The Dayton Masonic Center is home to a ghostly guide, according to legend.
The Gem City landmark, formerly known as the Dayton Masonic Temple, is known today as a venue for weddings and concerts, but it is also home to a friendly spirit.
» MORE ON HALLOWEEN: 10 of Dayton’s famous urban legends and ghostly tales
“I had a very interesting experience with a ghost there,” Chris Woodyard, author of the Haunted Ohio book series, said. She went for a tour at 573 W. Riverview Ave., led by a man named George.
“I sat down in a chair for a little bit, and he scooped me up by the elbow and led me along,” she recalled, saying that he guided her to a photo of the Masonic’s graduation classes over the years. “He directed me to a specific year, and there he was in the picture. He was a jolly, portly gentleman.”
After the tour, she spoke with some Masonic officials who had brought her there to take the tour; one official in particular asked her stern questions about the areas she had toured. She mentioned the man, George, and the photo; the skeptical official asked her to show him the picture.
“When we got to the picture, he turned pale,” Woodyard said. “He said, ‘that’s the guy I see around here all the time.’”
Fun fact: Ghosts aren’t necessarily transparent bogeymen.
“When I see them, they look like regular people,” Woodyard said. “To recognize them, you just have a sense about them, or you see them walking through a wall, or wearing old-fashioned clothing.”