Fort Pickens: The Haunted Sentinel of the Gulf

Sunlit brick walls of Fort Pickens on a clear, sunny day just before sunset.

The road to Pensacola crawled that morning. Dusty and I had already conquered every cup of coffee the truck could carry before we finally reached the causeway that led into Gulf Islands National Seashore. Traffic melted away as white dunes swallowed the skyline, and the Gulf turned the color of polished glass. Somewhere under a … Read more

Jeep Cave: A Curious Hollow Hidden in the Withlacoochee

Entrance of Jeep Cave framed by roots and limestone in the Withlacoochee Forest.

Some places don’t announce themselves — they just sit quietly in the woods, waiting for someone curious enough to look twice. Jeep Cave is one of those places. A small limestone hideout tucked deep in the Withlacoochee Forest, it feels less like a destination and more like a secret you stumble into on a wandering … Read more

Mannfield Ghost Town: The Night They Stole a Courthouse

They didn’t just steal the papers.No—Florida’s never been one for subtle crimes. In 1891, under a moonless sky, a gang of Inverness men rolled into Mannfield, Florida, and stole the entire courthouse—records, furniture, clerk, and all. By sunrise, the county seat was gone, and Mannfield’s heart went with it. Today, little remains of this ambitious … Read more

Jessie Mae Still Cries: The Haunted History of the May-Stringer House

The May-Stringer House in Brooksville, Florida at dusk, framed by oak moss.

Brooksville, Florida They say three-year-old Jessie Mae still cries for her mother inside this house—more than 160 years after she died. Visitors swear they hear her at the top of the stairs, a small, aching voice calling “Mama…” into the dark. It’s a haunting thought, isn’t it? A child’s sorrow suspended in time, echoing through … Read more

Potter’s Wax Museum — St. Augustine, FL

Dim hallway inside the Chamber of Horrors.

Where Legends Live… and Sometimes Look Back There’s a quiet corner of St. Augustine where the past doesn’t just linger —it stares right at you.Unblinking.Perfectly still. Or so they say. Tucked into the old village is Potter’s Wax Museum, the first wax museum in the United States. From the outside, it looks harmless enough — … Read more

Old St. Johns County Jail — St. Augustine, FL

Front exterior of the Old Jail in St. Augustine, Florida — pastel pink Romanesque Revival structure with barred windows and palm trees.

Where Pastel Walls Can’t Hide the Dark There’s a strange kind of beauty standing on San Marco Avenue — a two-story Romanesque Revival building shaded by palms and painted the softest bubblegum pink. From a distance, you could mistake it for an Old Florida inn, the kind of place with rocking chairs and lemonade on … Read more

Dames Cave & Peace Cave: The Echo Under the Earth

Some places whisper their stories. These caves?They echo them. Deep in the Withlacoochee Forest, two sinkholes carved into Florida’s limestone belly — Dames Cave and Peace Cave — wait like open mouths in the earth. Their edges are framed in ferns, roots dangle like veins, and the ground drops away without warning. These are some … Read more

The Docket Never Sleeps: Haunted Osceola Courthouse

Front of the Old Osceola County Courthouse lit at night, Kissimmee FL

Haunted History in the Heart of Kissimmee They still talk about the morning of January 19, 1912. The air was crisp, the crowd pressed against the picket fence, and the rope swung gently in the dawn light. When the trap gave way, a man dropped—and legend says the rope never stopped swaying. Today, workers in … Read more

Florida’s Segregated Ghost Cemeteries: A Haunting History

Spring Hill Cemetery under an Oak Hammock

A single road north of Brooksville divides more than land — it divides memory.On one side, beneath the tangled arms of live oaks, lie the weathered graves of Confederate settlers. On the other, the red clay of Spring Hill cradles African American veterans, freedmen, and children so young their names fit on a single line … Read more