Residents learn about city’s haunted history
Ghost tour yields scary stories of local spirits
Psychic Sonya Horstman (right) told the story of the murder of Joe Reno at the place where the American Hotel used to be. Reno was an employee of the hotel who was murdered in 1872 when trying to break up a fight. Photos by SCOTT KRISKA
MEDINA – Paranormal enthusiasts had the opportunity to learn about spirits that are said to haunt parts of the city, when they participated in a guided tour of allegedly haunted attractions in Medina Aug. 16.
This was part of a series of “Walking Ghost Tours” held Wednesday nights starting at Public Square. The tour was led by Haunted Cleveland Tours founder Sonya Horstman, known by many as Psychic Sonya.
As Horstman led the participants on their walk through the neighborhood, she told the stories of spirits that allegedly haunt some of the local businesses and residences in Medina, including Cool Beans Café on the square and nearby businesses such as Spitzer Bed and Breakfast and T&M Salon, the latter of which was formerly a funeral home. She also shared the story of a murder victim whose ghost she said still haunts the square 145 years after his death – an employee of the old American Hotel named Joe Reno, who was killed June 20, 1872.
“He was an employee trying to break up a fight and they (the people fighting) shot him,” Horstman explained. “He died after a few days of suffering. The local authorities never went after the killers. He haunts the square and some of the businesses here.”
Another stop on the tour was the historic Munson House on South Prospect Street. The home’s current resident, Charles Ramer, even welcomed the tourists into the house. Horstman recalled encountering the ghost of one of the house’s former residents, Cora Munson, two years ago while leading another group of tourists.
“We saw her jump past the owner (Ramer) into the next room,” she said, adding she heard Cora saying the words “Where’s my blue?” when she found her spirit.
The tour ended in the basement of Main Street Café, where Horstman showed the tourists several photos of apparitions taken in Northeast Ohio and described the stories behind them. Later, some of the tourists joined her in a walk to Old Town Graveyard in the hope of encountering any spirits.
Throughout the tour, Horstman challenged the participants to channel their inner psychic and ask themselves what kind of feelings they had as they visited each landmark.
In addition to having created Haunted Cleveland in 2002, Horstman is also a practicing minister at the Church of Radiant Lights in Rittman, as well as a paranormal investigator.
“I do work with police departments,” she explained. “I also lecture at colleges. I’ve been included in seven paranormal books and many documentaries.”
Horstman recalled the day she discovered her psychic abilities at the age of 5. She explained the ghost of the victim of a murder that had occurred next door to the house she was living in had spoken to her.
“On Christmas Day, 1968, the ghost talked to me and told me no one else could see or hear her,” she said. “That day, I was taught a prayer to protect myself.”
Horstman said her psychic powers have also enabled her to read Tarot cards and perform aura readings through the Native American practice of hand trembling, in which she can read a person’s energy field with her hands.
At the age of 15, Horstman started using her unique abilities to study spirits and to rid homes and other places of unwanted spirits.
“It was then I knew I had a responsibility to help them and the people who are frightened by them,” she said.
Horstman said one goal of the Walking Ghost Tours series is to educate others about spirits, how to properly investigate them and how one can tune in to his or her own psychic ability.
Additional tours will be held starting at Public Square on nine more Wednesdays this year – Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; and Nov. 1, all starting at 7:30 p.m.
This was part of a series of “Walking Ghost Tours” held Wednesday nights starting at Public Square. The tour was led by Haunted Cleveland Tours founder Sonya Horstman, known by many as Psychic Sonya.
As Horstman led the participants on their walk through the neighborhood, she told the stories of spirits that allegedly haunt some of the local businesses and residences in Medina, including Cool Beans Café on the square and nearby businesses such as Spitzer Bed and Breakfast and T&M Salon, the latter of which was formerly a funeral home. She also shared the story of a murder victim whose ghost she said still haunts the square 145 years after his death – an employee of the old American Hotel named Joe Reno, who was killed June 20, 1872.
“He was an employee trying to break up a fight and they (the people fighting) shot him,” Horstman explained. “He died after a few days of suffering. The local authorities never went after the killers. He haunts the square and some of the businesses here.”
Another stop on the tour was the historic Munson House on South Prospect Street. The home’s current resident, Charles Ramer, even welcomed the tourists into the house. Horstman recalled encountering the ghost of one of the house’s former residents, Cora Munson, two years ago while leading another group of tourists.
“We saw her jump past the owner (Ramer) into the next room,” she said, adding she heard Cora saying the words “Where’s my blue?” when she found her spirit.
The tour ended in the basement of Main Street Café, where Horstman showed the tourists several photos of apparitions taken in Northeast Ohio and described the stories behind them. Later, some of the tourists joined her in a walk to Old Town Graveyard in the hope of encountering any spirits.
Throughout the tour, Horstman challenged the participants to channel their inner psychic and ask themselves what kind of feelings they had as they visited each landmark.
In addition to having created Haunted Cleveland in 2002, Horstman is also a practicing minister at the Church of Radiant Lights in Rittman, as well as a paranormal investigator.
“I do work with police departments,” she explained. “I also lecture at colleges. I’ve been included in seven paranormal books and many documentaries.”
Horstman recalled the day she discovered her psychic abilities at the age of 5. She explained the ghost of the victim of a murder that had occurred next door to the house she was living in had spoken to her.
“On Christmas Day, 1968, the ghost talked to me and told me no one else could see or hear her,” she said. “That day, I was taught a prayer to protect myself.”
Horstman said her psychic powers have also enabled her to read Tarot cards and perform aura readings through the Native American practice of hand trembling, in which she can read a person’s energy field with her hands.
At the age of 15, Horstman started using her unique abilities to study spirits and to rid homes and other places of unwanted spirits.
“It was then I knew I had a responsibility to help them and the people who are frightened by them,” she said.
Horstman said one goal of the Walking Ghost Tours series is to educate others about spirits, how to properly investigate them and how one can tune in to his or her own psychic ability.
Additional tours will be held starting at Public Square on nine more Wednesdays this year – Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25; and Nov. 1, all starting at 7:30 p.m.