The building that houses Empire was constructed over 130 years ago.  Many people have passed through this building, leaving their impressions in the foundation stones, wood, and brick. The cellar of Empire is dug into bedrock, and one boulder of the original landscape still protrudes into the basement floor.  This great impenetrable stone may hold the living memories of people past.

Many people have told us that they have seen ghosts of  people at Empire, ghosts of the people who lived, loved, worked and hoped in this place over generations.  The Northeast Ohio Paranormal Society has documented unusual readings on their test equipment in the basement of Empire!

The most frequently described ghost is a little girl, who plays around the steps to the cellar.  Sometimes she is friendly, beckoning other children.  Sometimes she is bored and makes loud noises, or pushes things off shelves to get people's attention.  Most of the time, she just plays by herself at the back of the store, year after year, as she has done for over one hundred years.

There is the ghost of a caretaker, Charlie, who likes whisky, cigars, and bawdy Irish songs.  He gets very cross when people he doesn't like mess with his building!