Sandusky County Historic Jail

George Thompson, an Englishman who murdered eighteen-year-old Catherine Hamler in 1842, became the first prisoner in this limestone dungeon built specifically to prevent his escapes, spending a year underground on bread and water before a botched hanging. The dungeon sat sealed for over 150 years until reopening for tours in 2013, when courthouse employees immediately began reporting voices, motion alarms triggering at 2-3 a.m., and scratches appearing on investigators who descended into the chamber. Tours at 622 Croghan Street include flashlight-only and "Dungeon Descent" investigation options that almost always sell out.

George Thompson spent about a year underground on bread and water, waiting to hang. The dungeon beneath the Sandusky County Courthouse in Fremont was built specifically to hold him. Local officials had tried above-ground jails before (dirt floors, wooden barriers, iron bars on windows), but Thompson kept escaping. So in the early 1840s, they carved a chamber out of solid limestone. Walls, ceiling, floor. No windows. Kerosene lamps were the only light. They put Thompson in before the courthouse above was even finished.

Thompson was an Englishman, born around 1819, who'd shot and killed eighteen-year-old Catherine Hamler at the Exchange Hotel in Bellevue on May 30, 1842. Catherine worked at the hotel alongside him and had turned down his marriage proposals multiple times. A death warrant was issued on July 9, 1844. On July 12, they brought him up into daylight for the hanging. By local accounts, it was not clean. Thompson struggled on the gallows for an extended period before dying. The gallows are still in the building. You can see them on the tour.

The dungeon operated for about a decade before someone finally decided the conditions were inhumane and shut it down. The second jail, a three-story gray sandstone building designed by architect J. C. Johnson in Queen Anne and Romanesque style, went up in 1890-1891 at the corner of Croghan and Clover Streets. It cost ,000. President Rutherford B. Hayes, who lived in Fremont and led a national prison reform organization, influenced the design to include humane treatment features. The building landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

The dungeon sat sealed for over 150 years.

In 2013, the Sandusky County Convention and Visitors Bureau reopened it for public tours. That's when things got interesting. Courthouse employees started reporting voices and footsteps echoing through the corridors with nobody around. The building's motion alarm system began triggering between 2 and 3 a.m., specifically near the dungeon entrance. The disturbance would sometimes travel along the hallway and up the first-floor courthouse steps. Security cameras showed empty hallways every time.

Visitors on tours report feeling tugs on their clothing and hair. Investigators who've gone down into the dungeon have come back up with scratches on their arms that weren't there when they descended. A figure in a brimmed hat has been spotted sitting on a first-floor courthouse bench. One visitor reviewing a selfie from the tour found what looked like a man standing directly behind her in the photo. She'd been alone.

The fire alarm has gone off with nobody near it. Lanterns turn on and off by themselves. Audio recordings made in the dungeon have captured what sounds like gasping, which investigators attribute to Thompson.

The Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits (ORBS), a team that's appeared on multiple cable television programs, investigated after courthouse staff reported these accounts. The evidence they collected was enough to launch public paranormal tours alongside the standard historical ones. The tours are limited to 30 people and almost always sell out.

The creepiest part isn't the history. It's the timing. The dungeon was sealed and forgotten for a century and a half. Nobody was telling ghost stories about it because nobody was going down there. The reports only started after people began entering the space again in 2013, which means either the stories are a product of atmosphere and suggestion, or something down there had been waiting a very long time for company.

Tours run at 622 Croghan Street. The standard guided tour covers the 1892 jail, the 1840s dungeon, and the Gallows Exhibition Hall. If you want the full treatment, book the "Dungeon Descent" investigation tour or a flashlight-only tour conducted in complete darkness.