Haunted Ohio: The Cincinnati Art Museum

 

Cincinnati Art Museum - Photo By EEJCC

To kick off my first October with this blog, I wanted to pick a haunted hotspot in Ohio. Instead of sticking to my hometown of Dayton, I decided to take a little road trip south to Cincinnati and the haunted Cincinnati Art Museum.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is not only one of the oldest art museums in Ohio or the Midwest, but it's also the oldest one west of the Allegheny Mountains. Several local women formed the Women's Art Museum Association to build the city's first art museum. In 1881, they opened a small museum in Music Hall, but in 1886, they moved to a separate building in Eden Park, which is still open today.

So haunted it the museum that it even designed a self-guided tour for visitors who want to explore the haunted spots. One spot on that tour is Gallery 216.

Gallery 216 is one of the oldest parts of the museum. Around the turn of the 20^th century, the Gallery was home to a large collection of African art collected by Mr. Steckelmann. Mr. Steckelmann collected art from across Africa, building one of the largest early collections of its type. Since opening the gallery, guards working late at night reported seeing a ball of light slowly forming on the floor and moving to the ceiling – as if trying to find a way out.

Legend says that one of the pieces in this gallery is that of a woman. Sourced from Gabon, the figure once served an important role: acting as the home's protector. Some believe she's unhappy about being moved to a new home and will never rest until she escapes.

A few friendly poltergeists call Gallery 209. They like to play tricks on workers, messing with the lights to make them turn on and off. One poor guard was hard at work when the lights suddenly went off without warning. Assuming someone would tell him what happened, he stood in place for several minutes until he heard someone in the darkness tell him things would be fine. Though he never heard the figure move or walk away, when the lights came back on, the gallery was empty.

In Gallery 203, you'll find a huge chapel from the 12^th century brought over from Spain. As gorgeous as the space is, it has an unsettling feel – due in part to the mysterious robed figure spotted there. Clad in a long black robe that covers his body, he is usually seen standing and staring at the wall until he suddenly floats toward the ceiling. This might be the same man often spotted in the old days when the museum had a mummy on display in one of its long hallways. However, others believe he is the ghost of a monk who lived and worshipped in the chapel many years ago.

The Louis Xv French Salon went through many changes over the years, but one thing that remained the same was the gorgeous paneling on the walls. Once part of the Hotel Montmorency, they become part of a private collection in the 1930s before finding their way to the museum. Some believe the ghost found here is attached to the paneling.

Now part of Gallery 115, the space is now home to a collection of pottery. Before then, it was a room for the museum's secretarial pool. According to one popular story, a woman stuck working alone one night heard one of her fellow workers. Though she called out, she didn't get a response. Later, she learned she was there alone.

On another occasion, several workers heard a woman moving the furniture around in her office. They attempted to talk to her, but she wouldn't open the door. They waited for her to come out and finally checked on her, only to find the room empty. The next morning, the woman who used the office was shocked to find the room rearranged and all her furniture in new places.

Then there are the stories of Rosemary, a friendly security guard who was a well-known face around the Cincinnati Art Museum. Rosemary worked there for many years and had a reputation for always showing up for her shifts. One day, she called to say she was sick and would miss her shift. Another security guard working the next morning saw Rosemary walk through the front doors.

Though she waved and said hello, the usually cheerful Rosemary hardly looked in her direction before heading to the back of the museum. Worried that she did something to offend the woman, the guard headed to the break room and told others what she saw. After staring at her for several seconds, they finally revealed that Rosemary passed away the night before. You might get lucky and catch a glimpse of Rosemary yourself near the Dewitt Entrance, which she used during her life.

A popular story surrounds the Solder's Joy Ballroom, also known as Gallery 111. Solder's Joy was the nickname given to a home built in 1806 owned by Jordan Cabell who served during the Revolutionary War. Cabell often threw large and elaborate parties, even during the Civil War. His home was later dismantled, and the ballroom ended up in the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Oddly enough, though the museum reassembled the ballroom, its dimensions are slightly off. The ghost spotted here wears an old Civil War uniform and mainly keeps to himself. Several guards and workers have spotted the man standing and staring at the walls or just walking through the ballroom. Others claim they saw him leaning against a wall no one else could see. Rumor says he was a frequent party guest who died an untimely death and came back to where he feels happy.

Though the haunted Cincinnati Art Museum is home to many spirits, one of the only ones known by name is Elizabeth Boott Duveneck. Elizabeth fell in love with Frank Duveneck not long after meeting him, though they couldn't be more different. While Boott came from a wealthy New England family, Duveneck's parents were poor Kentucky folk. The two were together for six years before marrying and moving around Europe.

Their happiness only grew following the birth of their first and only child. Just a few years after tying the knot, Elizabeth became sick with a cold that turned into pneumonia. Much to Frank's shock, his beloved wife passed away within days. To honor her memory, Frank created a sculpture that now resides in Gallery 110. Visitors and workers alike have heard someone coughing when no one else is in the room and heard someone softly whisper the name, Frank.

Duveneck has a close connection to the ghost haunting the third floor, too. Years before he met his beloved Elizabeth, Frank was a sculptor working in Cincinnati. He had a studio on the third floor where he also taught a small handful of students. Legend says that one of his female students fell in love with him. She would routinely follow him home after class and take drastic steps to spend time with him. When he tried to let her down easily, she snuck into his studio and hanged herself, leaving him to find her the next morning.

There's also the haunted Gallery 108, which is home to the Samuel Best Tall Case Clock. Best was a Cincinnati silversmith known for crafting almost anything his clients wanted. He was the designer behind this beautiful clock. Though the workers removed the chimes from the clock when setting up the room, that didn't stop it from chiming as the time changed. According to the museum, those who heard the sounds immediately decided to shut down their work for the night.

So there you have it, the most haunted spots in the Cincinnati Art Museum. I highly encourage anyone interested to head to the Queen City and check it out!