The Legend Of The Dent Schoolhouse
CINCINNATI- In 1894 the 12th district of Cincinnati Public Schools saw the opening of its newest education facility, the Dent Public School. The site taught all grades kindergarten through the 12th grade and was the perfect location for West Side families. The school was equipped with the finest teachers, cafeteria workers, and was seen as a model institution to send your children.
The school became very successful and even garnished several shoutouts and awards in its early years of operation.
A custodial positioned was in need of filling and the schoolmaster hired a man by the name of Charlie McFree. “He worked hard, kept to himself, but took the tidiness of the schoolhouse serious.” -Horris Grant (Head Master)
1942 marked the start of the shadow that began to look over the schoolhouse. Several students of district 12 did not come home from school one day. Two, known for their “disruption in the class room”, mysteriously vanished. Upon investigation the missing were last seen outside the Dent Public School.
The Dent police began an investigation and came to the conclusion that they must be runaways.
Two years later, 1945, four students went missing in October. Local police were baffled as to what was happening to the students. Rumors started to spread that the local children disappearing had something to do with the school.
School remained as normal but rumors kept coming out about the missing kids. It wasn’t until 1952 when three more students were not seen after school. Students at the public school began to complain about a strange smell that was coming from the basement. When Charlie, the head of janitorial services, was asked about the smell he said it was the pipes clogging up. After a couple weeks the smell subsided, but new rumors spread that Charlie the janitor had something to do about the local kids disappearances.
In October of 1955, more than seven students vanished with out a trace. The local kids complained about a smell that was coming from the basement that was actually causing some children to pass out. Community members of Dent rallied together and stormed up to the Dent Public School. The angry mob bust down the large doors of the schoolhouse and proceeded to go into the basement of the school. The local rioters were shocked at the grizzly sight that was strung throughout the janitor’s basement.
The basement was covered with the decaying remains of the missing students. Bodies had been sealed in barrels, wedged behind the brick walls of the basement, and left in sanitary tubs to decay forever. A search for the Janitor went over two weeks, but he was never found. The school was closed shortly after the discovery.
The old schoolhouse is now said to be haunted with the roaming spirits of the children that were “taken care of” by the Janitor. Rumors are that the Janitor came back after several years of the school house being closed. His body was never found, but his spirit is still said to clean the old building. The spirit is also said to have “taken care of” local trespassers that try to sneak a peak at his home in the basement.
