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Opened: 1915 (as Hercules Engine Factory), 2002 (as Factory of Terror), 2018 (as Hercules Apartments)
Closed: 1999 (as Hercules Engine Factory), 2008 (as Factory of Terror)
The Hercules Motors Corporation, or the Hercules Engine Company, was a company founded in 1915 in Canton, Ohio to supply high-speed, lightweight gasoline engines in response to the fast-growing transportation industry. Part of the Hercules Engine Factory was built in 1845 and was previously used as a military training facility. The company prospered during World War II and became known for producing a large amount of gas engines, especially for supplying the U.S. and Allied armed forces with a plentiful amount of engines. The factory began producing an impressive capacity of 18,000 engines per month as they expanded the factory.
The factory operated until the engine company closed in 1999. Starting in 2002, the location housed the popular haunted house attraction "The Factory of Terror" until they disbanded the location in 2008.
In 2017, the city of Canton put $3 million into the abandoned factory to be renovated into apartment buildings. As of 2018, part of the factory has been renovated and reopened as the Hercules Apartments. These renovations include apartments that are each unique, a coffee bar, Wi-Fi lounge, movie theater, outdoor courtyard and more. Future renovations plans to add restaurants, shops, and offices to the 26-acre site.
There have been reports of an aggressive entity that pushes and grabs visitors around a certain stairwell, as well as hazes and orbs of light. There have also been reports of cold spots, disembodied voices, misty apparitions, and the sensation of a hand on your shoulder.
Source(s): Haunted Places, Wikipedia, Gas Engine Magazine, The Repository
Closed: 1999 (as Hercules Engine Factory), 2008 (as Factory of Terror)
The Hercules Motors Corporation, or the Hercules Engine Company, was a company founded in 1915 in Canton, Ohio to supply high-speed, lightweight gasoline engines in response to the fast-growing transportation industry. Part of the Hercules Engine Factory was built in 1845 and was previously used as a military training facility. The company prospered during World War II and became known for producing a large amount of gas engines, especially for supplying the U.S. and Allied armed forces with a plentiful amount of engines. The factory began producing an impressive capacity of 18,000 engines per month as they expanded the factory.
The factory operated until the engine company closed in 1999. Starting in 2002, the location housed the popular haunted house attraction "The Factory of Terror" until they disbanded the location in 2008.
In 2017, the city of Canton put $3 million into the abandoned factory to be renovated into apartment buildings. As of 2018, part of the factory has been renovated and reopened as the Hercules Apartments. These renovations include apartments that are each unique, a coffee bar, Wi-Fi lounge, movie theater, outdoor courtyard and more. Future renovations plans to add restaurants, shops, and offices to the 26-acre site.
There have been reports of an aggressive entity that pushes and grabs visitors around a certain stairwell, as well as hazes and orbs of light. There have also been reports of cold spots, disembodied voices, misty apparitions, and the sensation of a hand on your shoulder.
Source(s): Haunted Places, Wikipedia, Gas Engine Magazine, The Repository
Date: December 17-18, 2016
Members: Brandon Greavu, Jacob Andrews, Seth Richards, Joey Crowl
After our failed attempt at Molly Stark Hospital, we knew we'd have to gather a little more experience before going to such a secured location. So on the night of December 17th, 2016, the Malvern EPS decided to go to the Hercules Engine Factory in Canton, Ohio. The four of us arrived to the location at around 10 p.m., and parked at the end of Mulberry Road SE, underneath the Cherry Avenue overpass.
We walked a couple hundred feet along the railroad tracks towards the northeast corner (according to the map below) of the factory, making sure to use nearby brush and darkness to our advantage so we wouldn't be spotted. We climbed the fence and began looking for a way inside. We found a high window that we had to boost each other into, and once we were inside, we realized it was just a large room with no other doors. We approached the exit door and realized it was unlocked all along, so we just climbed through the window for unnecessary reasons. After we exited that part of the building, we walked around the corner and noticed that there were many open doors, holes, and parts of the building we could easily gain access to. Feeling foolish, we entered the old Factory of Terror through an open garage door.
Once we were inside, we noticed just how large and empty the factory was. It was pouring down rain so the rainwater was building up inside and we could hear the constant rainfall on the metal roof. We began exploring the large factory, with not much to see due its vast emptiness. As were were looking out a window, Seth reported that he saw some sort of figure move past a window in the adjacent part of the factory. We continued moving along, however, until we heard some sort of faint screeching noise in the distance. While these reports could be argued as paranormal activity, we aren't completely positive what they were. Beginning to develop an eerie feeling, we kept exploring until we found an open window that lead to the roof. We climbed out onto the roof, being exposed to the sight of downtown Canton. After climbing a long ladder that lead to the top of the factory and admiring the view, we continued traversing the roof tops until we eventually found a hatch with a ladder that lead to another part of the factory.
We climbed down the ladder that lead a stairwell. This stairwell was the very one that is supposedly haunted, the area of the factory reported to have the highest amount of paranormal activity. We snapped a few photos and didn't experience anything paranormal with our time in the stairwell. After exploring this area for a little longer, we found ourselves outside, inspecting an area in the west portion of the factory. This was when we spotted a security camera, and we took off running down the open space in between the two sections of the factory. Unfortunately for us, the entire ground was covered with thick ice so we were slipping and falling all over the place. We eventually made our way to a small building on the east side of the property, and hid in there for a minute. After waiting for a little while, we decided it was time to leave. We climbed over the fence and headed back to the car. While we didn't experience any crystal clear paranormal activity, the empty factory still gave us an eerie feeling with some unexplainable occurrences.
Members: Brandon Greavu, Jacob Andrews, Seth Richards, Joey Crowl
After our failed attempt at Molly Stark Hospital, we knew we'd have to gather a little more experience before going to such a secured location. So on the night of December 17th, 2016, the Malvern EPS decided to go to the Hercules Engine Factory in Canton, Ohio. The four of us arrived to the location at around 10 p.m., and parked at the end of Mulberry Road SE, underneath the Cherry Avenue overpass.
We walked a couple hundred feet along the railroad tracks towards the northeast corner (according to the map below) of the factory, making sure to use nearby brush and darkness to our advantage so we wouldn't be spotted. We climbed the fence and began looking for a way inside. We found a high window that we had to boost each other into, and once we were inside, we realized it was just a large room with no other doors. We approached the exit door and realized it was unlocked all along, so we just climbed through the window for unnecessary reasons. After we exited that part of the building, we walked around the corner and noticed that there were many open doors, holes, and parts of the building we could easily gain access to. Feeling foolish, we entered the old Factory of Terror through an open garage door.
Once we were inside, we noticed just how large and empty the factory was. It was pouring down rain so the rainwater was building up inside and we could hear the constant rainfall on the metal roof. We began exploring the large factory, with not much to see due its vast emptiness. As were were looking out a window, Seth reported that he saw some sort of figure move past a window in the adjacent part of the factory. We continued moving along, however, until we heard some sort of faint screeching noise in the distance. While these reports could be argued as paranormal activity, we aren't completely positive what they were. Beginning to develop an eerie feeling, we kept exploring until we found an open window that lead to the roof. We climbed out onto the roof, being exposed to the sight of downtown Canton. After climbing a long ladder that lead to the top of the factory and admiring the view, we continued traversing the roof tops until we eventually found a hatch with a ladder that lead to another part of the factory.
We climbed down the ladder that lead a stairwell. This stairwell was the very one that is supposedly haunted, the area of the factory reported to have the highest amount of paranormal activity. We snapped a few photos and didn't experience anything paranormal with our time in the stairwell. After exploring this area for a little longer, we found ourselves outside, inspecting an area in the west portion of the factory. This was when we spotted a security camera, and we took off running down the open space in between the two sections of the factory. Unfortunately for us, the entire ground was covered with thick ice so we were slipping and falling all over the place. We eventually made our way to a small building on the east side of the property, and hid in there for a minute. After waiting for a little while, we decided it was time to leave. We climbed over the fence and headed back to the car. While we didn't experience any crystal clear paranormal activity, the empty factory still gave us an eerie feeling with some unexplainable occurrences.