Frightful Florida: Exploring the Sunshine State’s Specter

Florida, a land of beaches, sunshine, and amusement parks, also hides a murky underbelly. The centuries-old forts and eerie lighthouses harbor tales that chill the bones of locals and tourists alike. If you need a break from the lush golf courses and water parks, here are three cities where you can experience the dark side of the Sunshine State.

Orlando

Our haunted journey in Orlando starts with the Kress Building. It was built and inhabited by an eccentric individual named Edward Sibbert, whose main hobby was hunting UFOs.

Edward would disappear from time to time, leaving a note on his door that he was not to be disturbed. However, after one of his mysterious disappearances, he never came back. Legend has it that he was abducted by the aliens he was hunting out. Some people believe that Edward finally achieved his goal of creating a portal to another dimension. Many believe that the portal was never closed and is accessible from somewhere in the building.            

Another eerie Orlando haunt you might visit on an Orlando ghost tour is the Orange County Regional History Center. The notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was convicted in this building. Some say his spirit still resides here.

Some of Bundy’s victims, including his last one, Alice, came to watch the court proceedings when the building served as the old Orange County Courthouse.

Tampa

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa’s signature 4.1-mile-long bridge, was constructed in 1987. Before that, though, an older, weaker bridge stood there since the 1950s.

 In 1980, a tragic accident occurred – a freight ship crashed into the bridge after being pushed by heavy winds, causing a Greyhound bus and several other vehicles to plunge into the dark waters below. Thirty-five people met their demise that day.

The bridge has witnessed more destruction and sorrow than that, though. Over 200 people have jumped to their deaths from this bridge, leaping into the abyss, driven by whatever it is that drives people to remove themselves from this world.

Strange lights are sometimes seen from the waters below, believed to be the souls of those who committed suicide, regretting their choices at the last minute. Another local legend involves a hitchhiker dressed in white who seeks rides from motorists to the other end of the bridge, only to disappear from the vehicle before they reach the other side. Many believe that she is the soul of someone who committed suicide on the bridge and that she disappears in that exact spot from where she jumped.

Ybor City in Tampa is a must-visit on a Tampa ghost tour. With dozens of Cuban and Italian eateries and boutique shops, it’s a great place to spend a day with family or friends. However, the modern exterior hides a sinister past.

The area has long been a haven for immigrants from Cuba or Italy. In the early days, though, things weren’t all nice and dreamy. Many of the newly arrived immigrants worked in near-slave conditions in factories in the area, and many lost their lives when fires raged through the wooden structures.

Of particular note in the area is the Don Vicente Hotel. At one point, it also served as a hospital and medical clinic. The basement was taken over by a mad doctor who performed horrific experiments on patients, which ultimately resulted in the death of some poor innocents. He burned their bodies in an incinerator, and some people say they can still smell the stench of burning flesh emanating from the basement. 

St. Augustine

St. Augustine’s ghosts are as old as the city itself. It was founded in 1565, making it the longest continuously occupied European settlement in North America. Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established it and served as the seat of the Spanish colonies in the New World.

St. Augustine also boasts the oldest masonry fort in the United States. The Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1695 after a devastating raid by the English. It overlooks Matanzas Bay; Matanzas translates to “killings” in Spanish. Brutal battles took place here, and they left over ghostly memories that refuse to leave.

But a lot more has occurred between this fort’s walls – and quite literally. It is within the walls of this fort that Colonel Garcia Marti had his young bride and her lover, his traitorous assistant, who had an affair with Marti’s wife, Dolores. Dolores certainly wasn’t at no fault here; she loved to flirt with her husband’s younger counterparts, wearing strong perfume that could be smelled from far away.

One day, Dolores and Abela, the assistant, suddenly disappeared. According to Colonel Marti, Abela was sent on a special mission to Cuba, while Dolores fell ill and was sent to the best doctors in Mexico for treatment. At first, his story was accepted as fact – after all, nobody had any reason to doubt his version of events. As the years passed, people eventually forgot about the two, save for an occasional whisper in the bars about an alternative story: they were murdered by Marti.

It was only years later when everybody from that era had already passed to a better place, that a young Lieutenant discovered a hollow area in one of the fort’s walls. Upon breaking it open, he discovered the bodies of two skeletons. It was then that the true fate of Abela and Dolores was finally known.

Some claim to still smell the strong scent of a woman’s perfume emanating from the dungeon area where the two fossils were found.

The Castle probably holds more secrets than that, though. During the period of the Spanish Inquisition, it is believed that one of the rooms was used as a torture chamber to torture confessions against supposed enemies of the state. During the construction of the fort itself, numerous laborers were worked to death in grueling conditions. Finally, the fort was also used as a prison for Native Americans, the ghost of which is seen leaping over the fort on nights when there is a full moon.

To fully experience spooky St. Augustine, we recommend going on a St. Augustine ghost tour or haunted pub crawl.

Top Photo- The Kress Building – Copyright US Ghost Adventures