Category: Florida

Posted on

Dining with Spirits—Halloween 2014

In celebration of Halloween, I’m exploring 13 haunted restaurants throughout the South. This article has two companion pieces exploring haunted hotels, inns, and bed & breakfasts: “13 Southern Rooms with a Boo” and “13 More Southern Rooms with a Boo.”

Trowbridge’s Ice Cream Bar
316 North Court Street
Florence, Alabama

Walking into Trowbridge’s, one can certainly get a sense of stepping back in time. With a checkerboard floor, mint green upholstery and food prepared using original recipes; the restaurant seems to be a holdover from the first half of the 20th century. But there is something else at Trowbridge’s that hearkens back to an earlier time: a spirit from the Civil War.

Trowbridge’s opened in 1918 primarily selling ice cream and eventually serving sandwiches and hot dogs at its lunch counter. The site where Trowbridge’s would eventually stand was originally occupied the home of the Stewart family. During the Civil War, Charles Daniel Stewart left his family’s home carrying the Confederate banner for the Florence Battalion. It was that same flag that Stewart was bearing when he was wounded during the First Battle of Manassas, one of the first serious engagements of the Civil War.

The young standard bearer lived for almost a month after being wounded in the battle. Restaurant staff members in the building that now occupies the site of his home have seen a young man within the restaurant. He’s most often seen briefly in passing but when the viewer turns he has vanished. Perhaps Stewart’s spirit just enjoys the shakes.

Sources

  • Johnston, Debra. Skeletons in the Closet: True Ghost Stories of the Shoals Area. Debra Johnston, 2002.
  • “Trowbridge’s, Florence, Alabama.” com. Accessed 30 October 2014.

Wok and Roll Chinese and Japanese Restaurant
604 H Street, NW
Washington, DC

While Charles Daniel Stewart may have to develop a taste for milkshakes and hot dogs, the spirits of Mary Surratt and the conspirators involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln may have to develop a taste for General Tso’s Chicken and sushi. Wok and Roll Chinese and Japanese Restaurant is housed in the building that once housed Mrs. Surratt’s Boarding House where the conspirators met in the days leading up to Lincoln’s fateful night at Ford’s Theatre. Legends tell of spirits still flitting through the historic structure.

The building was constructed in 1843 as a single-family residence. Mary Surratt’s husband, John, purchased the property in 1853 and rented the building while he constructed a tavern at a crossroads in nearby Prince George’s County, Maryland. He was later named postmaster of the community that formed around his family’s tavern. After the outbreak of war, John Surratt passed away leaving his wife and family in somewhat dire financial straits. John’s son, John Junior was named postmaster in his father’s place, but he was arrested about two years later for working as a mail courier for the Confederacy with whom he sympathized.

The Surratt Boarding House, 1890, by Matthew Brady.

After the arrest of her son and being deprived of his income as a postmaster, Mary Surratt moved her family to their Washington home while she rented the family’s Maryland tavern. The family began taking on boarders and was drawn into the conspiracy to kidnap the president. To what extent Mary Surratt was involved is still rather unclear, but in the roundup that followed John Wilkes Booth’s shooting of Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, Mary was arrested and charged in the conspiracy. She was tried before a military tribunal and subsequently found guilty.

Even after she was found guilty, many requested that she be pardoned including her daughter, Anna. Mary Surratt was executed on the hot summer afternoon of July 7, 1865, along with three of the conspirators; the first woman executed by the Federal Government. After her execution, Mary Surratt’s Boarding House was attacked by a mob which began to strip the building for souvenirs before they were stopped by police.

Wok & Roll Restaurant now occupies the old Surratt Boarding House. Photo 2008, by Leoboudv. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Anna Surratt sold her mother’s boarding house not long after the execution and subsequent owners reported that they encountered “muffled sounds,” whispers and sobs. When John Alexander was putting together the 1998 edition of his book on Washington ghosts, he met with the owner of the Chinese grocery that existed in the building at that time. The Chinese grocer replied that he “had no complaints.”

Sources

  • Alexander, John. Ghosts, Washington Revisited: The Ghostlore of the Nation’s Capitol. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1998.
  • Mary Surratt. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 4 November 2014.
  • Pousson, Eli. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the Mary E. Surratt Boarding House. May 2009

Ashley’s of Rockledge
1609 US 1
Rockledge, Florida

Some believe that Ethel Allen’s rough road to her grave included a stop at Jack’s Tavern, her favorite local hangout. Last year, I wrote about paranormal investigators conducting an EVP session at Ms. Allen’s grave in the Crooked Mile or Georgiana Cemetery on Merritt Island. After asking if she was present, investigators received a reply, “yes.”

On November 21, 1934, Ethel Allen’s mutilated body was found on the banks of the Indian River in Eau Gallie, some 16 miles away. The nineteen year old had been seen just a few days before when she stopped at a local packing house to say goodbye to a friend. Ethel was leaving to visit her mother, accompanied by a male acquaintance and she may have also stopped by her favorite local hangout, Jack’s Tavern, now Ashley’s of Rockledge. The Tudor-style restaurant has paranormal activity, some of which has been attributed to Ethel Allen.

Ashley’s, 2010, by Leonard J. DeFrancisci. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A variety of sources state that Ethel may have been murdered within the walls of the restaurant in a storeroom (possibly near the famously haunted ladies restroom) or just outside the building. A local genealogy blog makes no mention of where Ethel may have met her end, but I get the feeling it probably was not in or around the busy tavern. The stories of the restaurant’s haunting are quite readily available though they seem to sometimes perpetuate different variations of the murder.

The activity runs the gamut from simple, cold breezes being felt to voices and screams to full apparitions being seen and captured on film. Some sources also note that the activity does not seem to be limited to just the possible shade of Ethel Allen. There are other possible spirits including a child and an adult male. It does seem that Ashley’s may be one of the most paranormally active restaurants in the state.

Sources

  • Boonstra, Michael. “1934 Murder of Cocoa’s Ethel Allen.” Michael’s Genealogy and Brevard County History Blog. 9 April 2011.
  • History. Ashley’s of Rockledge. Accessed 3 November 2014.
  • Jenkins, Greg. Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: Vol. 1 South and Central Florida. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 2005.
  • Neale, Rick. Brevard’s spookiest spots are dead center for teams of specter- spotters.” Florida Today. 27 October 2013.
  • Thuma, Cynthia and Catherine Lower. Haunted Florida. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2008.
  • Walls, Kathleen. Finding Florida Phantoms. Global Authors Publications, 2004. 

Tondee’s Tavern
7 East Bay Street
Savannah, Georgia

With the immense host of spirits that inhabit the city of Savannah, chances are high that activity may be found most anywhere. Occupying part of a mid-19th century bank building, Tondee’s Tavern utilizes the name of a important colonial era tavern that existed in the city. The building’s history dates to 1853 when its lower floors were occupied by the Central Railway and Banking Company. The upper floors of the building were used as offices for a slave dealer, Joseph Bryan.

Stories of spirits within the building have evidently existed for some time, but the spirits made themselves very well-known recently. In late June of this year, a passerby on the street left a cigarette in a flower box in front of the building. The cigarette smoldered for a few hours before erupting into flames early in the morning. Meanwhile, two employees slept downstairs; a fairly common practice when employees close the previous night and must open the next day.

A closed-circuit security camera picked up the scene at the front of the restaurant. Over the course of two hours, as the flames can be seen building outside the window, a number of white orbs are seen almost frantically zipping through the air. Something woke the two young women asleep in the basement and they were able to begin extinguishing the flames before they could do more damage. The tavern’s owner, however, is still wondering if the orbs were spirits trying to save the building and his business.

Sources

Jailhouse Pizza
125 Main Street
Brandenburg, Kentucky

In a fairly creative use of a historic building, the old Meade County Jail is now a pizzeria. Built in 1906 by the Pauly Jail Company, this building was the third jail built for Meade County. The pizzeria’s website states that some of the inmates have apparently never left, including one who has been dubbed, “Bigsby.” These spirits have been both seen and heard.

Old Meade County Jail, 2011, by Nyttend. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A recent investigation by the Hopkins County Paranormal Society was able to capture, what one investigator calls, “the best evidence ever.” Video taken during the investigation shows a blanket being pulled out and down. Audio evidence was also captured that includes footsteps, a scream and possibly a female child.

Sources

  • “History.” Jailhouse Pizza. Accessed 31 October 2014.
  • Johnson, William G. Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory form for Meade County Jail. Summer 1983.
  • Landon, Heather. “Best Creepy Historic Sites in the US.” The Daily Meal. 14 October 2014.

Antoine’s
713 St. Louis Street
New Orleans, Louisiana

Antoine’s, 2007 by Infrogmation. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Antoine Alciatore, like so many Europeans at that time, dreamed of making it big in the United States and immigrated in 1838 to make good on those dreams. After a couple years of struggling in New York City, he set his sights on that most French of cities, New Orleans and this is where he opened Antoine’s. In 1868, the restaurant moved to its current location that now boasts 14 unique dining rooms. Alciatore left New Orleans in 1874 bound for Marseilles where he died; his beloved restaurant was left in the hands of his son and his family has continued to own and run the restaurant. Antoine continues to return to check up on this famed New Orleans institution and he continues to be seen in the Japanese and Mystery Dining Rooms. Other specters in 19th century clothing have been seen peering from the mirrors in the washrooms as well.

Sources

  • Dwyer, Jeff. Ghost Hunter’s Guide to New Orleans. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 2007.
  • Antoine’s Restaurant. Accessed 8 January 2011.

Puccini Restaurant
12901 Ali Ghan Road, NE
Cumberland, Maryland

At Puccini, patrons may get a bit of the paranormal with their pasta. With your fettuccini, you may hear disembodied footsteps or perhaps there may be some voices heard as you enjoy your vino. Don’t mind them, they won’t hurt you.

The building now housing Puccini was near fighting on August 1, 1864 as Confederates were defeated in the Battle of Folck’s Mill. Many of the wounded were brought into the George Hinkle house (as it was known at that time) where they were treated. Of course there may also have been a few deaths in the house during that time. Some of those soldiers may have also written or carved their names on the walls in the attic.

Employees of the restaurant as well as guests have reported quite a bit of activity over the years. From footsteps to shadow figures to full apparitions, people in this building have had many experiences. The restaurant was investigated a few years ago by member of the team from City Lights Paranormal Society of Easton, Pennsylvania. The investigators were able to capture a good deal of audio evidence including a number of EVPs.

Sources

  • Barkley, Kristin Harty. “Paranormal investigator believes Cumberland restaurant haunted.” Cumberland Times-News. 29 October 2010.
  • City Lights Paranormal Society. Puccini Restaurant. Accessed 29 April 2014.
  • “History.” Puccini. Accessed 3 November 2014.

Weidmann’s Restaurant
210 22nd Avenue
Meridian, Mississippi

Like Antoine’s in New Orleans, Meridian’s Weidmann’s restaurant was also started by an immigrant and has become a local institution after more than a century. Weidmann’s was opened by Felix Weidmann, a Swiss immigrant. While Antoine’s has remained in the same location, Weidmann’s location changed a number of times before it settled into a location in 1923.

Weidmann’s, 2010, by Dudemanfellabra. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The haunting of Weidmann’s seems to be mostly residual activity. Sounds echo through the restaurant with no obvious source. For his 2011 book, Haunted Meridian, Mississippi, Alan Brown spoke with one employee who recalls hearing sounds associated with livestock near the restaurant’s freezers where livestock may have been kept before Weidmann’s moved in. But animal sounds are just a small part of the repertoire associated with the spirits of Weidmann’s.

At table one, a legend is oft told of a young couple visiting the restaurant during the Great Depression. The couple had recently become engaged and had enough money to treat themselves to a meal in the restaurant. Henry Weidmann, the restaurant’s owner at the time, picked up the tab and encouraged the couple to return for their first anniversary. The legend continues that the young couple did not return to their table in the restaurant in life, but they have continued to return in death. They are supposed to be seen on occasion sitting quietly at the table holding hands under the table.

Sources

  • Brown, Alan. Haunted Meridian, Mississippi. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011.
  • Weidmann’s Restaurant. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 4 November 2014.

Four Square Restaurant
2701 Chapel Hill Road
Durham, North Carolina

Bartlett Mangum built his house in 1908 on the outskirts of Durham and the house is now the only part of his 80-acre farm that has remained standing. The house remained in the family until Mangum’s daughters were moved to a nursing home in 1956. The house passed through a variety of owners who rented out the house or used it for commercial purposes including a variety of restaurants. During the early 1960s, the house was even used as a racially-integrated church.

The Mangum daughters, Inez and Bessie, inherited the house in 1927 and tradition holds that they did not speak to each other for many years due to a feud. According to an article by Colin Warren-Hicks in the local progressive paper, Indy Week, restaurant staff believes that the spirit of Inez Mangum still flits about her old house. Cooks in the kitchen reported to Warren-Hicks that pots and pans would move on its own accord. Dinner and glassware left on a certain mantelpiece in one of the restaurant’s dining rooms would often be inexplicably knocked to the floor.

UPDATE 4/23/2018: Four Square has closed.

Sources

  • Dickinson, Patricia S. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Bartlett Mangum House. 5 December 1988.
  • Warren-Hicks, Colin. “The Devil went down to Four Square Restaurant.” Indy Week. 22 October 2014.

Connolly’s Irish Pub
24 East Court Square
Greenville, South Carolina 

This unassuming Irish pub in downtown Greenville, South Carolina is a front for a secret. Just outside the pub and behind the street door that provides access to this old commercial building’s second floor is an unused floor that is supposed to have served as a brothel some years ago. A recent investigation of this building by local investigator and ghost tour operator Jason Profit produced video of small orbs of light flitting through the corridor.

Sources

McDonald’s #2338
3470 Lebanon Pike
Hermitage, Tennessee

It’s my sincerest hope that the victims of the horrible event that happened here in 1997 are at rest; they most certainly deserve to be. On March 23, 1997, Paul Dennis Reid forced his way into this McDonald’s at closing time. After shooting three of the employees, he stabbed a fourth employee seventeen times before leaving with the restaurant’s money. The three shooting victims died while the stabbing victim survived. Just a month before, Reid had robbed a nearby Captain D’s brutally shooting and killing two employees. Before he was captured by the police, he managed to kill a total of seven people, all fast food employees. Reid passed quietly in prison just last year.

According to the Nashville Haunted Handbook, published in 2011, this restaurant has been plagued by a general sense of unease as well as shadow figures. After viewing this location on Google Streetview, it appears that this McDonald’s location may have a new building—the chain has been tearing down older restaurants and replacing them with new buildings. Though, since the building has been replaced, it is unknown whether this activity has persisted.

Sources

  • “2 Slain at Nashville McDonald’s.” Chicago Tribune. 24 March 1997.
  • Morris, Jeff; Donna Marsh and Garett Merk. Nashville Haunted Handbook. Cincinnati, OH: Clerisy Press, 2011.
  • Wilson, Brian. “Tennessee mass murderer Paul Dennis Reid dead.” 1 November 2013.

Coffee Pot
2902 Brambleton Avenue, SW (US 221)
Roanoke, Virginia

Just who or what is causing the odd activity at Roanoke’s landmark roadhouse, The Coffee Pot, is still a question. Primarily, the activity generally involves the movement of objects. One bartender was cleaning ashtrays and stacking them on the bar one evening after the restaurant had closed. They had already stacked a number of ashtrays when they witnessed the stack rise into the air and then drop back down on the bar. Startled, she returned to work only to have the stack of ashtrays rise and fall again. After that, she grabbed her things and left.

The Coffee Pot, 2009, by Patriarca12. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A manager noted that spices would often disappear from their accustomed spot only to reappear in a very different location sometimes days later. Bottles of wine and other cooking utensils have been known to fly across rooms, while paranormal investigators have been able to photograph orbs and have captured EVPs within the restaurant.

The Coffee Pot, with its distinctive large coffee pot, was constructed in 1936 along what had been a fairly rural road. Over time, US 221 has grown along with the restaurant’s business. As a roadhouse, the restaurant has become known for its musical entertainment including Willie Nelson who played an impromptu concert at the restaurant in 1970s.

Sources

  • Hill, Helen. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for The Coffee Pot. December 1995.
  • Hurst, Chris. “Looking for ghosts at The Coffee Pot in Roanoke.” 24 October 2010.
  • Taylor, L. B. Jr. Haunted Roanoke. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2013.

Yellow Bank Restaurant
201 East German Street
Shepherdstown, West Virginia

In the historic town of Shepherdstown, the 1906 Jefferson Security Bank now houses the Yellow Bank Restaurant. The bank was converted to a restaurant some years ago and now houses the restaurant where table 25 was the scene of some activity in the 1990s when a patron reported to the restaurant’s manager that she couldn’t sit at the table because of the ghost. The bartender also reported that he had glasses fall from the glass rack and break.

UPDATE 4/23/2018: Yellow Bank Restaurant has closed.

Sources

  • Molenda, Rachel. “Town serves as home to ghosts from past.” The Shepherdstown Chronicle. 28 October 2011.
Posted on

The season for specter-spotting—Newsworthy Haunts 10/9/2014

With the Halloween season already in full swing, media has started pumping out news items profiling our spectral friends throughout the country. Here’s a sampling of recent paranormal news from the South.

Gainesville Public Library
127 Main Street, NW
Gainesville, Georgia

If anything, the Gainesville Public Library does not outwardly appear to be a classic haunted building. The red brick, Brutalist-style building resembles countless modern library buildings throughout the country, but it includes something that many of those libraries do not have: a few ghosts. One of those spirits made an appearance during an investigation last weekend.

The library has been known to be haunted for some time and Nancy Roberts wrote about it in her 1997 book, Georgia Ghosts. The primary spirit Roberts wrote about has been called “Miss Elizabeth” or the “Lady of the Library” by the library staff. One staff member encountered her one night as she was closing. A strange young lady stood near the elevator, “she was only a few feet from me! Her brown hair, which was soft around her face, fell to her shoulders. She was about medium height and wore a long, dark dress, either navy or black.” The staff member turned away momentarily and when she turned back, the strange woman had vanished.

Other staff members described Miss Elizabeth in a 2011 Gainesville Times article as “wearing a long, dark skirt with a white shirt and a dark shawl. Her dark hair is pulled away from her plain face; on her neck she wears a broach.” In addition to seeing this fleeting apparition, the spirit is blamed for turning lights off and on, moving books and possibly riding on the elevator.

While the library building is not old, the property upon which it sits has quite a bit of history. At times during the history of the town, the property was a homestead and also contained a family cemetery. In the 1920s, the graves were moved and a hotel built on the site. The hotel was torn down to build the library.

During the recent investigation, however, it wasn’t Miss Elizabeth who made an appearance; it was the spirit of a small child. During the library sponsored investigation lead up by members of the Southeastern Institute for Paranormal Research, investigators encountered a spirit in the children’s section named Emma. One group heard the giggle of a child, while someone in a different group was touched lightly on the arm and then later another participant had her hair lightly tugged. A sensitive in the group stated that the spirit was a little girl with curly blonde hair dressed in a style reminiscent of the 1950s.

The sensitive remarked that the child seemed to be happy, loved book and “was glad someone had come to play with her.”

Sources

  • Gunn, Jerry. “Ghost hunters seek spirits at Gainesville Library.” Access North Georgia. 20 September 2014.
  • Gunn, Jerry. “Paranormal investigators meet a girl named Emma.” Access North Georgia. 5 October 2014.
  • King, Savannah. “Local ghost hangouts: Gainesville Library.” Gainesville Times. 30 October 2011.
  • Roberts, Nancy. Georgia Ghosts. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1997.

Old Clay County Jail
21 Gratio Place
Green Cove Springs, Florida

The Florida Times-Union has recently deemed the Old Clay County Jail to be a place where it is always Halloween. Paranormal investigators have deemed the building to be one of the most active that many of them have seen.

Old Clay County Jail, 2010. Photo by Ebyabe, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Built by the Pauly Jail Company in 1894, the building saw its last inmate in 1972. The building now serves as home to the Clay County Archives. Like most corrections facilities, this building has seen the worst of society and a number of tragedies in its long history. Among the tragedies was the assassination of a sheriff, an inmate suicide, five executions and another suicide on the front lawn.

Reports of activity from the jail include voices, apparitions and hair-pulling. Activity has become so well known that the Clay County Historical Archives website features a page describing the haunted conditions of the building.

Sources

  • Buehn, Debra W. “Old Clay County Jail stars in Local Haunts’ TV show Sunday.” Florida Times-Union. 1 April 2010.
  • Clay County Historical Archives. Ghosts in the Old Jail. Accessed 9 October 2014.
  • Hogencamp, Kevin. “It’s Halloween all year at old Clay County jail.” Florida Times-Union. 3 October 2014.
Posted on

Newsworthy Haunts 9-1-14

In the past two months, a number of locations in the South have been investigated and written up in local media.

Antiques and Uniques Collectibles
7 Aviles Street
St. Augustine, Florida

In the old quarter of one of the oldest cities in the country, it’s no surprise that ghosts are found everywhere. The building housing this small antique store is a quaint, commercial structure with a balcony that overhangs the sidewalk. Painted a bright, gay yellow, the color gives no clue to the spirits that lurk within. According to a historian quoted in Elizabeth Randall’s Haunted St. Augustine and St. John’s County, part of the building was originally built as a jail, specifically a drunk tank, in the late 19th century. The building was enlarged and has mostly been used as a commercial building throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.

Aviles Street from Constitution Plaza, 2014. Antiques and Uniques Collectibles is the yellow building on the left side of the street just under the sign. Photo by Michael Rivera, courtesy of Wikipedia.

According to an article by paranormal investigator and writer Jamie Pearce for Historic City News, the building houses several spirits including a spectral cat. Pearce states that, “the last time we investigated, five members of my team heard two distinct ‘meows’ inside the store, a store with no cats.” Other spirits, including two possible children, are known to occasionally raid the refrigerator and play with toys. The store’s owner captured video of the refrigerator door opening and closing on its own accord.

Sources

  • Pearce, Jamie. “Make some paranormal friends on Aviles Street.” Historic City News. 24 August 2014.
  • Randall, Elizabeth. Haunted St. Augustine and St. John’s County. Charleston: History Press, 2013.

Beauvoir
2244 Beach Boulevard
Biloxi, Mississippi

In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, many of the homes along Beach Boulevard—which look out to the Gulf—sustained extensive damage with some being swept away completely. Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy, sustained terrible damage. Some outbuildings were swept away and others damaged severely while some 35% of the museum’s collections were lost. By 2008, the 200th anniversary of Davis’ birth, the house had been restored and reopened to the public.

Even after the hurricane’s extensive damage, the spirits have remained. While paranormal investigation groups have lobbied unsuccessfully for years to investigate the estate, a recent shakeup in the museum’s administration finally allowed Mississippi Gulf Coast Paranormal (MGCP) to investigate over a weekend earlier this month.

Beauvoir, 2010. Photo by Altairisfar, courtesy of Wikipedia.

According to articles regarding the investigation, paranormal activity is a very common occurrence at the stunning antebellum home. One paranormal investigation team member stated that while full-body apparitions are a rarity elsewhere, they’re quite normal here. They continued saying that a staff member in the house “sees Jeff Davis a couple times a week standing in the main hall.” In addition to the former president of the Confederacy, apparitions of Davis’ wife, Varina, and his daughter, Winnie, have been captured on film. In addition, a Confederate soldier is commonly encountered on the grounds by staff and visitors alike.

The MGCP investigation apparently captured a few occurrences the first night of the investigation including a rocking chair rocking on its own accord in Davis’ bedroom and many hits on the team’s K2 meters. It will likely be a few weeks before all the video and audio is thoroughly reviewed.

Sources

  • Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 31 August 2014.
  • Ochs, Patrick. “Ghost hunters return for Round 2 at Beauvoir in Biloxi.” The Sun Herald. 9 August 2014.
  • Ochs, Patrick. “We ain’t afraid of no ghosts: Paranormal group investigates Beauvoir.” The Sun Herald. 7 August 2014.

T’Frere’s Bed & Breakfast
1905 Verot School Road
Lafayette, Louisiana

I’ve previously covered the “Little Brother’s” House a few years ago when I started this blog. For background information, please see my previous entry here. I was delighted recently to see that an investigation of this house was recently carried out.

Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations, who has methodically investigated haunted places throughout the state of Louisiana, were granted access to investigate T’Frere’s recently after 9 years of trying to get permission.

Like the investigation at Beauvoir, a few minor things happened, the result will not be available for a few weeks.

Sources

  • Coen, Chere. “Ghost hunters search for inn’s oldest ‘resident.’” IND Monthly. 18 August 2014.
  • Ponseti, Valerie. “Ghost Hunt at T-Frere’s.” KATC. 17 August 2014.

Demopolis Public Library
211 East Washington Street
Demopolis, Alabama

This section has been moved to my “Guide to Haunted Libraries of the South–Alabama.”

Posted on

The Old Folks Still at Home–Sanford, Florida

Museum of Seminole County History
300 Bush Boulevard
Sanford, Florida

That’s where the old folks stay.
–“Old Folks at Home,” Stephen Foster, 1851

It’s rather fitting that a former old folks home is now the home to a county historical museum. Of course, it’s no surprise that the same location remains home to old folks who have passed on. Such is the case of the Seminole County Old Folks’ Home which now houses the county’s historical museum.

Museum of Seminole County History Sanford Florida Old Folks Home ghosts haunted
Seminole County Old Folks’ Home, now home to the county’s historical museum. Photo by Ebyabe, 2006, courtesy of Wikipedia.

In the era before the advent of government assistance, many local governments provided poor houses and poor farms where the poor and indigent could seek shelter and attempt to support themselves. Seminole County constructed this building in 1926 as part of an 82 acre county farm. This site was operated as the county’s “Old Folks’ Home” until 1964 when the structure was converted for use as the county’s Agricultural Center. It served in that capacity until a new center was built in the early 1980s. The structure became the county’s museum in 1982.

However, it seems like some of its residents may have not left. A recent article in Florida Today notes that the museum is now providing paranormal activity tours of the building. With a tablet computer as a guide, guests can see evidence from the two paranormal investigations of the building and discover the varied types of paranormal activity witnessed in each room.

While the spirits have not been identified, many of their activities have been noted.  One guest had their sunglasses knocked from their head while a museum employee has discovered lights on that she specifically turned off. In one case, the employee experienced what she described as a feeling of being lightly tased. Investigations of the museum have uncovered photographs of orbs and EVPs.

Sources

Posted on

Night Nurse on Duty—Key West, Florida

Eduardo H. Gato House
1209 Virginia Street
Key West, Florida

A registered nurse who occupied a first floor apartment in this house in 1976 was awakened in the middle of the night. “I leaped with my hands over my face to protect myself. A white sort of energy was crossing from one end of the room to the other. I had the feeling of being invaded—that something that was not me was in the room.”

Gato House Key West Florida former hospital ghosts haunted
The Mercedes Hospital in the 1920s. Photo from the Monroe County Library Collection.

Some years later in another apartment, another woman was sleeping next to her boyfriend when she was suddenly awakened. “Something had touched her. She saw a short, stoutish woman at her bedside. The woman’s hair was in a bun, and she was wearing a grey dress with long sleeves and a high collar. Next to her was a man.” The figures seemed to be conferring about her as she lay in bed. The sleeper realized after a few moments that the woman was holding her wrist, checking her pulse.

Yet another woman in an apartment in the building experienced the ethereal nurse more recently. She had been sick with the flu and in bed for the day when she was started awake by something cold on her forehead. Waking, she found a nurse standing over her with her hand on her forehead while checking her pulse. She tried to scream and pull away but could not. The spirit quickly faded.

Gato House Key West Florida former hospital ghosts haunted
Courtyard of the Gato House in 1966 after the home’s conversion to apartments. Taken for the Historic American Buildings Survey, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

The spirit, however, returned the next evening. After hearing about the spirit from another women living in the building, the woman was not so frightened. The woman addressed the spirit and said that while she appreciated the attention, she was frightened. “She took a step back from the bed, gave me an understanding smile and faded away.”

This large, grand home was not built to house the sick and the dying. It was a grand home for cigar magnate Eduardo Gato. At the outbreak of the Ten Years’ War—the first of three wars fought as Cuba tried to break away from Spain—Key West was filled with Cuban émigrés who built up the cigar-making industry on the island.

Eduardo Gato built the home around 1890 possibly using Cuban carpenters though he only lived in the house for a few years before returning to Cuba in 1898. The building was briefly used as a school, and then in 1911, the house opened as the Casa del Pobre (Home for the Poor) Mercedes Hospital.

Named for Eduardo Gato’s wife, the Mercedes Hospital was opened by Maria Valdez de Gutsens and a handful of other ladies who had been concerned with medical care for the poor and indigent. She was known around town as a marvelous fundraiser and personally collected money to keep the hospital running. Gutsens would haunt the exits of the local cigar factories on pay day asking for quarters for her beloved hospital.

While she was only an administrator, Gutsens aided the hospital’s small medical staff in their duties when needed. From 1911 until her death in 1941, Gutsens was a constant fixture in the hospital. She may still be there.

Gato House Key West Florida former hospital ghosts haunted
Gato House, 2011 by Ebyabe. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The tale is told that just a few months after her death a patient was in the hospital with severe pneumonia. Not being in contact with his wife and children the man pleaded for help writing to his family. An older woman appeared at his bedside and calmly wrote the letter the man dictated. Feeling better the next morning, he asked who the kindly woman was so that he could offer his thanks. The night nurse insisted that she was the only person who had been on duty and she was shocked to see the letter the man had dictated in the hand of the late Maria de Gutsens.

A year after Gutsen’s death, the hospital closed its doors and cockfights were held in the building’s Spanish courtyard. The large home then was renovated into an apartment building and remains so to this day. Tenants still encounter the grey shade of the good Maria de Gutsens checking the pulses of the living while Dr. Fogarty—one of the many doctors who served the hospital—stands quietly by.

Sources

  • “Ghost of Nurse Haunts Key West House.” Playground Daily News. 4 November 1976.
  • Eyman, Scott. “Ghost Houses in Old Key West, The Walls Have Ears— And Eyes. Here Are Four Guests Whose Names You Won’t See on The Register. But They’re There.” Sun-Sentinel. 4 August 1985.
  • McCoy, Charles E., Jr. Report on Eduardo H. Gato House for the Historic American Buildings Survey. 16 Septrember 1966.
  • Sloan, David. Ghosts of Key West. Key West, FL: Phantom Press, 1998.
  • Williams, Joy. The Florida Keys: A History and Guide, 10th NYC: Random House, 2010.
Posted on

Newsworthy Florida–October 2013

There are articles about hauntings blooming all around the South for the Halloween season. Florida, the floral state, is at full bloom. Here’s an overview of recently reported Florida hauntings.

St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce
1200 New York Avenue
St. Cloud

The Southern literary magazine, The Oxford American, explores Southern culture. As ghosts, ghostlore and ghost hunting (Southerners love their hunting) have permeated Southern culture in recent decades, it’s appropriate that the magazine would publish an article about it. An article by Chantel Tattoli explores this through the experiences of GhostStop, a St. Cloud business specializing in ghost hunting equipment. They also conduct investigations and the St. Cloud Chamber investigation included the article’s author.

According to the investigation team she was working with, the building dates to 1910, when it opened as a bank. One major robbery occurred in the building as well as, if local lore is accurate, a double homicide. The activity in the building includes the requisite footsteps in conjunction with what the author describes as “shadows, rattles and whistles.”

The article ends with the author wistfully asking, “What is a ghost but a smear in the air? A memory, willful and invincible, determined to keep living its life.” I really like that statement.

Source

Florida Theatre
128 East Forsyth Street
Jacksonville

When the Florida Theatre opened in 1927, it was the fifteenth movie palace in the city, but definitely the most lavish. The Mediterranean revival-style architecture was very popular throughout Florida throughout that decade. The grand theatre served the citizens of Jacksonville very well for more than five decades even as many other glorious movie palaces and other theatres were shuttered and demolished.

 

The marquee of the Florida Theatre, 2008, by Craig O’Neal. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

It was here in 1956 that a young singer named Elvis Presley performed. Seated among the screaming fans in the audience was a juvenile court judge to monitor Presley’s notorious hips for movements that were deemed “too suggestive.”

The theatre closed in 1980, but efforts were quickly underway to revive the grand dame. In October of 1983, the theatre opened its doors once again as a performing arts center, a use that has kept the marvelous building open for three decades.

A press release from PR Newswire announces that the theatre will be the scene of a paranormal investigation on Halloween night. The press release includes a remark from the theatre’s house manager that recounts her experience with a strange humming in the theatre. “I’ve heard a strange humming sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I thought it was a bar refrigerator, so I unplugged it, but the humming noise continued.”

The ghosts of the Florida Theatre are fairly well documented, especially after an investigation in 2010 captured the image of someone sitting in a seat in the balcony.

An article in the Florida Times-Union from July recounts the experience. The crew was filming with infrared cameras when they began to detect movement in the balcony. “The cameras captured something in Seat E2, Section 500, up in the balcony, where the original 1927 seats are still in place.” The video captured what appears to be someone sitting in the seat and moving their arm.

Perhaps the figure will make an appearance on Halloween.

Sources

The Petite Boutiques
1002 East New Haven Avenue
Melbourne

The Petite Boutiques describes themselves as an “upscale mini-mall” that “hosts a collection of small retail businesses located inside a historic landmark.” The landmark building was once the Brownlie-Maxwell Funeral Home which moved to new location some years ago. After the building’s conversion to retail space, people working in the building began experiencing odd activity including Christmas trees in the Christmas shop being rearranged.

A member of the family who owns the building was quoted in Florida Today speaking about the Christmas trees. “Every morning, I would come into find a bird on one of our trees that was upside down, and I would have to rearrange it. It happened all the time. Then one night, I closed and knew the bird was on the tree right side up. But when I got there the next morning, it was upside down again.”

The article mentions that various customers have picked up on various entities within the building.

Sources

Eau Gallie Cemetery
Intersection of Avocado Avenue and Masterson Street
Melbourne

Eau Gallie was an independent city until 1969 when it merged with Melbourne. The name may be a reference in French to the salt water found around the town.

In the Eau Gallie Cemetery sleep many of Eau Gallie’s founding and prominent family. But, their rest may not be so easy. The cemetery has been rumored for years as being haunted and has been investigated by Florida Unknown, a local paranormal investigation team.

According to an article from Florida Today, the team did succeed in capturing a female voice responding to a direct question.

Sources

Crooked Mile Cemetery
aka Georgiana Cemetery
Crooked Mile Road
Merritt Island

It appears that the Crooked Mile Cemetery may be quite a bit more active than the Eau Gallie Cemetery. Indeed, the cemetery plays a part in one of the area’s most well-known ghost stories—the haunting of Ashley’s Restaurant in nearby Rockledge.

On November 21, 1934, the badly mutilated and decomposing body of a young woman was found near the river. Nineteen year old Ethel Allen had been seen just a few days before when she stopped at a local packing house to say goodbye to a friend. Ethel was leaving to visit her mother. She may have also stopped by her favorite local hangout, Jack’s Tavern, now Ashley’s of Rockledge. The Tudor style restaurant, on U.S. 1, still has activity, which has been attributed to Ethel Allen.

The gentleman with whom Ms. Allen was travelling was identified, but never questioned. Ms. Allen was laid to rest in the Crooked Mile Cemetery where she continues to interact with the living. In yet another article from Florida Today, the Brevard Ghost Hunters report that they received an EVP saying “yes” at the grave of Ethel Allen. The investigators had asked if Ms. Allen was present.

Within the moss-draped graveyard, others have reported seeing and hearing apparitions, but scarier still, hands have been known to reach out of graves here.

Sources

Pritchard House
424 South Washington Avenue
Titusville

It is said that Lola Pauline Smith Pritchard, known as Miss Lovie, never liked people in her house. Perhaps it is she who is upset about tourists regularly visiting her magnificent Queen Anne-style house.

 

Pritchard House, 2012, by Jigar,brahmbhatt. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

As of late, Florida Today has been ramping up on paranormal articles. Interestingly, the reporter interviewed Michael Boonstra whose blog I used for information concerning Ethel Allen’s murder in the above location. As the director and archivist for the Brevard County Historical Commission, he was invited on an investigation two years ago of the Pritchard House.

Recently restored, the home has been returned to its original color scheme, an orange color with coral colored trim. Captain James Pritchard, a businessman important in the development of the area, built the home in 1891. Until Brevard County purchased the home in 2005, it had remained in the Pritchard family.

The investigation uncovered evidence that members of the Pritchard family may still remain in the house. Voices were heard, a light turned on by itself and a grandfather clock that was not in working order was heard pinging.

Sources

Posted on

Midnight with Minarets—Old Tampa Bay Hotel

Plant Hall—University of Tampa
401 West Kennedy Boulevard
Tampa, Florida

 

A Haunted Southern Book of Days–5 February

This article is a part of an occasional blog series highlighting Southern hauntings or high strangeness associated with specific days. For a complete listing, see “A Haunted Southern Book of Days.”

 

It’s truly an incredible sight, silver-roofed minarets out of a Moorish fantasy rising above the oaks and palms of downtown Tampa. As I was researching something else, photographs of this fantasy palace called for a further look. I’m glad I did.

It does not, in any way, resemble an academic building, though that is its current use. It was constructed by Henry Plant as the Tampa Bay Hotel between 1888 and 1891. Plant—who had already constructed a rail line to this sleepy hamlet in 1884 and later a steamship line running to Havana—had dreams, like those of Henry Flagler, of turning Florida into a vacation paradise. Their pioneering ideas did succeed—look at Florida now—though it took quite a bit of time. Plant’s investments in this fine hotel were never recouped, though he did succeed in building Tampa into an exciting and cosmopolitan city.

Some of Plant Hall’s minarets. Photo 2012 by WalterPro4755. Released under a Creative Commons License.

Over the more than forty years the hotel operated it barely turned a profit while still attracting some of the best and brightest celebrities. The great French actress, Sarah Bernhardt, lounged in the hotel’s opulence while the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, danced in the corridors. The voice of William Jennings Bryan echoed through its rooms while Babe Ruth signed his first baseball contract here.

The highlight of the hotel’s illustrious, though impecunious, early history came in 1898 when the hotel served as the stateside command post for the American invasion of Cuba. The ladies and gentlemen who usually promenaded through the elegant hallways of the hotel were replaced with generals, troops and newspaper reporters. With Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and his Rough Riders stationed nearby, Mrs. Roosevelt was booked into the 511 room hotel alongside the famous nurse, Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, who came to oversee the nursing of soldiers.

After Plant’s death, the grand hotel passed to his heirs who sold it to the city of Tampa in 1905. The hotel saw a series of lease holders until 1933, when the building was leased to the fledgling University of Tampa. Much of the hotel was converted into classrooms and offices while a small portion remained as a museum, preserving the hotel as it was in its heyday. In addition to appearing as part of the university’s logo, the unique building now serves as administrative offices for the school.

A grand staircase inside Plant Hall. Photo 2009 by Gordon Tarpley. Released under a Creative Commons License.

As midnight’s darkness descends on the minarets of Plant Hall—the building’s current designation—the memories from the great building’s heyday are relived. Legend says that students still occasionally encounter servants from the Victorian era still going about their duties. Students have noted that certain parts of the building have an eerie chill and they get the feeling of being watched. A theatre professor in the building’s Fletcher Ballroom encountered an oddly shaped mist. “This cloud of mist…fog, and it was obvious there was some kind of physical shape to it. And as soon as I saw it, it literally sucked into the wall.”

A curving corridor. Photo 2009 by Gordon Tarpley. Released under a Creative Commons License.

A curious student one morning had a frightening experience. As she explored the labyrinthine structure, the student encountered a man in an old-fashioned three piece suit. When she called out to ask if she could help him he did not respond, though he began to walk towards her. At that point she realized his eyes were glowing red and she fled. As she descended a staircase, she encountered the same man calmly drinking tea. There’s no telling what else one might encounter around midnight under the minarets.

Sources

  • Dickens, Dorothy K. and Ralph Christian. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the Tampa Bay Hotel. October 1975.
  • “The Ghosts of Plant Hall.” The Minaret. 1 November 2007.
  • Henry B. Plant Museum. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 10 April 2013.
  • University of Tampa. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 10 April 2013.
The facade of the grand hotel. Photo 2007 by Ebyabe. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Posted on

Playhouse Phantoms of Pensacola

Pensacola Cultural Center
400 South Jefferson Street

Florida has a glut of haunted theatres; not that that’s a bad thing. A recent project has me researching theatres throughout the South and it seems that Florida has more than any other state. Perhaps it’s geography or something in the air or all the seawater that surrounds the state; it gives one pause.

On the official website for the Pensacola Cultural Center, one statement stands out, “The spaces where judges handed out justice and criminals served their time are now filled with the positive energy of dancers, actors, artists, and students.” The building was initially constructed in 1911 as the Escambia County Building, housing the county Court of Records and the jail. Places where criminals were tried, sentenced, incarcerated and executed now thrum with the rhythm of the arts in this old building.

It seems that some of the criminals are still doing time in this Neo-classical structure. A man has been seen lurking within the building. A staff member working in the building afterhours heard the operating of a nearby elevator. Shortly afterwards the dark shadow of a man walked past the staff member’s open door. She called out but did not get a response. When she looked into the hallway, it was empty.

The Pensacola Cultural Center, 2007. Courtesy of Pensapedia.com.

A couple staff members working late in the auditorium saw a man sitting in one of the seats. They both saw him simultaneously and turned to look at each other. When they turned back, the man was sitting in a different seat, on the opposite side of the house. They described him as wearing a worn suit and having a gaunt face. Some have identified this male spirit as that of Hosea Poole, a small time criminal who murdered his brother. Poole was the last man executed in the jail when he was hung July 31, 1920. However, there is little evidence, other than coincidence, to solidly identify the spirit as Poole’s.

The playful spirit of a young girl, possibly from the 1920s or 30s has also been witnessed. Unlike the male spirit’s almost menacing presence, the young girl has been heard giggling and she has been seen playfully skipping through the hallways. She is known to peer curiously over shoulders and she is occasionally seen peering from shadowed corners.

Saenger Theatre
118 South Palafox Place

Known as the “Grande Dame of Palafox Street,” the Saenger Theatre was literally built from the ruins—the bricks and other fittings—of the Pensacola Opera House which was destroyed in the 1917 Nueva Gerona hurricane (so named for the destruction it caused to the Cuban town of Nueva Gerona). The theatre opened in 1925 as a venue for live performances and film. Broadway shows and vaudevillians on “The Road” played here as well as films like Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments which opened the theatre.

Saenger Theatre, 2010, by Ebyabe. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Saenger thrived as a cinema for a few decades until competition from multiplex big screens and the small television screens now found in homes began to shrink the audiences to the Grande Dame. The theatre closed in 1975 but was reopened as a cultural center in 1981. The theatre was extensively renovated in 1996.

With the crowds that have passed through the theatre’s doors since its opening and whatever spiritual residue may be left on the old bricks and other fittings from the old opera house, it’s no wonder that the Saenger Theatre has some paranormal activity on hand. Voices have been heard in the balcony of the building and spirits may affect the electrical circuits at times. Author Alan Brown records an incident that happened to the electricians working on a touring show. Just after hanging and adjusting the lighting for a show, the lights began to flash erratically on their own volition. The blame for this activity is laid upon the spirit of a worker who died when the boiler in the basement exploded, though—like Hosea Poole at the Pensacola Cultural Center—there is nothing to specifically identify the culprit.

Sources

  • Brown, Alan. Haunted Pensacola. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2010.
  • Jenkins, Greg. Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore, Vol. 3: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 2007.
  • Pensacola Cultural Center. About PCC. Accessed 26 February 2013.
  • Saenger Theatre (Pensacola, Florida). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 26 February 2013.
Posted on

Newsworthy Haunts 1/30/2013

It’s a gloomy stormy day in the Deep South, a perfect time to check for news of Southern ghosts.

TacoLu Baja Mexicana
1712 Beach Boulevard
Jacksonville Beach, Florida

The famous and haunted Homestead Restaurant has gone south, south of the border, that is. Opened in 1947, The Homestead Restaurant was, until a few years ago, a Jacksonville Beach landmark known for its fried chicken and other Southern specialties. Sadly, recent years have not been so kind to the restaurant or fat, sugar and cholesterol laden Southern cuisine in general. The restaurant was closed for a while but then reopened. Evidently, it was not the same and the restaurant closed again. Recently, a local taco joint has taken up residence in this haunted landmark and, according to a recent article in The Florida Times-Union, they’re still being visited by something otherworldly.

After inheriting the 1932 structure, Alpha Paynter opened the building that would become the restaurant as a boarding house. As boarding houses fell out of fashion, Mrs. Paynter opened the place as a restaurant, The Homestead Restaurant. The place became known for its fried chicken as much as its kitschy interior. Mrs. Paynter sold the restaurant in the early 1960s and died that same year, though her indomitable spirit that built the successful restaurant remained.

The tales of ghosts in the building go back many years and have been widely recorded. A spirit, believed to be Alpha Paynter, has been spirits and causes the occasional lighthearted disturbance. But two other spirits in the restaurant may not be so lighthearted. Dave Lapham reports in his Ghosthunting Florida that there may be two other female spirits: the unhappy shades of two former residents who committed suicide in the building 10 years apart.

A glance at the menu shows no sign of a Fried Chicken Taco, perhaps that might be a good idea to pay homage to Mrs. Paynter and her two spiritual companions.

Sources

  • FitzRoy, Maggie. “Local legend lives on at Beaches restaurant.” The Florida Times-Union. 27 January 2013.
  • Lapham, Dave. Ghosthunting Florida. Cincinnati, OH: Clerisy Press, 2010.
  • Mills, Gary T. “Dining Notes: TacoLu plans move to former Homestead spot in Jacksonville Beach.” The Florida Times-Union. 31 August 2012.

Ijams Nature Center
2915 Island Home Avenue
Knoxville, Tennessee

The Ijams Nature Center is reveling in its haunted side. The famed nature center is hosting a ghost hunt for the public this upcoming Saturday. If I didn’t have a previous engagement, I’d love to attend.

This public park, established by bird expert Henry Ijams and the “First Lady of Knoxville Garden Clubs,” Alice Yoe Ijams, serves to preserve nature within Knoxville and educate the public. Except for information on the ghost hunt, I’ve not been able to locate any details on the ghosts of the park, though I’ll be looking forward to finding out more.

Sources

  • “History.” Ijams Nature Center. Accessed 30 January 2013.
  • News Sentinel Staff. “Ijams Nature Center to host ghost hunt. Knoxville News Sentinel. 23 January 2013.

Longwood Village Inn
300 North Ronald Reagan Boulevard
Longwood, Florida

I really want to find out how George Clark died. The owner of the then St. George Hotel, Clark died in April 1923 during an ice cream social he was hosting there for the community. So far, none of the sources have revealed the actual circumstances of his death, though most report that he died at the rear of the building.

Longwood Village Inn, 2007. Photo by Ebyabe, courtesy of Wikipedia.

The latest news about the Longwood Village Inn is that the building is for sale. Built during Florida’s first railroad boom in 1885, this historic hotel may get a second chance during Florida’s second railroad boom in the very near future. With support from the Federal government, state and local governments, SunRail is being constructed. This rail system will connect Poinciana to DeLand through the heart of downtown Orlando. The station linking Longwood will be constructed just across the street from the inn.

But it seems that George Clark’s spirit is not the only one in the 30 room hotel. The hotel has most recently been used as office space and workers in the old rooms have reported the sounds of giggling and tapping while others have smelled cigar smoke. Strange lights and apparitions round out the paranormal activity.

Sources

  • Busdeker, Jon. “Historic Longwood Village Inn for sale in anticipation of SunRail.” Orlando Sentinel. 17 January 2013.
  • Lapham, Dave. Ghosthunting Florida. Cincinnati, OH: Clerisy Press, 2010.
  • “A piece of haunted history goes up for sale in Longwood.” 18 January 2013.
  • Randall, Elizabeth. “Haunted Longwood Village Inn has Ghostly Residents.” 4 August 2011.
  • SunRail. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 30 January 2013.
Posted on

Newsworthy Hauntings 6/24/2012

Haunted theatres figure into two newsworthy haunts this evening.

Valrico, Florida’s JAMES McCABE THEATRE (506 5th Street) has recently been the scene of a fund-raising investigation by two paranormal groups, Fire and Ice Investigations and Plant City Paranormal. With the recent recession and many arts groups and historic sites hurting for funds many have tried using their ghosts to help raise money. In conjunction with local paranormal organizations, they will put on ghost hunts where participants can pay a fee for ghost tours and helping with a paranormal investigation. This is what this historic theatre has done while raising money to restore and renovate this more than century old building.

Built in 1915 as the Valrico Civic Center, the building served as the home to a woman’s club later. The building was repossessed in the late 1970s and The Village Players, a community theatre group, was allowed to use the structure. The building was deeded to the theatre in 1994. Over the years, local thespians have noticed odd occurrences in the building including many odd noises and the occasional apparition. The June 16th investigation uncovered a few interesting pieces of evidence including some EVPs

Sources

The second theatre in the headlines is the RICE THEATRE (323 North Parkerson Avenue) in downtown Crowley, Louisiana. This location is one of two being investigated by Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations though, according to the article, neither location has a reputation of being haunted. The theatre was built by The Southern Amusement Company in 1940, but its opening was delayed by damage done by a hurricane. It opened in 1941 with the film This Thing Called Love. Sold to the City of Crowley in 1986, the building now serves as the Rice City Civic Center.

The Rice Theatre in downtown Crowley. Photo 2003 by Falcanary, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Also up for being investigated is CROWLEY CITY HALL (425 North Parkerson Avenue) just down the street. There are, however, a few tales of ghosts from city employees. A freight elevator has been known to function on its own accord, something that, according to a city hall staffer, is impossible. Another employee has seen shadow figures and heard voices. This 1920 structure was not built as a government building but as a car dealership and later served as a recording studio before becoming city hall.

Sources