Old City Ghosts: Phantom Pirates & Poltergeists Tour

Two massive Medici Lions, replicas of Florence Italy’s own, serve as gate-keepers to St. Augustine. Their maws open, claws ... out-stretch, the cats invite visitors in through the city’s picture postcard bridge. They serve as a stepping stone into the magic that is this wonderful, incredibly diverse, and retro little town. A town full of adventure, unique sights, and all types of stories. St. Augustine is a fairy-tale town, and like all fairy tales, it has an abundance of magic and mayhem — of lions, ghosts, wolves, and other things that go bump in the night.

Let’s be honest, part of the fun of coming to Florida are the beaches. They are simply out of this world. Well, there’s j ... ust so much laying out in the sun you can take. It’s time to head back to the hotel and start to prepare for the night’s activities. Sure, there’s a lot to do in the sun in St. Augustine, but the real fun starts once the moon rears its head. And, by the way, if you happen to go to St. Augustine’s many beaches, start your ghost tour early and visit the region’s iconic Lighthouse — one of the most haunted places in the world.

When the French attacked St. Augustine early in the 1600s, the Spaniards retaliated with a vengeance. They overwhelmed the Fr ... ench garrison, and regardless of whether or not you were a soldier, hung everybody on trees with the inscription “Hanged, not as Frenchmen, but as “Lutherans.” They then headed back to the Hippo, where on arrival they discovered the shipwreck survivors of a French ship that had come ashore south of the settlement. Their blood lust at a fever pitch. What did the Spaniards do after these unfortunate surrendered? They executed every last one and dumped their bodies in the bay. That’s why the river and the inlet are called Matanza or Carnage. This is just one of the many tales of those bloody days. Want to hear more?

St. Augustine was put to the torch dozens upon dozens of times. Why? Cause that’s how pirates rolled during the Golden age ... of their trade. Villains and scoundrels like Blackbeard and Sir. Francis Drake roamed the Florida coast and their favorite place to stop by, have a beer, and pillage to death? St. Augustine. Some of the spiritual consequences of their excursions can still be felt in the Hippo after dark.

St. Augustine is just a stone’s throw away from Orlando, the theme park capital of the world. There are dozens of parks in ... the area, not just the Magic Kingdom, but Universal and SeaWorld. You’ve gone all on the roller coasters, taken pictures with all the characters, and now, you’re tapped. You need something that keeps the blood pumping, but with less special effects — more human drama. So you came to St. Augustine. What better way to tap directly into all that historical drama than with an open-world haunted house?

“It’s as if some little Spanish Town had broken loose, floated over here, and got stranded on a sand bank.” — Harriet ... Beecher Stowe.

Air travel is expensive, and traveling to Europe is doubly so. Part of the charm of St. Augustine is that it sweeps visitors into some of the old-world charms right out of the gates. It’s a quaint little living museum where folks can travel back to conquistador times and frolic in those Spaniard vibes. The town is passionate and full of magic, and wild eccentricities. A new attraction, something to fall in love with, around every corner.