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Most Haunted Places in Florida

Posted: 07.26.2024 | Updated: 11.27.2024

Florida is one of the top vacation destinations in the country and maybe the world. While the southernmost state in America has its share of beaches, theme parks, and tourist destinations, it does have a little something else. It’s a state that has its share of haunted sites, each with its equally sordid stories.

If you’re planning on visiting Florida soon and have a preference for all things ghostly, here are a few haunted locations to add to your itinerary. Be sure to book a St. Augustine ghost tour with Old City Ghosts to hear the history behind some of these spooky sites!

I-4 “Dead Zone”

If you ever travel on I-4 between Daytona Beach and Orlando, you’ll find a spot on the St. Johns River Bridge that can only be known as the “Dead Zone.” So much traffic flows through the lanes of this roadway, and plenty of motorists have seen it all: bad accidents, hitchhikers appearing and quickly disappearing, and a series of brutal storms whipping through this part of the Interstate.

Before the bridge was built, it was near a small settlement where German immigrants resided. Many of them died from Yellow Fever and are said to be buried in graves near one of the ends of the St. Johns River bridge. If you ever travel on this roadway, you might find a lot of phantom activity.

Villa Paula

This building in Miami’s “Little Haiti” once served as the Cuban Consulate. Domingo Milord, the first consulate to the island nation, lived in the residence with his wife, Paula. While the architecture was exquisite, its haunting story is quite gruesome. Paula died at the house after a leg amputation gone wrong, and her spirit is known for making her rounds throughout the halls.

Visitors have heard footsteps and seen the spirit of a woman who appeared to have one leg. If you are a fan of Cuban coffee, you might even get to smell quite a bit of it if you find yourself wandering the halls. Today, Villa Paula serves as an art gallery that showcases art from various Latin American artists and even some Picasso paintings.

Blue Anchor

Haunted bar — Copyright US Ghost Adventures

The Blue Anchor is an English-style pub in Palm Beach that has been a mainstay in South Florida for decades. The bar was built as a replica of a London pub with the same name. But the stories of the many who walked through the doors of the original location just have to be told. One such frequent guest was a young man who appreciated a French-made cognac. That man would eventually become one of Britain’s most famous historical figures.

He was none other than Winston Churchill. Some of the patrons included the legendary “Jack the Ripper.” When the bar was built, it was said that the spirits that haunted the century-old London pub might also find themselves in the American location of the Blue Anchor. One such ghost that you might see belongs to a woman who was murdered by her husband in Britain many decades ago. Ghosts can haunt just about anywhere, no matter what side of the pond they’re on.

Apollo I Launch Complex 34

Florida is home to some of NASA’s space exploration facilities in Cape Kennedy and nearby Cape Canaveral. It also bore witness to two of the worst space exploration tragedies in American history: the Apollo I incident and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The Apollo I Launch Complex was the sight of an unfortunate accident that claimed the lives of three astronauts on January 27, 1967. Those killed were Gus Grissom, Edward White II, and Roger Chaffee. The crew had planned to become part of history as the first Americans to explore the moon.

Today, the complex serves as a memorial. But the spirits of the three brave astronauts who dared to take the risk to explore space might still be around. Visitors have reported feeling “uneasy” the moment they set foot on the grounds. Also heard were pained screams. Word has it that a pained scream was last heard on transmission between the astronauts and mission control.

Ybor City

If you thought Miami was the hotspot for mobster activity, you probably haven’t heard the stories about Ybor City. This Tampa Bay area city was also where you were bound to see a mobster or two. And there was plenty of violence to go along with it. In nearly 30 years, Ybor City saw more than two dozen killings related to prominent mob bosses.

The ghosts of “Lucky” Luciano and “Saturday” Zarate might be spotted in some of the buildings where casinos and speakeasies were located during the Prohibition era. If you ever go to the Don Vicente Hotel, don’t be surprised if you see some well-dressed, bad-looking individuals. The good news is they’re likely just specters. But if they look like they’re among the living, you might want to steer clear anyway.

Key West Cemetery

As you might expect, any cemetery could be teeming with ghosts. But some cemeteries have a unique ghost story tied to it. More than 100,000 are buried here in the cemetery. The original cemetery was destroyed, and many coffins were washed out to see after a major storm battered the Keys in 1846. Other bodies were washed up on the city streets, both in and out of their coffins. However, the new cemetery now sits above sea level to prevent future washups.

Notable persons interred here were among some of Key West’s prominent and wealthier citizens. Others included the sailors who perished in the USS Maine tragedy during the Spanish-American war. There is a story of a woman who is known to walk the grounds of the cemetery angrily if someone disrespects the dead (like walking on graves or leaning on gravestones). The timing of her appearance may be at any time during the day or night. If you explore this cemetery during the day, you might get lucky and see her. Just don’t come any closer to her.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

This is considered one of the most haunted lighthouses in the United States. If you’re a history buff, you know it isn’t shocking since it’s situated in St. Augustine. Though built in 1874, the city of St. Augustine had already been in existence for over 300 years. But since its construction, many people have died near or inside the lighthouse itself. One such tragic story involved the daughters of a lighthouse worker.

The teenage girls hopped onto a cart that suddenly began to roll towards the bay. They never made it out and drowned. Their bodies were never recovered. Many unexplained occurrences have happened here, including visitors hearing the sounds of laughter and plenty of footsteps that sound like someone is ascending or descending the stairs.

The Devil Tree

This large oak tree looks pretty terrifying. But the story of what happened close to it is enough to give you a chill and enough curiosity to check it out yourself. About a decade ago, a hunter was in the area and discovered human remains. Upon further investigation, more remains were unearthed. As it turned out, it belonged to two teenage girls from Iowa who went missing in the early 1970s.

It was said that the two were hitchhiking to Florida and were never seen again. One of the reasons the “Devil Tree” got its name was that it became an apparent sight for some dark exorcist-style ceremonies. People wearing dark hooded robes and a priest were allegedly seen performing some kind of ceremony over thirty years ago. It is unclear if there have been any other ceremonies performed since then.

Haunted Florida

Florida is filled with enticing attractions and terrifying locations, offering a little something for everyone. Check out our blog for more creepy tales, and be sure to book a ghost tour with Old City Ghosts to see some of these haunted hot spots in person!

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