The Cincinnati Music Hall
Posted: 10.21.2024 | Updated: 10.21.2024
The Cincinnati Music Hall holds memories—no one in Cincinnati can argue against that. The hall holds many happy moments. The joy of the old Exhibition Hall is still felt in the modern performances taking place there today. But beneath this energy lies a morbid past. These energies intersect with horrifying results inside the 20,000-square-foot event space.
Since the Hall was opened in 1878, this dark force has reared its ugly head. The Cincinnati Music Hall’s history stretches back much further than the building itself. It acts as a timeline for some of the city’s lowest moments: Cholera outbreaks, steamboat explosions, and the lives of Cincinnati’s most unwanted citizens. They all have a story to be told inside this Victorian Gothic wonder.
This land was once used as a Potter’s Field. Estimations state that between 6,000 and 10,000 corpses once rested here. The Cincinnati Music Hall has earned its reputation as one of the most haunted places in Cincinnati. Footsteps are heard running through the hallways late at night, and mysterious whispers often meet the ears of those unlucky enough to be in their presence.
Join Cincinnati Ghosts as we examine this cemetery-turned-music hall and the spirits who have claimed it as their own.
Why Is The Cincinnati Music Hall Haunted?
The Cincinnati Music Hall stands where Potter’s Field, a cemetery for unwanted or unclaimed people, once was. Thousands of corpses once lay six feet under, where hundreds have congregated to enjoy musical performances for almost one hundred and fifty years. Dead bodies from deadly events like Cholera outbreaks and a steamship explosion were also stored here, carrying their stories with them. As their bodies were removed during renovations, their souls awakened. They are just as loud as the symphony pit and refuse to be silenced.
Cincinnati’s Potter’s Field
Long before the Cincinnati Music Hall was even a thought, there was the old Potter’s Field. The Over-The-Rhine area where the music hall now resides was once a landfill for the immigrants of Cincinnati’s early days. The earliest mention of the old cemetery dates back to 1818, and for decades, it housed the unwanted people of The Queen City.
As an industrial center, Cincinnati drew thousands of prospective immigrants, mainly from Germany, and many left this world with little to no name or tombstone to prove their existence. Two percent of the city perished in 1830 due to the Cholera outbreak, and many uncared-for immigrants found themselves in the Potter’s Field.
However, the limitations of the cemetery were soon tested when the steamboat Moselle exploded off the Cincinnati Wharf on April 25th, 1838. About 150 people lost their lives in this deadly event. Entire families were decimated, and mangled bodies washed up ashore without any way to identify them. While many were buried at their prospective churches, the “unnamed” were laid to rest on Elm Street between the 12th and 14th.
In 1842, the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum occupied the northern part of the cemetery. The bones of children without homes or parents were piled into this festering tract of land. Cholera rocked the city again in 1849, adding to the stockpile of corpses soon to be underneath the Cincinnati Music Hall. While many of these bodies were moved to the Spring Grove Cemetery in the 1850s, many remained with the land for decades to come.
The Orphanage sold the land to the city in the mid-1860s to be used as a burial ground while a new hospital was being built across the canal (the modern-day Central Parkway).
Birth of The Cincinnati Music Hall
As the new hospital was built and more people were buried in the modern-day potter’s field on the city's north end, interested parties eyed the land. The Saengerbund of North America (a coalition of German singers and musicians from around the Midwest) eventually purchased the land and built Saenger Halle atop it in 1870. They agreed to help fund the cause if the building could be used for upcoming expositions.
After the “Seangerfest,” the city expanded its wooden structure to include the Fine Art Hall, Mechanics Hall, Music Hall, Power Hall, and, later, in 1872, the Horticulture Hall.
Reports from the time state that this early hall had a wooden floor and no foundation. As such, the corpses below were not unearthed. But their eternal sleep would soon be interrupted.
The Cincinnati Music Hall came to fruition after businessman and community leader Reuben R. Springer attended the second Cincinnati Musical Festival in 1875. He noticed that the acoustics and roof were not up to standards for the world-class music being presented.
He and other prominent city leaders organized the Music Hall Association, and construction of a new hall began in 1876. It officially opened in 1878. In the process, the putrid corpses of old Potter’s Field were unearthed.
Bodies Beneath The Cincinnati Music Hall
In 1876, construction workers were among the first to dig up the dead. This began a trend that continues today. Crowds gathered at the site of the former exhibition hall as word spread. These bodies were moved to the Spring Grove cemetery. Many thought it was the end of it, but more remains were discovered as the years continued.
Workers found three coffins while remodeling the Music Hall in 1927—one coffin, belonging to Scottish immigrants, dated back to 1831. In a very macabre twist, their final resting place was the pit of the new elevator shaft. It was reported that pillagers stole bones during this unfortunate discovery.
Later that year, workers uncovered 65 graves underneath the South Wing. This area became known as “The Valley of Death” and was also prone to grave robbing. Several skulls were stolen despite the worker's best efforts to prevent it.
A staggering amount of human remains, over 200 pounds, were pulled out of the earth beneath the Cincinnati Music Hall in 1988.
More bones were pulled up as recently as 2016 when the remains of four adults were pulled up from underneath the Orchestra pit.
Unsurprisingly, the Cincinnati Music Hall has had a haunted reputation since it opened in 1876.
Hauntings of The Cincinnati Music Hall
Reports of spirits in the Cincinnati Music Hall have flooded Cincinnati’s world since the hall opened in 1876. Employees from today and yesteryear have seen anything from phantom whispers, mysterious singing, angry whispers, and apparitions dressed for an elegant night out.
The late music director Erich Kunzel challenged anyone who doesn’t believe in these stories to “come here (the Cincinnati Music Hall) at 3:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning” to experience for themselves.
Other workers don’t feel the need to offer such a challenge. They have seen the terrors of the Cincinnati Music Hall and don’t need to see more. One employee brought their three-year-old son Charlie to work with him one evening. His son immediately asked a chilling question: “Daddy, who's that man in the box?” His perplexed father saw no one there, but Charlie insisted a man was waving back at him.
A box office worker stated that they heard the buzz of the box office bell one evening. It kept ringing and ringing, but no one was at the window. But no one was there when they walked outside to check out the disturbance. Soon enough, they felt a slight tug on their clothing. Looking down, they met the gaze of a small boy in period clothing.
The night watchman has the most harrowing tales. Among many other terrifying tales, he recalls approaching the elevator one evening after hearing music from the hallways. As he approached, unable to find the source of the music, his body began to tingle. He could not go near the elevator for weeks without this sensation returning.
Haunted Cincinnati
While the Cincinnati Music Hall may be one of the most haunted places in the Queen City, it is far from the only one. The thousands of bodies that once lay beneath this entertainment center are joined by hundreds of other spirits searching for redemption in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Ghosts invites you to peek into their world on a haunted walking ghost tour of Cincinnati. Book your spot today!
In the meantime, continue reading our blog, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more haunted tales across the United States!
Sources:
https://friendsofmusichall.org/cincinnati-music-hall-history/choral-tradition
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2016/04/27/more-bones-dug-up-music-hall/83560398
https://friendsofmusichall.org/cincinnati-music-hall-history
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