CINCINNATI — Halloween is almost upon us and it's the time of year when whispers of the Tri-State's paranormal emerge from the dark.
Are ghosts real? That's one question that has divided Americans for generations.
According to The New York Times, nearly 50% of people in the U.S. believe that spirits walk among us.
Here are 9 spots where the Hamilton County Ohio Exploration Society swears you can encounter ghosts, witches and demons if you dare.
Buffalo Ridge in Cleves
According to lore, a small dog with glowing eyes can be seen near Mitchell Memorial at the top of the ridge. Occults groups were heard to practice witchcraft rituals, sacrifices and more in the wooded area, and the only thing remaining is a concrete table used in the sacrifices just yards away from the road. Another legend of the road said a school bus crash one foggy morning killed multiple children one morning, and now those who died in the crash haunt the road.
Cincinnati Museum Center
Didn't think the museum center could be haunted? Well think again. In the early 1990s, a security guard was hired to catch thieves in the museum and though she did, she was shot dead and discovered later in Northern Kentucky. Now, she roams the halls of Union Terminal. Some say a ghostly pilot can also be seen in the museum's World War II airplane.
The Cincinnati Zoo
Lions and tigers and... ghosts, oh my! The zoo is allegedly haunted by none other than a lioness that can be heard following visitors around the zoo but is never seen. A pair of green eyes have also been spotted at the end of certain areas.
Lick Road
Haunted by a woman named Amy that was reportedly murdered along the road, people have alleged heard screams, windows fogging up and "HELP" being written in the condensation, echoing voices and sounds of footsteps among other things. If you dare to take the trek down Lick Road, you can supposedly see signs with Amy written on them if you flickering your headlights at them. You may even get a glimpse of a girl dressed in all white walking around the road.
Rapid Run Middle School
School hallways can already be dark and scary, but Rapid Run Middle School's are also supposedly haunted by a man who died in the auditorium after falling off a ladder. As he haunts the school, lights turn themselves on and off and chairs go miss during performances in the auditorium.
Spring Grove Cemetery
Cemeteries are inherently creepy places to be. There's an eerie feeling in the air, but at Ohio's largest cemetery there's also reportedly hands reaching up out of the ground, real eyes in a bronze bust of a man and two ghostly white dogs that haunt the area near the front of the cemetery. Apparently if you're not respectful to the dead the cemetery, you'll also have a streak of bad luck.
Sedamsville Woods
Near the intersection of Fairbanks and Delhi avenues, a man wielding an axe is supposedly haunting the woods. It's also said that the man with the axe resided in a house in those woods where he kidnapped children, murdered them with his axe and then hid the bodies around the woods. If you're brave enough to head into the woods at night, you can reportedly hear the screams of children and his ghost will chase you.
Satan's Hollow
An old sewer system in Blue Ash, Satan's Hollow used to house an infamous "altar room" in a mysteriously dry tunnel. Allegedly, a group of Satanists would make animal sacrifices there and successfully opened a door to hell. Near and in the tunnel, screams can be heard and various apparitions have been seen, including floating skulls and an unknown entity called the "shadow man."
Shadow Hill Apartments
Bad luck and Shadow Hill Apartments go hand-in-hand. A man allegedly committed suicide in one apartment, a double homicide took place at the complex in 1981 and two newlyweds were killed in a fire in 1996. Other residents have reportedly experienced strange dreams, and some believe that rituals performed on the complex have brought demons into this world. It's also said that the complex was possibly built atop Native American burial grounds.
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