Drive-By
Exterior drive-by
View the restored Gothic Revival 'castle' from Central Avenue. Memphis ghost-tour operators include the property as a narrated stop.
- Duration:
- 15 min
Photo coming soon
Haunted House / Historic Home
Ashlar Hall
1896 Gothic-Revival 'castle' in Midtown Memphis built by real-estate developer Robert Brinkley Snowden, restored after decades of decay and reputed to be haunted by its servants and former owners. Private property — exterior viewing from the public sidewalk only.
1397 Central Ave., Memphis, TN 38104
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private property. Restored and listed for sale; intended for use as an event or office space.
Access
Limited Access
View from public sidewalk at Central Avenue and East Parkway South; private property — no entry without permission.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1896 · National Register of Historic Places (1983) · Gothic Revival ashlar-stone architecture · Built by Robert Brinkley Snowden (grandson of Peabody Hotel founder) · 1990s 'The Castle' nightclub era under Prince Mongo
Robert Brinkley Snowden, who grew up at Annesdale Mansion and trained in architecture at Princeton, designed and built Ashlar Hall in 1896 at a cost of roughly $25,000 (equivalent to approximately $725,000 in today's dollars). The 0.8-acre property is dominated by the mock-castle main house, constructed of ashlar stone after which it is named.
The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 13, 1983. Through the mid-20th century it remained a private residence, including a Grisanti family restaurant period, before being acquired in 1990 by eccentric Memphis local Robert 'Prince Mongo' Hodges, who turned it into a late-night nightclub called The Castle. Prince Mongo — a perennial mayoral candidate who claimed to be 333 years old and to hail from the fictional planet Zambodia — operated the venue through the 1990s before the property fell into severe disrepair.
In 2018, new owner Juan Montoya began a major restoration. By 2023 the building had been fully restored and was preparing to open as an event venue. As of November 2025, the property is on the market for $3 million.
The building is one of Memphis's most photographed historic landmarks and a Midtown icon, appearing regularly in local-history press and ghost-tour narration.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashlar_Hall
- https://www.memphisheritage.org/ashlar-hall/
- https://wreg.com/news/landmark-memphis-home-ashlar-hall-for-sale-at-3-million/
- https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/keys-to-the-castle-fox13-takes-exclusive-tour-of-ashlar-hall/article_ea4a1f03-8939-40b1-aed2-04c3735c1b72.html
Tapping in pipes and walls (interpreted as spirit communication)Apparitions of figures in lace in the ballroomSounds of waltz music with no sourcePhantom presences in the attic
Prince Mongo Hodges, who owned Ashlar Hall from 1990 through its derelict years, publicly described the home as 'full of ghosts, but they're good ghosts. They used to visit with me all the time. They would summon me upstairs to the attic and I would hear them tapping on the pipes and I'd tap back.' His account remains the most-cited testimony about the property and the basis for most current ghost-tour treatments.
Memphis ghost-tour operators describe the home's spirits as including former household servants of the Snowden era and well-dressed figures in lace 'dancing to waltzes' inside the long-empty ballroom. These claims rest primarily on tour-tradition retellings rather than corroborated witness accounts; the property's long vacancy and dramatic Gothic exterior have contributed to its reputation as much as any specific paranormal incident.
The building's full restoration may eventually generate new testimony from event-venue staff and visitors. As of this writing, the paranormal reputation is largely tied to the Prince Mongo era and tour-circuit narration.
This venue is privately owned and not open to the public — appreciate from the public sidewalk on Central Avenue only.
Notable Entities
'Good ghosts' described by Prince Mongo HodgesSnowden-era household servants (per tour tradition)
Media Appearances
- FOX13 Memphis 'Keys to the Castle' tour feature
- Antique Archaeology blog (Mike Wolfe)
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experience
#tennessee
#memphis
#national-register
#gothic-revival
#midtown-memphis
#shelby-county
#private-property
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Similar Destinations
Photo coming soon
Haunted House / Historic Home
Annesdale Mansion
Memphis, TN
Annesdale is a Memphis Italianate-Italian Villa mansion built in 1855 by Dr. Samuel Mansfield on what was then Pigeon Roost Road. Robert Brinkley of the Peabody Hotel purchased the home in 1869 as a wedding gift for his daughter Annie when she married Col. Robert Bogardus Snowden, and the family named the estate in her honor. The home served as a Civil War hospital and remained in the Snowden family for approximately 160 years; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
$$ All Ages
Family: Moderate
Photo coming soon
Haunted House / Historic Home
Smith-Trahern Mansion
Clarksville, TN
The Smith-Trahern Mansion in Clarksville, Tennessee was built in 1858 by tobacco merchant Christopher H. Smith for his bride Lucy. The transitional Greek Revival and Italianate house overlooks the Cumberland River and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It is owned by the City of Clarksville.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Haunted House / Historic Home
Sauer Castle
Kansas City, KS
Sauer Castle is an Italianate-style residence at 935 Shawnee Drive in Kansas City, Kansas, designed by architect Asa Beebe Cross and built between 1871 and 1873 for German immigrant Anton Sauer. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the two-and-a-half-story home with its central tower and widow's walk is regarded as Kansas's finest surviving Italianate residence.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ashlar Hall family-friendly?
Exterior-only family-friendly drive-by of a striking Memphis landmark. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Ashlar Hall?
Private property. Restored and listed for sale; intended for use as an event or office space. This location is free to visit.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, reservations are required.
Is Ashlar Hall wheelchair accessible?
Ashlar Hall has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: View from public sidewalk at Central Avenue and East Parkway South; private property — no entry without permission..