Castle Frankenstein

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

During the last (we hope) snow of the season, we traveled to Patterson’s Tower, a gothic revival folly with commanding views of the landscape south of Dayton.

It was built in 1941 by the National Youth Administration, one of the organizations that provided employment and education to those struggling during the Great Depression.

In 1967, a young couple seeking refuge from a thunderstorm made their way to the tower.

Sadly, there was no grounding rod, so when a bolt of lightning struck the roof, it traveled along water that had seeped down the interior walls and arced to the teenagers.

For one of them the consequences were fatal.

Even without its grim history, the thing looks like the set from a mid-century horror film. Perhaps that’s why it’s been nicknamed “Castle Frankenstein.”

Later this month our friends at the Know Theatre are putting on a new Victorian ghost story called “The Ravenside Occurrence.” In their honor, we’ll be doing a few haunting related posts from locations within a short drive of Covington.

If you decide to visit any of these sites, please be respectful to the living and the dead.

Thanks to Dayton’s Parks for preserving this wonderful structure.