Posted in GeneralState Parks History
In honor of Halloween, we’re sharing some of the spooky stories that come from Ohio’s State Parks. This entry is part three of the series. You can read part one, featuring Malabar Farm and Mohican State Park here. Check out part two, featuring Beaver Creek and Lake Hope State Parks here.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, our final spooky story for this year’s Halloween: The Spirits of Punderson Manor!
When the Punderson Manor House and its grounds were purchased by the state of Ohio in 1948, dust and decay dimmed the grandeur of the unfinished tutor-style mansion. After the Division of Parks and Recreation began developing the property as Punderson State Park in 1951, the manor was enlarged and remodeled to its present size and charming appearance. Despite its charms, something a little melancholy seems to have clung to this lovely place since it began attracting the families who wished to possess it.
From the pioneer Lemuel Punderson, who in 1808 built his family home on the fair banks of Punderson Lake, to W.B. Cleveland, a wealthy industrialist who visited Punderson Lake as a young man and vowed to own it one day, to Karl Long, a wealthy businessman whose ambition was to construct a grand tudor-style mansion, each previous owner was irresistibly drawn to the place.
The Punderson Manor
After the initial remodeling of the Punderson Manor House was completed and park staff and guests began spending the night in the “old” section built by Long, reports of strange occurrences flourished. Ghostly apparitions appeared from nowhere and disappeared as suddenly, often accompanied by a bone-chilling draft. Most of these visions had the look of characters from a bygone era dressed in period costume…
– A woman napping on a sofa in what is now a meeting room in the old section was awakened by the sounds of invisible children playing, laughing and running around the room.
– Two rangers walking along the hallway on their evening rounds felt a sudden penetrating chill pass through them and then heard peals of unearthly laughter as the chill faded down the hallway.
– After passing through the well-lit dining room to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, a member of the night staff was startled as the lights in the dining room blinked off suddenly.
– In the dim dining room, she saw a figure of a woman dressed in an old-fashioned bonnet, cape and gown float through the air across the dining room, into the lobby and up a stairwell.
– On another occasion, the staffer saw the same figure surrounded by silent ghostly children whom she swept up under her cape as she faded away.
The lobby of the Punderson Manor
– As two night staffers sat talking in the lobby at the bottom of the circular staircase, they were startled to see the specter of a young girl in a pink nightgown peek around the upstairs railing, stifling a silent giggle.
– On another occasion, the little girl in pink was seen wandering the hallway late at night–on an evening when no children were registered as guests.
Why so many different apparitions at Punderson? Many tragedies seem to have befallen its former owners. Just as Lemuel Punderson was planning an urgent and confidential business trip to New England, he fell ill with a fever and died. A rumor persists that he may have committed suicide by drowning. W. B. Cleveland bought the property in 1902, experienced serious financial difficulties through the 1920s, fell seriously ill and died in 1928 just as an opportunity arose to sell the property and avoid financial ruin.
Karl Long had just purchased the property and invested $250,000 in construction of the manor house when he lost everything in the 1929 stock market crash. Broke and in despair, Long is said to have hung himself from a tree by the tower. A tavern across the lake from the manor is said to have caught fire many years ago, claiming the lives of several children inside.
During further remodeling in the early 1980s, Punderson Manor House was closed to overnight guests and modifications were made to the rooms of the old section. Today, Punderson Manor is said to be visited still by a playful spirit that likes to rattle pots and pans, turn lights on and off, and watch television in the wee hours. Guests staying in the old section claim to find faucets turned on mysteriously, heating and air conditioning units suddenly turned up full blast, clean towels and linens tossed about the room and televisions suddenly coming on at full volume in the middle of the night.
From time to time, the heavy metal fire door separating the old and new section appears to open and close by itself. Drama, mischief and mystery characterize the enduring spirit of the grand old manor built on a spot that is so irresistibly lovely that some folks may have never been able to leave it.
Stories written by Jean Backs and first appeared in the 1996 Fall/Winter issue of the Ohio State Parks Magazine.
Have you seen anything spooky at any of the state parks? Share you stories in the comment box below!