A space where they worked in an old building in the Fire Blocks District had similar spooky occurrences. They happened so much, they actually posted a YouTube series of videos called “Ghost Notes.”
Chad Wells is the owner of the tattoo shop and has been tattooing professionally since 1992. He is joined in the shop by his daughter Presley, also a tattoo artist. Looks That Kill Salon is owned by Aarika Voegele. The three are also musicians in a band called the Creepy Crawlers.
Chad Wells’ wife, Michelle, was a large part of the Fire Blocks District space’s venture; she enjoyed digging up the history of the area and playing with some paranormal devices in an attempt to communicate with spirits. When the group moved to the Dixie Drive building, her research continued when the occurrences started again, and she helped to uncover a few interesting facts about the land.
“I saw a map from the 1850s, and I copy a gave him [Chad] was from 1875,” Michelle Wells said. “It showed a little log cabin here and shows Paul Stanley owning it. I am a member of ancestry.com, so I started going through there, and sure enough, it was Paul Stanley.”
Paul Stanley was the son of Levi and Matlida Stanley. According to a county recorder’s report, Levi Stanley owned the land where the tattoo shop/salon used to be. Levi Stanley is referred to in an old Dayton Daily News article from 1908 as “the king of gypsies.” He owned the land from 1866 to 1884.
The Stanley tribe, as they were known, came to the area from England and settled in the area around the 1850s. According to daytonhistorybooks.com, “the men were horse traders and did some metal work. The women told fortunes.” The family lived in the area for four generations and many are buried in Woodland Cemetery, where thousands of people attended the funerals. Stanley Avenue is named for them.
However, one name on the county recorder’s report stuck out, and that was the name Oliver C. Haugh. He came to own the land where the tattoo shop and salon are after he was convicted of poisoning and murdering his parents and brother. He received the land upon their death since he was the last living relative, but signed the deed over to his wife Anna Haugh in 1905.
The doctor was executed in 1907 for the murders.
Local historian Curt Dalton wrote a book called “With Malice Toward All,” which documents the doctor’s life and eventual death by electrocution. The doctor reportedly knocked out the two front teeth of Wilbur Wright as a young kid as they lived near each other and went to the same school. He was able to become a doctor since the pathway to being a doctor was much easier.
There are many references in the book to Oliver C. Haugh and the mysterious deaths of his patients and family. The doctor was obsessed with the book, “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and wanted to prove that more than one mind could exist in one body. Oliver C. Haugh was also severely addicted to morphine and cocaine and is thought to have possibly killed at least 16 people from 1891 to 1905. He was also married to more than one person at a time.
One reference from the book was very eye-opening for everyone at the tattoo shop and salon. A Dayton Journal article makes reference to the “victims beyond recognition, first disembowel[ed], mutilate[d] … and dismember[ed] arms and legs.” There is also an account in the book of neighbors seeing the body of Oliver C. Haugh’s mother having no legs as she burned in the fire. The county recorder said that the house that burned down was probably just north of the tattoo shop and salon.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
This reference connects to the Looks That Kill Salon owner Aarika Voegele’s tale of seeing disembodied legs with a client. Michelle Wells said she couldn’t believe that they had not known about the history of Oliver C. Haugh. An online search will garner multiple websites, articles and podcasts all about the possible serial killer.
“I couldn’t believe I missed it,” Michelle Wells said. “And then to find that we were attached to something like that … it’s fascinating to me that a man like that moved around as much as he did and the damage he did with the number of women and everything else and he got away with it. The only thing he was ever convicted of was the death of his parents and his brother. That blows my mind.”
After learning this history, Chad Wells, owner of the tattoo shop, was equally surprised. He has lived in the Butler Township and Vandalia area all of his life, and said he was not taught anything about this in school.
“For us, it was interesting,” Chad Wells said. “It was validating to find out there was history. Because we knew of the Stanley connection to the land. We had no idea there was any other beyond that.”
Those working at the tattoo shop and salon continue to have odd experiences. Both businesses will be moving out of the building in May 2026, so anyone wanting to stop by the shop or salon for anything, paranormal or not, can contact them on social media.
Wells & Co. Custom Tattoos and Looks That Kill Salon are located at 9375 N. Dixie Drive.
Does your building or home have a haunted history to tell? Reach out to jessica.graue@coxinc.com to share it with us.
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