Buffalos' Old County Hall Haunted or Not?

Buffalos' Old County Hall Haunted or Not?
WGRZ.com

It was Buffalo's shining moment that quickly transformed into one of its darkest -- thanks to an assassin's bullet. And it may be the explanation for one of Buffalo's most unique hauntings... in one of its most unique places.

It's a spectacular building and a spectacular sight designed by a couple of monumental architects from Rochester, whose buildings all do tend to get ghost stories.

Wedged between a mass of taller buildings in the heart of downtown Buffalo -- old county hall is one of the region's architectural gems.

Those of you headed to court... or to file paperwork with the county clerk... could bump into an uninvited guest there who passed away -- violently -- more than a century ago.

It was september 6, 1901 President William Mckinley was in Buffalo for the Pan American Exposition after he entered the temple of music, assassin Leon Czolgosz shot him with a gun hidden in a bar towel. Mckinley died of infection eight days later.

The small monument on Fordham drive marks the site of the temple, which was demolished..

In a noble procession -- Mckinley's flag-draped casket was brought to old county hall... where he was laid in state for all to see... including the man who murdered him.

The assassin was tried and convicted here, and he was led by the body in state several times on his way to a court appearance, as if to shame him, looking at the very noble man, beloved President that he shot.

More than 150,000 people passed through the lobby to pay their final respects to the fallen president. but, rumor has it, long after they moved his body out of this building, people continued to see him.

There have been people reporting that occasionally they see a body on a table laid out in state, and as many of them are unaware, this is where President Mckinley was laid out, the sightings are a little more convincing.

Now... a plate on the floor of the hall's lobby marks the sad moment.

But local supernatural historian Mason Winfield believes this old building might be a portal for all sorts paranormal activity... because of what happened on these grounds... before it was built in 1876.

"First of all, it's located on top of Franklin square, which is an old cemetery. Many victims of the burning of buffalo in 1813, and veterans of the war of 1812 were buried there. There's a lot trauma, a lot of sudden deaths. And the graveyard was theoretically relocated, I think in 1875, to Forest Lawn. We know there are still bodies under there.

So... perhaps... old county hall's most famous visitor isn't the only one still roaming its halls -- long after their time on earth.

There is a lot of psychic folklore about that building. it's a very good candidate to be haunted."

Haunted, perhaps... by the ghosts of its history.