"Children of the Night"

I’m not exactly sure when my fascination with the unknown began. I know I was young. I can probably attribute it to my mother. When I was a boy, she would take my brother and me to catch a matinee of whatever the newest “scary movie” was at the cinema. The Exorcist, The Omen, The Amityville Horror…she particularly loved scary movies with a spiritual or paranormal element. I remember sitting in the theater with her. She would get so fearful that she would grab my hand and clench it, inadvertently digging her nails in deep when something particularly ghastly was occurring on screen. She loved to be frightened.

As I got older I became more interested in phenomena like Bigfoot and UFOs. For a short time, I was obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle. I read anything I could get my hands on about the subject. My curiosity was unquenchable.

My mother passed away in 2005 but I’m still a sucker for a dalliance with the unexplained or a brush with a wicked scare, preferably at the same time. As inquisitive as I may be, I’m also doggedly skeptical.

So, a couple months ago when my buddy and I discovered that there was going to be a series of “haunted history” walks in October in the nearby sleepy little municipality of Canal Fulton, we signed up post-haste.

Canal Fulton

Located about 30 minutes from Akron, Canal Fulton is a glistening example of small-town America. Sitting on the banks of the rustic Ohio Canal, the town boasts an estimated population of roughly 5,500. Canal Fulton feels like home cooking, high school football, and grandma. Along the main drag of town are a coffee shop, ice cream parlor, and a neat little antique emporium. About two blocks up from the main intersection is a vintage store called “The Toys Time Forgot.” They have a terrific selection of playthings from years gone by. (Personally, I was drooling over their collection of G.I. Joe action figures and kooky board games. And if I’d have had the discretionary cash, a plush Smokey Bear dating back to the mid-50s would have gone home with me.)

The walk was scheduled to begin promptly at 8 PM on Saturday, October 28th. After grabbing a quick dinner, we were ready to confront the dark underbelly of the city’s past.

The Walk: A Timeline

7:56 PM- My friend Wayne and I arrive at the predetermined meeting place at the corner of Canal & Market. There is already a large group of people there. A healthy mix of male and females, the ages range from children to senior citizens. The fall night air is crisp but not cold.

8:01 PM- Sherri Brake addresses the attendees. She is dressed in dark clothes and a wool poncho. She is the owner of Haunted Heartland Tours, the company that is running the event. She will also be acting as our guide. She informs us that she is a 31-year-old “open-minded skeptic.” She shores up her credibility by sharing that she has worked with a number of paranormal television programs over the years.

“I love what I do,” she says.

Ms. Brake then runs through a quick rundown of what the walk would consist. Earlier, she’d handed out “ghost meters” to select attendees. They are battery-powered white rectangular boxes which have yellow, green and red lights on them, as well as an analog indicator. They easily fit into the hand of the average adult. She says that the green and yellow lights denote ghost activity in the area. And if (when) it lights up red, start taking photographs immediately because that will be the best opportunity to catch a ghost on film. She reminds the participants to hold their breath before snapping a photo so as not to mistake it for an “orb” or “mist” in the cool night air. This seems like sound advice.

“Do I have your confidence?” she asks.

The crowd responds affirmatively.

“Do I have your interest, so far?”

More positive chatter from the nervous but excited audience.

That means you, ghosts!

Canal Fulton Public Library

8:10 PM- Ms. Brake leads the group a couple blocks east before directing us to cross the road. We end up at 154 Market St., the home of the Canal Fulton Public Library.

“Welcome to Canal Fulton, Ohio,” she starts.

The structure was originally built in 1897 she informs us. Eventually, it became a mortuary, replete with a crematorium. In the following years, janitors would hear chairs moving and see shadowy figures. Once a librarian who was working late saw a “whispy mist” (aka “Ecto Mist”).

A person in the audience asks if the shadow people appear as “black dots.”

Response: “Most time you can’t see them direct-on.”

“Brimstone Corner”

8:22 PM- The group is then lead one block south and two blocks west to 102 Canal St., the home of ArchAngel Tattoo & Art Gallery.

Ms. Brake informs us that “Brimstone Corner,” as it was formerly known, was a bad part of town in the early days of the city. At the time, the first floor was a saloon. Those with more exotic tastes could visit the second floor, which housed a brothel.

During this period, English and German citizens often found themselves at odds with one another and fisticuffs would ensue. Sometimes these altercations ended in a fatality. (ie: MURDER!) Sometimes one had to “buy” themselves out of a crime. There was a tunnel below the saloon. It led across the street to a mortuary. If you paid off the mortician, he would burn the corpse for you and you could make your getaway.

Brake: “No body. No crime.”

Host: Sherri Brake

“The Blank House”

8:26 PM- The group moves a couple doors down to 116 Canal St. Built in 1901 and formerly known as “The Blank House,” it is the current home of the Dragonfly Tearoom. During the building’s tenure as the city chamber of commerce, the secretary would often hear “disembodied footsteps” creaking through rooms.

Our host then directs our attention across the street to the Sister’s Century House, which sits at 123 Canal St. While now a restaurant, the building has housed a number of businesses including…ahem…ANOTHER mortuary. (To be fair, my friend finally asked why there are so many mortuaries in such a small town. Our hostess sensibly replied that there was a lot of sickness, injury, and death because of the proximity of the city to the canal. Makes sense.)

In the ensuing years, tenants of the space have claimed to have heard squeaking bats and poltergeist. One barkeep even claims to have gotten her “ass” smacked by a sassy spook. There is also a tale of a figure known as “The Trench Coat Man” who slowly creeps the hallways of the Century House.

“Club 21”

8:33 PM- Ms. Brake recounts the story of a love triangle that ended badly here. A husband finds out about the indiscretions of his unloyal wife and shoots her lover dead in the bar.

One interesting piece of trivia that was revealed is that there is a law in Ohio that states that a property owner must disclose to a prospective buyer if they feel the property is haunted. Such properties are considered “stigmatized” or “psychologically impaired.”

Ohio Canal

8:36 PM- The group crosses a narrow wooden bridge over the Ohio Canal.

8:37 PM- So, it took seven years for Scotch-Irish immigrant workers to dig the 309 miles from Cleveland to the Ohio River. It is said that there are a dead Irishmen buried in the banks for every one mile of the canal that was dug. It wasn’t an easy life. The workers were paid 25 cents and a jigger of whiskey for each day of work. Injuries, infection, and death were commonplace.

Brake then steers off into a story of Lock 4 Park, which is about a mile north from our present location. It is deemed one of the most haunted places in Ohio. According to legend, a man was working there and went insane. He flung acid onto coworkers and himself. Everyone died. Supposedly, one can still hear the cries and moans of the men who suffered slow, painful deaths.

“Mrs. Sourwine”



8:49 PM- Next, we are led a few hundred yards away and instructed to stand in a circle in an open, grassy area. This is the site of the Walser Hotel, which dates back to the 1820s. The “Sourwine Witch” skulked the facility. It is believed that she could turn herself into a black cat that’s eyes “glowed with amber from Hell.”

Though the citizens feared her, she made friends with a young girl named “Emma.” She revealed to Emma that she had hidden gold coins all around the hotel property. However, the information came with a warning.

Sourwine: “…don’t tell a soul.”

So what does Emma do? Yep, she told her boyfriend. As the two greedily searched for gold they were confronted by a black cat…

Also haunting the Walser Hotel site was the ghost of J. Geils Band as some shitty 80s music blared from the rear of a bar across the canal just a few hundred feet away. Talk about atmosphere. Yikes.

Old Pioneer Cemetary

??? PM (Phone Battery Died)- We are in the homestretch of the tour. After a five-minute westbound walk up a hill, we arrive at the Old Pioneer Cemetary. Dating back to the early-1800s, the plots are filled with babies, children, and German settlers. According to beliefs at the time, bodies are buried facing East/West because of the belief that at the dawning of each day they could sit up to enjoy the sunrise. However, if one was thought to be a witch, they would be buried facing North/South.

We were each give two “Dowsing Rods,” thin metal “L-shaped” wires with the look and feel similar to a coat hanger. We were then instructed to grip the rods like such:

We are told that when we encounter a grave, marked or not, the rods would cross. And they did. I spent the next ten minutes walking around the tiny cemetery and each time I encountered the grave. There was one grave belonging to a child at which we might smell lavender but I didn’t experience that. Overall, the effect was cool and seemed to send the audience home happy.

After this, we made our way the handful of blocks back to the tour beginning point and the walk concluded.

Final Thoughts

A glaring issue with the Haunted History Walk of Canal Fulton was the size of the group. At one point, the host said that she had drawn 140 people the previous evening. With two walks per night, that is 70 people per tour. (Counting the weeks leading into the walk I attended, as well as that night, there were eight different events. With little to no overhead and a $20/person fee, that is some serious guap! I can’t hate on that.) Even for those willing to make a concentrated effort to submerge themselves in the experience, there is just no chance for intimacy between host and customer with that many people involved. With events like this, “connection” is everything. I wasn’t feeling the connection.

That being said, the host was energetic and the stories were informative. Sherri Brake clearly knows her stuff. In addition to Canal Fulton, she leads tours at the Ohio State Reformatory and other spots in Dayton and West Virgina. She is even organizing trips to Ireland and Scotland in 2018. She wasn’t corny and never attempted to fake anything. (And I was really glad that there weren’t any jokers in the audience looking to torpedo the event.)

In all, for being advertised as “One of the Top 10 Ghost Tours in America,” I think there was quite a bit to be left desired, but as a fun, informative night out with friends and like-minded spooksters—it hit the mark.

Visit www.HauntedHistory.net for more information about upcoming tours in your area.

Happy Haunting!

-Ted Zep

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