AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT LOVELAND CASTLE
CHATEAU LAROCHE
LOVELAND, OHIO | 8:00 PM T0 2:00 AM
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE: JUNE 11, 2022
$69 PER PERSON
sold out!
Just 15 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the strangest locations in the state – an actual haunted castle. While the Château Laroche—or Loveland Castle, as the locals call it—has a fascinating history, the story behind its creator – and the man who haunts it -- Harry Delos Andrews, is just as unusual.
To those who knew him, Harry Andrews was always a bit of an eccentric. Born in New York in 1890, he became obsessed with medieval history, despising modern warfare and preferring combat by sword and lance. As a conscientious objector, Andrews joined the World War I effort as a medic, but at the beginning of his military career, he contracted cerebrospinal meningitis. Andrews was presumed dead, but for some reason one of the attending physicians decided to administer a new drug, adrenaline, and his heart began to beat again.
By the time Harry was declared officially alive again six months later, his fiancée had married another man. After that, he remained a bachelor his entire life, dedicating his passions to the past. During his lengthy recovery, he was stationed at Château de la Roche in southern France, where he served as a hospital administrator. This time left a lasting impression on his and he feel in love with the castles of the region. He soon started making plans to build a castle of his own when he returned home to America.
When he left the army, Harry moved to Ohio and during the 1920s, he started a Boy Scouts-type project called the Knights of the Golden Trail (KOGT). He formed it from the Sunday School where he taught and while the rules mostly consisted of the Ten Commandments, he also offered advice on clean, outdoor living. This led to camping trips along the shore of the Little Miami River, which runs through Loveland, Ohio. The group stayed at a couple of sites – the land of which had been donated by parents of the Knights -- so often that they often left camping gear behind. This led Harry to build two stone structures as shelters – which soon began to grow into the castle that Harry always wanted.
He began construction on Château Laroche in 1929. The structure is comprised of rocks pulled from the riverbed of the Little Miami, bricks he formed himself by pouring concrete into milk containers, and even stones given to him by visitors. Harry modeled Château Laroche after a 16th century castle, but updated the floorplan to include modern rooms such as an office, garage, and junk room. Don’t worry, though, he also included a dungeon and a tower for prisoners, because no castle would be complete without them. There was also a secret room in the garden that was not discovered until after Harry’s death. The place he left behind boasts 15 rooms, a great hall, a banquet hall, an armory, Harry’s bedroom, and a watchtower.
He devoted his entire life to building his castle, almost single-handedly carrying literal tons of stones to the site. He worked on the castle every weekend until he retired in 1955. After that, it became a full-time endeavor. As Harry described the place, “Château Laroche was built as an expression and reminder of the simple strength and rugged grandeur of the mighty men who lived when Knighthood was in flower."
Sadly, though, even though the castle was Harry’s life, it’s also what killed him. He died before it was completed when a trash fire on the grounds got out of control and burned him severely. He died from his burns in 1981.
The castle was willed to the Knights of the Golden Trail, who maintain it to this day – but, not surprisingly, Harry has never left it.
The knights believe that Harry Andrews' ghost is still lingering at the castle. Objects often go missing or get moved, and they occasionally hear voices or see a figure. The knights have described the ghost as a playful, not malicious spirit, who likes to play tricks on the knights by doing things such as hiding their things. Visitors have reported the sounds of footsteps, voices, and have seen the apparition of a man wandering about the site and looking out from the battlements.
Want your chance to experience the lingering presence of such a clever and eccentric man like Harry Andrews? Join us as we explore Loveland Castle for the night and even if you don’t find the ghost, you’ll have the chance to experience one of the most unusual places in the region!