moment!!

Cool, huh?!? I recommend you visit Tower City around Christmas, because they decorate it so beautifully!

The third and final place we will visit today is honestly one of my favorite places ever, the West Side Market. The market was built in 1912 to sell goods to the diverse cultures of Cleveland. Today it still thrives and was named one of the “10 Greatest Public Places in America.”

Here you can buy everything from fresh fruit to fine cheese.

The market sells many different cultural cuisines like Polish Pierogies (which are amazing,  btw), Cambodian Chicken Pad Thai, and some of the best Gyros you will ever eat (Try Steve’s Gyros. It’s delicious and was featured on the Food Network). I also suggest you go to some of the meat shops and get beef sticks. You will have made a great decision in buying some because they are ah-mazing.

Below is one of my favorite pictures of my Dad and I laughing with the guy who sells us our favorite beef sticks! When you go to the different stands make sure you talk with them about their stand! They always have interesting stories!

If you have a sweet tooth I suggest you head over to Vera’s Bakery! They are some of the nicest people and their sweet treats are super yummy! Their Raspberry Squares, German Chocolate Brownies and Clothespin cookies are killer. And they wrap up your goodies in a cute little box with  bakery twine.  How could it get any better?

If you’re there for lunch I suggest you head over to Frickaccio’s Pizza Market! They have really delicious Italian sandwiches that are made fresh on the spot! After you get your lunch if you head to the front of the building (near the tower) and exit through the first set of doors, you will see an open hallway with stairs. If you head up those stairs you get the best seat in the house. There’s a large balcony that overlooks the market that has seating. It’s a fun place to sit and watch while you eat your yummy lunch! The picture below is the view from the balcony.

Well, that’s it for today’s Wandering Wednesday! I hope next time you’re in Cleveland you can stop at some of these amazing places!! Happy wandering!

❤ Abbie