Haunted Ohio: Cincinnati Job Corps Building in Cincinnati

 

Sisters of Mercy, Mother House - Courtesy of Cincinnati Public Library

The Cincinnati Job Corps Center offers help to those in need. It offers training programs for those who want to work in the culinary arts, carpentry, and dozens of other fields. Students between the ages of 16 and 24 can sign up while they're still in school or when they want more practical training. In addition to the help the organization offers, it also has a huge building in Cincinnati that many claim is haunted.

One thing to know about this building is that it's much older than the organization. Built in the late 19^th century, the building that now houses the center was used for different purposes over the years. In the early years, it had a pivotal role in the Underground Railroad. Slaves trying to escape north for their freedom hid in the tunnels running under the then new building until they could make their next moves. Some of the old tunnels and hiding places are still there.

A flickr user claims that the Sisters of Mercy once owned it, which makes sense as they owned quite a few buildings in the city. It also has many elements that make it look like an old church. The Sisters of Mercy used it as a convent and lived there with other sisters before and after they took their vows. At some point in time, the building served as an armory and later a hospital before it officially became the Cincinnati Job Corps Center. Students now take classes and complete their training on the lower floors and live in the dormitories on the upper floors.

At least one of the building's ghosts is a former Sister of Mercy. She clearly isn't fond of the young people who run loose through her former home. Many students heard a shushing noise as if someone was warning them to keep it down. They often heard this voice when they were talking loudly or listening to music. Others were lucky enough to actually see her. She always wears an old-fashioned habit that covers her head, keeping her face from view. As with other ghosts, she disappears when anyone comes near.

This former sister may be the same ghost known to leave marks on students. One young woman who lived on-site with a roommate woke in the morning with a sharp pain in her hand. She looked down to see fresh red welts right across her knuckles. The student hurried to wake her roommate only to discover that she had matching welts. When they showed them to their classmates, several who had parents who attended Catholic schools claimed they matched the welts they got from the nuns. Other students had similar experiences with strange and odd marks appearing on them in the morning.

Cincinnati Job Corps - Courtesy Cincinnati Job Centers on LinkedIn

Multiple students have heard clacking footsteps in the hallway right outside their rooms. The noise sounded exactly like someone walking across tile floors in high heels. Some even heard the steps stop at their doors and then heard several people whispering to each other. No matter how fast they threw open the door, the hallway was always empty.

While most of the Cincinnati Job Corps Center ghosts are harmless, several students had experiences with a malevolent spirit. This figure has a dark and menacing atmosphere that seems to follow him around. Students usually see him late at night, long after most residents are sound asleep. Those who take the stairs too slowly might find themselves unlucky enough to see the spirit stalking them with each step. In some cases, he may move even faster and chase them. He only stops when they duck into one of the hallways.

I've heard from multiple Cincinnati residents and former students of dark and demonic spirits haunting the building. Students would claim to wake in the middle of the night and see a dark figure looming over them. Some even said that they felt as if the presence was trying to hold them down. By the time they got free of him, the figure was gone. Others reported waking to find new bruises on their bodies.

To explain why the ghostly nun never moved on, the story passed along through students concerns a suicide. It seems as if a nun living in the building felt as though she gave her life for the church and didn't get anything back in return. Feeling as though she had no other options, she hanged herself. Students blame her for the flickering lights in their rooms and the faucets that mysteriously turn on and off in the bathrooms.

There are many students who believe that other nuns from the building's days as a high school haunt it. While I found a few people online who claim the building was never a high school, the Cincinnati Public Library begs to differ. The Cincinnati Public Library found that Samuel Hannaford & Sons designed the building, which opened in 1858. It shared a few similarities with Cincinnati's City Hall and Music Hall and sat next to Cincinnati Union Terminal.

Beginning in 1905, the Sisters of Mercy took it over. It became known as the Motherhouse, Provincial House, and Provincial Novitiate, which provided older sisters with a peaceful and restful place to live. They offered many outreach programs designed to help students that other schools and organizations ignored, especially the African American students in the community. The building was known as Our Lady of Mercy High School as well up until the Job Corps took it over in 1988. Though I found several online articles that claim it's on the National Register of Historic Places, I didn't find the official listing.

While I can't say if the Cincinnati Job Corps Center is haunted, I can say it's a gorgeous building with a long history. You can visit the Cincinnati Job Corps Center at 1409 Western Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio.