EDITOR’S NOTE: Age appropriateness of each venue varies. Check with your picks before embarking.
October brings hayrides, corn mazes,cooler temperatures (hopefully) and “haunted” activities. Ghosts, hauntings and eerie experiences await all over Florida. The state has many legends and spooky places to visit — especially around Halloween. In fact, according to HauntedPlaces.org, there are 570 documented haunted spots in Florida. With the help of site owner Bill Spann, we put together a hauntingly good road trip.
1 of 7
Jeff Fay/special to SW FL Parent & Child
Tampa Theatre
2 of 7
Bruce Buck/special to SW FL Parent & Child
The Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach
3 of 7
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
Cassadaga Hotel
4 of 7
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
The Devil's Chair at the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery
5 of 7
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
Ghosts & Gravestones tour in St. Augustine
6 of 7
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
Ghost tour at the Old Jail in St. Augustine
7 of 7
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
St. Augustine Lighthouse
For those embarking on their first creepy quest, Bill recommends going with an open mind.
“Most importantly, make sure you have permission to visit sites that aren’t already publicly accessible,” he says.“Wherever you go, be respectful and leave the location as clean as you found it. Don’t give ghost hunters a bad name.”
Traveling up Interstate 75, Bill says Sarasota, Bradenton, St. Petersburg and Tampa all have lots of haunted sites you can easily visit on a day trip.
Just inland from Sarasota, you’ll find ghost stories aplenty at the Bunker Hill Vineyard & Winery.
“This winery … has a long history of recording their ghost stories,” says Yuleza Negron, with the marketing firm DCI. “Actually, I found it to be very interesting.”
The owners share their tales on the winery’s website, bunkerhillvineyard.com.
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
The Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach
A little farther north, in St. Pete Beach, The Don CeSar, a grand hotel on the waterfront, is a haunting legend. Are sort spokesperson shares the tale:
“In 1925, Thomas Rowe, a heartbroken young man from the East Coast,made his way to Florida and began building what would be an eternal testament to his long, lost love — The Don CeSar hotel. Thomas spent three years building St. Pete Beach’s ‘Pink Palace’ as a tribute to a Spanish opera star named Lucinda. After falling in love during a whirlwind romance in England, Lucinda’s parents forbid the relationship and quickly whisked her back to Spain, and they were never reunited.
“Thomas is said to haunt the property in the years since his passing.Staff and guests report otherworldly sightings of a gentleman sporting an old-fashioned panama hat and white summer suit strolling the grounds and even greeting guests. Hotel staffers report strange happenings throughout the hotel and especially on Floor 5, where Thomas lived. To this day, sightings continue of a young couple strolling the grounds, wearing a white suit and traditional Spanish peasant dress.”
Jeff Fay/special to SW FL Parent & Child
Tampa Theatre
Nearby in Tampa, travelers are in for an unnerving and mysterious treat at the Tampa Theatre, a 93-year-old national landmark that is programmed 365 days a year with more than 600 showtimes of films, classic movies,concerts, special events and tours. It’s also known as one of the most haunted buildings in town. The theater offers a Ghosts of Tampa Theatre Tour on October 18-31 where patrons learn the Theatre’s secrets and stories with a Balcony to Backstage Tour that focuses on the historic movie palace’s ghostly guests, preternatural patrons and eternal employees. Questions addressed include:Who was the man in Seat 308? Where did Robert Lanier tear his final ticket?Why does Fink Finley continue to roam the balcony?
Director of Marketing & Community Relations Jill Witecki shares a few of the tales.
“When you enter Tampa Theatre, it’s as though you’ve stepped back in time to 1926 — the heyday of the majestic movie palace era. This building has been beloved by generations of patrons and staff for more than 93 years, so it’snot surprising that some of them would choose to stay… even after they’re gone,” she says.
There are stories about The Ticket Taker, The Woman in White, Paul the Manager, The Trickster, Fink Finley and the Man in the Fedora that might just convert nonbelievers.
“Recent investigations by Tampa Paranormal and Genesis Paranormal Research have recorded audio and video evidence that suggests more than one ghostly patron may still be lingering in and around Seat 308 on the ‘wide aisle.’ You will see and hear some of that evidence at the conclusion of (the ghost tour), but be sure to stop by that row of seats and ask out loud if they’re still waiting for the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ to play,” Jill suggests.
Next, head east to Orlando, where Bill recommends visiting the Rogers Building downtown. It has an interesting look, a Queen Anne style, and dates back to 1886. The ghostly image of a woman in white is said to appear on the second floor.
“And Greenwood Cemetery has lots and lots of weird and spooky stories surrounding it,” Bill adds.
Daytona Beach is another great city for hauntings.
“If you want an east coast city with a lot of haunted spots within easy walking distance from each other, check out Daytona Beach,” Bill advises. “Definitely visit Pinewood Cemetery, where most of the ghost tours here will center around.”
But first, visit Cassadaga, a half-hour drive southwest of Daytona off Interstate 4. Cassadaga is known as the “Psychic Capital of the World.”
The Cassadaga Hotel, created in the early 20th century, is promoted as a “haunted” hotel with friendly “spirits.” Its website boasts: “People from all walks of life come to visit this charming and mysterious Inn. We are located in the center of a Spiritualist Community established in 1894. Our community,which is registered as a Historic Site,has always been known for its amazing Energy Vortex and Psychic Mediums.”
On his site, Bill describes the hotel as “known for its ‘spirits’ and psychics.The hotel rents out rooms and has psychics on-site and available daily.”
While here, also visit the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery, home to the Devil’s Chair.
“Gravestones date back to the 1800s,” HauntedPlaces.org describes. “Cassadaga founder George Colby is buried here. Some folks say shadowy figures lurk here at night, but the Devil’s Chair is perhaps the most well-known tale from these parts. It was said to have been built for an elderly visitor to use while paying respects to his deceased wife, but local lore has spawned many legends about the chair.”
Bill also encourages travelers to check out the Hulley Tower on the Stetson University campus in DeLand (neighboring Cassadaga) and the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp.
While Bill has documented many of Florida’s hauntings, he says he does not have a favorite location.
“I don’t have just one, but I’d say St.Augustine is a great ‘ground zero’ for haunted spots, just because there’s so much history and so many stories and legends that have built up there over the years,” he says.
In St. Augustine, Bill recalls two cemeteries, Huguenot Cemetery and Tolomato Cemetery.
“There are two cemeteries in St.Augustine which I’ve always liked. I haven’t seen anything ‘spooky’ there myself, but they certainly have the history and atmosphere that would make you 100% believe something spooky could happen at any time,” he says.“There are so many (spots) in St. Augustine.I like the two main cemeteries, but be sure to check out Scarlett O’Hara’s. Just about everyone who works there will have a story to tell. The St. Augustine ghost tours are a lot of fun.”
Special to SW FL Parent & Child
Built in 1887, the St. Augustine Lighthouse is the icon beacon of the Nation's oldest port city.
Lighthouse haunting legends exist throughout Florida, including the St.Augustine Lighthouse — the very same one that so many Southwest Florida students have ventured up during school field trips.
Numerous stories go around about the haunts at the St. Augustine Lighthouse,according to Barbara Golden, communications manager with the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau.
“One of the eeriest is the story of two young girls, daughters of one of the workers building the lighthouse in 1873. The two girls were said to have been playing around a work cart that broke free and sent them to their death. The girls linger on the property and can be heard playing on the grounds, leaving their footprints in the sand, can occasionally be seen from windows, and even linger the halls of the Lightkeepers House,” Barbara says.“There are numerous cases with documentation of haunts at the St. Augustine Lighthouse, including an episode of‘Ghost Hunters’ where an apparition in the tower was captured on film.”
Visitors are welcome to experience the haunted lighthouse during Dark of the Moon Tours, where they make the climb in the dark.
Another popular haunted spot in St.Augustine is the Old Jail, which was constructed in 1891 by Henry Flagler to resemble a fine hotel. But it was not filled with fineries, Barbara says.
“Over the years several prisoners died there. Many of the prisoners died by hanging and suffered the strict and harsh conditions provided by Sheriff Charles Joseph Perry, who served from 1891 to 1919. He was a firm believer in harsh punishment. Inmates did not differ with his way of thinking either.Living conditions for inmates was brutal and to make extra certain that no one escaped, there were dogs kept behind the Old Jail,” she recalls. “In recent years ghost hunters that explored the Old Jail have experienced all kinds questionable happenings, including hearing disembodied voices, moaning,shouting, footsteps and chains sliding along the floors.”
There have even been reports of apparitions in the jail’s kitchen, hallways and on the stairs, she adds. Owned by Historic Tours of America, the Old Jail is included on the company’s Ghosts &Gravestones Tour, which has been voted one of the Top 5 ghost tours in the United States by USA Today and Top 5 ghost tours in the South by Southern Living magazine.
Halloween is a particularly good time to visit St. Augustine. New this year for Halloween is the Haunted Waters sail aboard the Schooner Freedom where the captain shares St. Augustine’s ghostly seaside tales. There’s also the GhoSt Augustine Dead Walk, where you traverse the narrowest and darkest streets of the south end of the city’s historic area and hear several new haunting stories that have not been heard until now.
So pack up and venture out for a spooky road trip deep into Florida’schilling past. Or are you too scared?
For a spooky date night close to home…
For a spooky, adult tour close to home, Fort Myers Beach has a haunted pub crawl led by islander Mike Yost. Mike considers himself a history buff and, to boot, a magician and mentalist, making him the perfect tour guide for a history-loaded, magic-infused, haunted pub crawl.
At each stop, Mike informs pub crawlers of the history of the location as well as the alleged hauntings. Awe-inspiring magic coincides with the stories. Pub crawlers also learn the history of the Calusa who used to inhabit the island, as well as the pirates who terrorized it.
“Eighty percent of what you’ll learn on the tour is factual,” Mike says. “Ten percent are stories that have been handed down by residents, employees, etc. The other 10 percent is BS I made up to entertain everybody — so let’s have some fun."
The tour starts at the Shamrock Irish Pub less than a mile south of the bridge to the island. Then pub crawlers take the trolley from Shamrock to Nervous Nellie’s by the bridge. From there, walk under the bridge to the Lighthouse Tiki Bar & Grill. Then head to the Yucatan Beach Stand on Old San Carlos Boulevard. Then to Pete’s Time Out in Times Square, which is where Mike heard his first Fort Myers Beach ghost story. It’s what gave him the idea to start the tour. Other bars that might be included in the tour are: The Whale, The Cottage and the Lani Kai Island Resort.
The tours run every Friday and Saturday.
To book a tour, visit fmbhauntedpubcrawl.com or call 239-440-2805.