Haunted Ohio: Ghost Stories from All Over the State of Ohio

Click on a county below to find your local Ohio ghost stories!

 

Montgomery County Ohio Ghosts and Hauntings - Patterson's Tower... Castle in Hills & Dales MetroPark

 

Patterson's Tower... Castle
Kettering, OH 45409

On a whim, I stopped at “Frankenstein’s Castle” (aka Witch’s Tower or Patterson’s Castle) at Kettering, originally built by boys from the National Youth Administration in the early 1940s as a stone observation tower for the Community Golf course. The turret-like building was constructed with a stone spiral staircase to an observation deck at the top. It has been rumored to be haunted, and the story behind the legend is based on a true event occurring many years ago.
On June 14, 1967, 16-year-old Bellbrook High School sophomore Peggy Harmeson, and a friend, Ron, had walked to the tower and found shelter within its walls during a thunderstorm. At some point and near the front iron gate, as they leaned against the walls with wet clothing, the building was struck by lightning. The two were electrocuted. Ron survived. But Peggy died of severe burns, and rumors were passed that her burnt image remained on step 11, where she had been killed, and sometimes before a storm, ghostly shadows appear. Eventually, the doors had to be sealed with concrete and the windows barred to stop the many legend trippers from visiting at night. Nowadays, some say on quiet days at the Hills and Dales MetroPark, where this stone tower is located along a trail, hikers passing by the old stone tower can hear whispers and even muffled screams.

 

 

Patterson Tower