Student project: Mooney Mansion mystery lore still captivates locals, but it’s untrue
While walking down Walhalla Road in Clintonville, a bridge connects to a big white house, known as the Mooney Mansion.
This house is different from the rest. This house carries with it a story of murder and missing children.
The tale that generations of neighborhood kids grew up hearing starts in the 1950s, when homeowner Dr. Mooney was coming home from a long day of work.
“One variation of the story states that the man murdered his wife and daughter with an axe and may have even committed suicide,” according to The Ohio Exploration Society, a website that delves into Ohio’s forgotten and historic sites. “Yet another variation says the man hanged the bodies from the Calumet Street bridge.”
Despite differing versions of the story, “legend states that blue lights can sometimes be seen through the windows, floating around inside the house,” according to the Ohio Exploration Society.
“Reports say if you go under the bridge on Walhalla Road at night, you can see the reflection of the wife and daughter in the water to the right of the road,” according to the group.
The story still captivates residents in Columbus. WOSU and PBS produced an episode about the ghost story back in 2016, with Historian Doreen Uhas Sauer recounting in it how “over the years the story gets embellished and children tell the story and everybody adds a few more details.”
It was also written about in The Columbus Dispatch’s 2021 list of local “eerie experiences.” Bucky Cutright, founder of Columbus Ghost Tours, told the Dispatch back in 2021 that the “dark and wild” ghost story is one of his favorites.
Bob Peters, owner of Phoenix Books, a nearby store that focuses on “spiritual” and “metaphysical” content, said he often thinks about the ghost story as he is walking in the neighborhood.
“I walk up and down Walhalla for quiet times,” Peters said. “I might look up to see if there's anything up there, and I just walk.”
When asked if he believed the story, he said, “I believe there is something we are seeing.” He said he has seen something white around the house that doesn’t move much.
“I don’t know what it is,” Peters said. “I’m not going to say it’s a ghost, but a number of people have seen it.”
Anna Peters, Bob’s daughter, grew up hearing the tale as well from other kids in the area.
“It was all the buzz in the neighborhood,” she said. “We never really knew; we just kind of thought it was a ghost story to scare us.”
She also recalled driving by the ravine with friends when she was older, and putting her car in neutral. The legend said it would creep forward.
“I’ve never actually seen anything, but we have tried to see something many, many times, and never seen anything,” she said.
It’s not surprising, considering the ghost story can easily be proved false.
Dr. Charles Mooney was a member of Crestview Presbyterian Church, active in the Scottish Rite and Columbus Academy of Medicine, according to his obituary which was published in 1944 in the Columbus Dispatch.
“Dr. Charles M. Mooney, 74, Columbus eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, died Friday afternoon at his residence, 259 Walhalla Dr., after a week’s illness,” according to the article, which notes that his wife and three children survived him.
Derrie Mooney was also a member of Crestview Presbyterian Church and Columbus Historical Society, and she died in 1975 of old age.
The home continues to be a private residence today. The current owner of the home did not reply to a request for comment.
Tiffany McVay is a student at Briggs High School. This piece was written for Columbus Journalists in Training, a program sponsored by the Columbus Dispatch and Society of Professional Journalists Central Ohio Pro-Chapter for Columbus City Schools students. Tiffany was a member of team Chatterbox.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Student project: How one Columbus mansion's lore captivates locals
