Dayton Dining

Halloween is around the corner and it is time for a scare.  This week’s article is a bit spooky.  It is food related, but a little spicier and creepier than most of our Food Adventure articles.  This week we tell you about some of the eateries in Dayton that are thought to have supernatural visitors.  These are Dayton’s haunted food spots.

***Food Adventures does not condone or disclaim any of the rumors you are about to read***

This is not for the squeamish, enter at your own risk.

HERE’S THE SKINNY on the
MIAMI VALLEY’S HAUNTED FOOD ADVENTURES

 

THE GHOSTS OF THE GOLDEN LAMB:
Ten presidents, have stayed at the Golden Lamb Inn, in Lebanon. In operation since 1803, this beautiful hotel and restaurant had its share of famous patrons. Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain  are among its former guests. Rumor has it that the room Harriet Beecher Stowe stayed in, is now a room is full of paranormal activity. Also, on the fourth floor, you can view a children’s room that used to belong to Sarah Stubbs, the daughter of a former owner. Guests, and staff say that Sarah’s is still in the room.  Her spirit likes to  play tricks, such as leaving all the pictures on the walls tilted awkwardly.   Sarah’s ghost, wearing a white nightgown, has been seen by many guests.   This poltergeist is said to materialize at night to play with her toys.   Workers also confirm that three guests have died in the inn, and their spirits never left. Former congressman Clement L. Vallandigham shot himself by accident in 1851 on the second floor, and his shadow has been seen pacing in his room. The ghost of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Charles Sherman has also been seen.  He died at the Golden Lamb in the 1830’s.

(Editors Note:  There will be a Ghostly Stories Dinner on October 19 @ 5:30 pm for $45 at Golden Lamb)

 

CHRISTIAN STELLER, and the ORIGINAL MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS:
In 1899, local shoe cobbler Christian Stellar, who was 73 was living with his wife at their daughter’s home.  As they approached 80 years old, the caretaking of them both had taken its toll and had  become too much for their single mother daughter to handle.  She asked her sister for help, by taking in one of the parents.  It was agreed by the sisters, this was the only way to properly care for them both.  They had to separate the couple, one at each daughter’s home.  When they broke the news to Christian and his wife Augusta, the Dayton residents were distraught.  Christian left his dwelling that was located on part of the grounds of what is now Miami Valley Hospital. The German immigrant walked across the street to take a walk

at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, miserable at the news he had learned.  Unbeknownst to his family, he had hidden a handful of pellets in his pocket of shoe shining material.  Although useful, Christian knew, these pellets were highly poisonous.  As he entered the fairgrounds he swallowed an entire handful of the lethal acid.  As a frantic relatives searched for the elderly man, his young grandson found him collapsed in the stadium area.  It was too late, the old man had succumbed to the poison.  His funeral was on his wife’s 80th birthday.  Although he was buried in Woodland Cemetery, his spirit is said to haunt the concession area and the round house of the former Montgomery Fairgrounds on South Main Street.  People have heard moaning and and agonizing elderly voice crying out for his wife Augusta and asking “why, why?”  There are also unexplained sounds of footsteps and shadows of a man in those areas as well.  Is this the ghost of Christian Steller, spending eternity mourning his wife?

 

GHOST at THE FLORENTINE RESTAURANT in GERMANTOWN :
This is the second oldest restaurant/hotel in Ohio.  Built in 1816 this is believed to be another absolutely haunted spot on our trail.   Staff and diners have experienced an eerie presence on the third floor. The kind of strange feeling that makes you feel a cold wind or the hairs on your neck stand on end.   The mezzanine is haunted by a poltergeist that causes the chandeliers to swing to and fro.  There are lots of unexplained creaks and noises.  It is unknown whose ghost or what spirits are haunting this place.

 

THE TRAGIC DEATH OF GEORGE SAETTEL:
It was a Tuesday during the great 1913 Dayton flood.  At the corner Main & Vine St., there was a small grocery store called Saettel’s.  The owner was Ollie Sattael who decided as flood waters swept by his store, that he would load merchandise up to the second floor with some neighbor help.  As he took the neighbor home by boat an explosion happened at the store,  Ollie’s father, 75 year old George Saettel was propelled into the deep water, but landed on a roof.  The roof turned out to be a poor raft.  Many witnessed his death. They recall him floating on the roof and slowly it sank.  He was helpless as the current took hold of him. George Saettel was being whisked away down Main Street by the flood waters. He turned his head, and looked backed at his family and friends.  Their eyes met as he disappeared underwater into a huge whirpool.   After that his ghost was said to haunt the grocery store.  Nothing like a little spirit to help you pick out your groceries.   You can visit his grave at Calvary Cemetery at your own risk….

 

THE HAUNTING OF “THE AMBER ROSE RESTAURANT:”
The building was built in 1912 by Sigmunt Ksiezopolski and was a general store through the 1980’s. In 1989 Elinor Sluzas bought the building and opened The Amber Rose a year later.   The menu was her own Lithuanian recipes, and her twists on Eastern European favorites.  In 1998, owner Joe Castellano bought the restaurant, and still uses Elinor’s recipes.  This is when the hauntings turned into full gear.  The daughter of the original owner of the building is said to haunt the main level and upstairs of Amber Rose.  Her name is Genevieve Ksiezopolski, and is also known as “Chickie.”  One of the restaurant cooks claimed to have seen the ghostly spirit of Genevieve aka “Chickie” while cooking one night.   He says the full apparition was in front of him, in a ruffled dress.  She walked into,then out of the room.  Now comes the unexplainable part…. There are security cameras throughout the restaurant including the kitchen.  When the management heard the cook’s story, they decided to pull up the surveillance tape.  What they saw was a small, bright, white orb enter, circle and leave the room at the same exact time the cook said he saw the ghost.  Eerie.. Is it proof of a ghost, or just a coincidence?  Long time managing

server Aimee has witnessed glasses flying off the shelves.  Owner Joe Castellano has seen lights and fans turned on in the upstairs office, after he had turned them off.  For the last few years Food Adventures hosts a Haunted Dinner in October at The Amber Rose.  Since then, paranormal investigation team “Parasense,” has recorded voices of alleged ghosts, collected kinect evidence and taken photos of unexplained phenomena.  They have discovered more ghosts including a child named “Ruby.”  There was even an instance during ghost hunting one night, where Food Adventures asked the spirit “Who was President when you were born?”  Only to hear a smack on the floor, the flashlight shown a dropped money clip with the face of Ulysses S. Grant on a 50 dollar bill showing heads up.

 

THE SUNRISE CAFE POLTERGEISTS in YELLOW SPRINGS:
The Sunrise Cafe, has reported many unexplained occurrences.  They have had patrons sitting in their dining room, only to disappear, like they were ghosts.  Employees have all said the same thing a day or two after they starting working.  They literally see people in the restaurant who aren’t there.  Often, employees will see people walk past them only to turn around and find no one in the restaurant.  There have been shadows on the walls that follow employees.  Also, the typical glass breaking or dishes thrown from counter top has been witnessed. Other unexplained haunts include hearing the front door’s bell ring.   Several employees have seen the same old woman seated at table six along the right-hand wall, only to find her gone a moment later. In addition, playful poltergeist activity abounds.  Managers have reported bread being inexplicably tossed and Tupperware flying off the shelves.  Nothing is known as to who these ghosts are or what they want.

 

THE LEWISBERG SPIRIT NEAR THE ICE CREAM SHOP:

Near the “Cherry on Top Ice Cream Shoppe” on Commerce St.  Some have experienced bizarre incidents.  Residents have noticed their pet dogs growling at a non visible entity.   Developed photos have shown red eyes in a dark room staring back.  Others have reported glasses falling off a shelf and shattering.  Some paranormal investigators have recorded voices of unexplained sounds.  These sounds, thought to be made by ghosts are recorded on a special recorder and called EVP’s.   EVP means Electronic Voice Phenomenon.  These are sounds recorded at various frequencies and speeds, some audible by the human ear, others only able to be heard on these recordings captured at extreme frequencies.  

 

 

THE SCARIEST WEDDING EVER in DAYTON, 1907:
This one is not so haunted, as it is heart-stopping.  In the summer of 1907 Archibald Dickson and his fiancee Violet Minnish were picked for a contest to win a new bedroom furniture suite for their wedding. There was a catch. The wedding ceremony would take place in what now is Island Metro Park on Helena St., and it would take place inside a lions cage with 12 lions.  The circus was to be in town. As the date and time arrived, the lion master and the minister entered the cage with the 12 lions.  The harrowing experience happened in front of a huge crowd of 20,000 Dayton residents. The onlookers swarmed around the cage and even climbed trees to get a better view of the happenings.  The lions growled as the groom stepped into the cage.  The bride’s horse and buggy approached and she stepped into cage as well.  The very dangerous circumstance lasted less than 20 minutes. There were a couple of terrifying moments when the

largest of the lions circled the wedding party and took a swat at the lion master. Besides that, the wedding went off without a hitch.  Reception guests enjoyed a feast, and were happy the beasts did not feast this day.

 

THE APPARITIONS  AT THE HAMMEL HOUSE INN in WAYNESVILLE:
This Bed and Breakfast has been declared one of the most haunted buildings in Waynesville. The haunted room to steer clear from is Room #004. There was a murder at the inn over 100 years ago.  Today, shadows and apparition of the victim who was a young merchant have been seen here by many witnesses.  The dining room of the inn is the other favorite place for this tortured spirit to appear. The ghost of a black cat has also been seen in the hotel hallways. Employees and guests

have reported being startled by various other apparitions in turn of the century clothing. Bottles and other items fall off shelves off on their own. Employees have reported coming back into the dining room to find glassware rearranged. Footsteps are heard and ghastly voices have been heard in the old inn as well.

 

GHOSTS IN “YE OLD TRAIL TAVERN”  in YELLOW SPRINGS:
 This is the oldest tavern in Ohio. Managers at “Ye Old Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs don’t use their upstairs area as customer or office space, because they feel it is haunted.  A ghost is said to live there and vibe the area gives off is a sad, melancholy feeling.  Owner Cathy Christian of Ye Old Trail Tavern has experienced incidents first hand.  The back half of Ye Old Trail Tavern was the first house in Yellow Springs, and later it was used as a bakery.  Philanthropist Francis Haffner lived there with his son.   The young man had a bad reputation.  The son wanted to be with a woman who was engaged to a man who was away fighting in the Civil War.   So he bribed the local postmaster to withhold letters coming from the Civil War soldier to the woman.  The plan worked and she ended up marrying Haffner’s son.  But then the soldier came back and discovered the deal her husband made with the postmaster.  This left the woman “Mrs Haffner,” distraught when she found out the truth.  Her ghost is the one believed to haunt upstairs.  The spirit is “very, very sad.”  As visitors went upstairs, they would get uneasy feelings and goosebumps, As time went by, people

wouldn’t go up the stairs because it was such a feeling of dread and bad feelings.  Two other female ghosts have been spotted within the Tavern, with identifiable hairstyles. One ghost wears her hair in a bun and is playful downstairs.  The other wears her hair down and has a darker aura.  Have you ever experienced eerie feelings in a room and  your hair stood up on the back of your neck? The owners discovered a ghastly presence in 1986.  They saw a light cord come unplugged and continually bang against the wall. Nothing was mentioned until an employee  said he had seen the same thing.  Owners took it a step further.   In true Yellow Springs form, they hosted a psychic fair, and was told to tell the ghosts what she wanted them to know.  A psychic relayed the message to the ghosts. The only feedback the psychic provided is that the ghost likes when she decorates for Christmas.

SNOW HILL COUNTRY CLUB in WILMINGTON:
Snow Hill Country Club is  very haunted, and has been hosting ghost nights for the past 12 years.    In fact, the place is so legendary, that it was featured on an episode of the Biography channel’s “My Ghost Story.”  The country club and restaurant are located just outside of Wilmington, in New Vienna, Ohio at 11093 New Vienna Rd (Daytonians know this as State Route 73).   This is one of the few haunted venues that offers an overnight stay.  The spookiness of this place made us shiver, you have to have some guts to stay in this historic yet ominous place..  Guests are sometimes treated to dinner and are encouraged to look around and explore for themselves.  A few notable unexplained “phenomenon” have been known to occur. Unexplained voices,  photos believed to be of “supernatural”  beings are some claims.   A full service bar on the main level, and the warmer

months the golf course is busy.  There are 6 guest rooms, and groups may make reservations to stay the night for about 120 bucks per room.   Included in the stay is “ghost hunting” all night, if you have the guts to roam the halls late at night.   Even golf may be arranged during good weather.  Famous visitors have included Henry Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt.  Snow Hill was built and owned by the Harris family in 1820.  It was a popular Inn and tavern up through the 1900’s.  One of the oldest running businesses in Ohio, the country club is said to be haunted by spirits of past owners, family members and past guests.  Many stories abound from the 70’s and 80’s like a man whom believed he hit a pedestrian in the road, but no one was found.   There are records of police and firefighters responding to alarms and seeing unexplained light and movements throughout the house.  We had personal unexplained experiences.  In some of our photos, circular orbs appeared, one very prominently.  We were told that many ghost hunters believe

these are tell tale signs of “spirits” in the room.   To be honest, we do not know what to think, other than the orbs were strange and not in photos taken of the same place seconds earlier.  The prominent orb in the photo had a distinct outline and almost looked to have “veins” running through it.  Odd indeed.  Is it a spirit?  You decide.  Finally when we were in the storage area of the basement, the door next to us opened about an inch and then slammed quickly.  He looked around the room at the handful of people near us and they had that “oh crap” look on their face.  We opened the door and saw a dark empty hall with a staircase, there was nobody there.  There was also a moment where we felt something grab our back pocket.   During our 2nd visit to Snow Hill, one of our fellow guests took a photo of what appears to be an apparition in one of the bedrooms.   Again, unexplained and just plain weird.  We share it here.  Employees tell stories of glasses shattering, chandeliers swinging violently, and various apparition sightings.  An 1880’s portrait photo of an man was found in a cupboard, and when locked away, would keep appearing in various open areas of the country

club.  One of the tour guests recognized the photo as her ancestor Thomas Wilson, a Civil War vet.   It was found out that he was a former owner of the country club, purchasing it at auction in 1898.  Since being identified, his photo has ceased moving inexplicably.  Finally a candlemaker tool levitated and slammed to the ground on a couple of occasions in front of various dinner party guests a few years back.   The theory is that the ghost of the original owner, Mrs Harris, might not be keen on a “peasant tool” being allowed in her formal dining room as decor.

 

You survived the spooky tales.  Now you know what places to be weary of.. Are there ghosts throughout Dayton’s restaurants? How do you explain moving glasses and unexplained voices?  We hope this year you have a Happy Halloween and remember there could be some spirits lurking around in your future!

 

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