HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1884 Victorian Now a Prohibition-Themed Cocktail Bar
318 E 5th St, Marysville, OH 43040
Research updated May 2026
Age
21+
Cost
$$
Cocktail bar with mid-range cocktails and small plates. House of Spirits operates as a Prohibition-era themed lounge.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Victorian home with stairs to upper floors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1884 · Late-Victorian Residential Architecture · Marysville Downtown Historic District
The Castle was constructed in 1884 as a private Victorian residence in downtown Marysville, the seat of Union County in central Ohio. The two-and-a-half-story home features a rounded front porch, decorative trim, and the steep gables typical of late-nineteenth-century Ohio domestic architecture.
The building's commercial history includes operation as a bed and breakfast in the 1990s, then as Doc Henderson's Restaurant for an extended run through the early twenty-first century. After the original Doc Henderson's owner retired, the building was renovated and reopened briefly as Hinkley's. In 2019, the structure reopened as House of Spirits, a Prohibition-era themed cocktail lounge profiled by Ohio Magazine for its design and bar program.
Marysville sits roughly thirty miles northwest of Columbus and serves as a Honda manufacturing-region civic center. The Victorian home is one of several intact nineteenth-century residential structures preserved in Marysville's downtown commercial district.
Sources
Accounts collected by Ohio Exploration Society and regional paranormal-tourism coverage describe a black shadowy figure observed by guests and staff during the building's bed-and-breakfast and restaurant phases. Reports also describe a sensation of being watched and the sound of voices near the front door at times when no one is present.
The Ohio Exploration Society's Union County entry places the most-frequent reports on the second and third floors and at a first-floor closet, which the bed-and-breakfast operators considered a focal point. The site has not been the subject of formal investigation publications; the lore appears in regional travel writing and aggregated paranormal directories rather than in named-investigator reports.
With the building now operating as House of Spirits, the cocktail bar's atmospheric Prohibition-era programming sits inside an architectural envelope where the haunted-reputation reports continue to circulate among regional ghost-tourism writers. The current operator does not promote the location as a paranormal destination.
Visit the Prohibition-era themed cocktail bar housed in the 1884 Victorian residence on East Fifth Street. The building previously operated as Doc Henderson's Restaurant and Hinkley's; House of Spirits opened in 2019 in the same architectural shell where reports of shadow figures and front-door voices have circulated since the property became a B&B in the 1990s.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Columbus, OH
The North High Street building was constructed in 1897 by the Bott family and opened around 1905 as Bott Brothers' Buffet & Billiards — a tavern and gentleman's saloon that also sold cigars. The hand-carved Philippine mahogany bar dates to that era. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and now operates as The Elevator Brewery & Draught Haus.
Marion, OH
Marion Country Club was established in 1920 at 2415 Crissinger Road in Marion, Ohio, and has operated continuously as a private golf and dining club. In 1981, a 19-year-old club secretary named Annette Huddle was raped and murdered; her body was found in the Olentangy River. The primary suspect, a club cook named Paul Steven Mack, evaded conviction for decades before confessing from a California prison cell in 2018, shortly before his death.
Norton, OH
The Loyal Oak Tavern occupies a building in Norton, Ohio (Summit County) that was constructed in the 1840s and once operated as an inn, having earlier served as a cabinet shop. The original bar was located in the basement, which is now used as a wine cellar. The venue has more recently operated under the name Wolf Creek Tavern.