The Ghosts of Mansfield, Ohio

Many people only know Mansfield, Ohio because of the old Mansfield Reformatory. This old building has appeared in dozens of music videos, movies, and television shows over the years including The Shawshank Redemption. The stories of haunting at this site were so popular that the gang from Ghost Hunters even devoted an episode to the old prison. However, that is far from the only haunted site in Mansfield.

The Ceely Rose House is haunted by a former owner. Ceely Rose was in love with a man who her family didn't approve of. One night she decided that she wanted to run away with the man, and decided her only option was to kill her family. Rose poisoned their dinner with rat poison, though she never did end up with the man she loved. Today the woman's ghost haunts the house, which is now the Malabar Farm Inn and some guests have seen her on the property.

Mansfield also has a haunted Crybaby Bridge. A local woman by the name of Mary Jane was killed on the bridge on Halloween night, along with her baby son. On Halloween night, the baby's cries can still be heard. Some also call this the legend of Bloody Mary.

The Lucas Cemetery in Mansfield is also haunted by a Mary Jane, or Bloody Mary though it is not the same woman. This woman was a local girl who told others that she was a witch. Though it was the 1800's and long past the days of the witchcraft trials, the girl was burned to death. The cemetery now has a tree with her name carved in it, though this could have come much later. A tree next to her grave supposedly bleeds and the area where her house once stood is far colder than the surrounding areas. This cemetery is also referred to as May Jane's Cemetery and people say that her headstone is gone, but you can find her grave by looking for a large tree.

Pleasant Valley Cemetery is haunted by the ghosts of the people Ceely Rose killed during the 1890's. Her brother and parents are all buried in the cemetery and many people have seen strange things and found orbs in their pictures taken there.