Collingwood Arts Center

This 1905 former Ursuline convent in Toledo hosts at least six distinct reported ghosts, including an angry nun who glares at performers from the third row of the balcony, a friendly sewing nun in the attic, a woman in a wedding gown, and a group of playful child spirits on the second floor.

Performers at the Collingwood Arts Center know to avoid looking at the third row of the balcony, stage left. That's where the angry nun sits. She glares at anyone on stage, and witnesses say the hatred radiates from her face and eyes with an intensity that feels physical. Staff and visiting performers describe a sensation like walking through a molecular windstorm: first a flash of rage, then a wave of extreme cold. She's been seen in the theater, in the hallways, and in the basement. The prevailing theory is that she's the spirit of a nun who hanged herself in the basement sometime in the 1950s.

The building opened in 1905 as a teaching convent for nuns in the Ursuline Order of the Sacred Heart. Architect E. O. Fallis designed the 113,000-square-foot Flemish Gothic structure, a massive six-story brick building with elaborately carved window frames and a mansard-roofed tower. It served as the Mary Manse College starting in 1922, then became a retirement home for nuns. When the retirement home closed, the building sat vacant for several years. During that vacancy, an occult group reportedly broke in and held ceremonies in the basement. In 1985, Pat Tansey rented the building and transformed it into the Collingwood Arts Center, a community art space and artist residency that operates today.

The angry nun is just one of several reported presences. Up in the attic, a completely different nun appears, this one described as friendly, with a bright smile. She sits and sews contentedly, and when spotted, she waves and smiles at the living before vanishing. The contrast between the two is striking. One radiates pure hostility. The other seems happy to be there.

In the basement, two more entities reportedly emerged after the occult group's visits. The first is described as a "dark man" who floats around the stairwell, filling anyone nearby with anxiety. The second is a small, dwarfish figure in a black hooded robe, more of a prankster than a threat, who haunts the hallways and basement for what seems like amusement.

The Gerber House, connected to the main building, has its own presences. A female spirit in a wedding gown appears in the front and back parlors during events. On the second floor of the same building, a group of child spirits runs through the hallways, hiding in closets and giggling. They're described as happy and playful, the most lighthearted ghosts in the building.

Chris Woodyard documented the hauntings in her book Haunted Ohio III. The building has been featured on Destination Fear and Ghost Hunters, and the arts center hosts regular ghost hunting events with guided tours from 8 to 9 p.m. followed by unguided investigations until 1 a.m. It's Toledo's largest and oldest structure, and with at least six distinct reported entities, possibly the most densely haunted.