Haunted Hotels in Florida
Haunted Places to Stay in Florida
Florida’s 16 haunted hotels blend Spanish colonial spirits with Victorian resort tragedies and maritime disasters from centuries of hurricane devastation. When you search for haunted hotels online or on Google Maps, you’ll find over 33,000 matching results, but we’ve meticulously reviewed every single one to create the most realistic, historically accurate collection of truly haunted hotels you can actually visit and stay in.
These properties harbor souls of yellow fever victims, shipwreck survivors, Civil War casualties, and resort guests whose vacations ended in unexpected death. Experience tropical hauntings where Spanish conquistador spirits meet Gilded Age resort ghosts, creating supernatural encounters unique to America’s oldest continuously inhabited regions.
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Haunted Hotels in Apalachicola, FL
Gibson Inn
Address: 51 Ave C, Apalachicola, FL 32320
Phenomenons reported: Victorian Era Hotel Ghosts; Captain Wood Pneumonia Spirit; Mary Ellen Sunshine Gibson; Phantom Piano Music; WWII Military Officer Spirits
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1907 as the Franklin Hotel and renamed the Gibson Inn in 1923 by sisters Annie Gibson Hayes and Mary Ellen Gibson, this Victorian ‘Grande Dame of Old Florida’ became forever haunted during World War II when it was commandeered by the U.S. Army as officers’ quarters for nearby Camp Gordon Johnston, absorbing the trauma of soldiers who died from disease and combat injuries.
The inn’s most prominent ghost is Captain Wood, who died of pneumonia in Room 309 after returning from sea, his restless spirit now manifesting through late-night piano playing in the bar and dining room, unexplained footsteps echoing through empty hallways, and his gentle practice of moving guests’ shoes and tucking people into bed as if still providing maritime hospitality.
Mary Ellen ‘Sunshine’ Gibson haunts the second floor where she appears in her signature grey dress with hair in a bun, her ghostly presence making phantom phone calls to unoccupied guest rooms and the disconnected kitchen phone as she continues her eternal role as innkeeper.
The front desk receives countless calls from empty rooms while the piano plays melancholy sea shanties with no living performer, creating an atmosphere where the boundary between the living and dead dissolves in this coastal Florida sanctuary.
Located in Apalachicola’s historic district near Chestnut Street Cemetery, the inn serves as headquarters for local ghost tours exploring the ‘Forgotten Coast’s’ most haunted locations, while renovation work continues to disturb the spiritual residents who seem to welcome the attention rather than resist it, making the Gibson Inn a haunted haven where Victorian hospitality extends beyond the grave.
Haunted Hotels in Cedar Key, FL
Island Hotel & Restaurant
Address: 373 2nd St, Cedar Key, FL 32625
Phenomenons reported: Bessie Gibbs Dominant Hotel Ghost; Civil War Child Drowning Victim; Confederate Soldier Guard Spirit; Poisoned Businessman Simon Feinberg; Basement Cistern Child Ghost
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1859 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Island Hotel harbors at least 13 documented spirits from Cedar Key’s violent Civil War era, including the tragic ghost of a nine-year-old black boy who drowned in the basement water cistern while hiding from the brutal hotel manager during slavery’s final years.
The hotel’s most dominant spirit is Bessie Gibbs, who owned the inn from the 1940s through 1970s and continues her eternal hospitality from Room 29, which paranormal investigators declare is ‘probably a portal to another dimension’ where Bessie’s playful, story-telling personality manifests through cold spots, moving beds, and overwhelming spiritual presence.
A Confederate soldier stands eternal guard on the second floor, appearing each morning at sunrise in full Southern Army uniform at attention inside the balcony doors, possibly a casualty of Cedar Key’s Civil War occupation who died defending the hotel from Union forces. Simon Feinberg haunts the building as a ‘wandering ghost’ after being murdered by poisoning in Room 33, his spirit forever seeking justice for the food poisoning that killed him during a dinner meeting with his treacherous property manager.
The basement cistern where the slave child’s skeletal remains were discovered continues to manifest the terrified boy’s spirit, while séances conducted throughout the hotel confirm that Bessie leads a supernatural community of 13 ghosts who died during Cedar Key’s most violent periods, making the Island Hotel a haunted sanctuary where Civil War casualties, murdered businessmen, and drowned children continue their eternal residence.
Haunted Hotels in Coral Gables, FL
Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables
Address: 1200 Anastasia Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phenomenons reported: Gambling dispute murder, speakeasy operation, military convalescence, elevator manipulation
Why it's Haunted
Biltmore Hotel Miami in Coral Gables preserves the violent legacy of mobster Thomas ‘Fatty’ Walsh, who was murdered in the Everglades Suite on the thirteenth floor during a 1929 gambling dispute, transforming the opulent $10 million Mediterranean Revival palace into one of America’s most actively haunted luxury hotels where the portly gangster’s jovial spirit continues his eternal residence through playful supernatural pranks and protective oversight of the establishment he claimed as his criminal headquarters.
The hotel’s transformation into a Naval Convalescent Hospital during World War II, where over 6,500 wounded servicemen received treatment from 1943-1945, added layers of supernatural activity as the spirits of military personnel who died during medical care joined Walsh’s criminal ghost to create a diverse community of supernatural residents representing both organized crime and military sacrifice in the same Mediterranean corridors.
The Everglades Suite, formerly Walsh’s speakeasy and casino headquarters, remains the epicenter of paranormal phenomena where the gangster’s ghost manipulates lights, doors, and electronic devices while maintaining his jovial personality through pranks that startle but rarely threaten living guests, demonstrating how his larger-than-life character transcends death through protective and entertaining supernatural behavior that has made him the hotel’s most beloved ghostly resident.
Military spirits from the hospital era manifest through apparitions of soldiers in uniform who tap guests on shoulders before vanishing, while mysterious windows opening and closing during the hotel’s vacant years, phantom music echoing through empty ballrooms, and the spectral couple waltzing in elegant spaces before disappearing create an atmosphere where luxury hospitality meets authentic supernatural entertainment spanning multiple eras of American history.
The thirteenth floor serves as Walsh’s supernatural domain, where elevators arrive unprompted despite requiring special key card access, while his protective presence ensures that guests experience pranks rather than malevolent hauntings, creating a unique environment where organized crime history transforms into benevolent spiritual guardianship that enhances rather than threatens the luxury hotel experience.
Haunted Hotels in Fernandina Beach, FL
Florida House Inn
Address: 22 S 3rd St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
Phenomenons reported: Railroad boarding house, presidential visits, bootlegger lantern signals, bedroom invasions
Why it's Haunted
Florida House Inn in Fernandina Beach stands as Florida’s oldest operating hotel since 1857, where the spirits of Major Leddy’s wife and a melancholy male ghost continue their eternal residence in the railroad boarding house that hosted Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, industrialists Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, and the Prohibition-era bootleggers who used the widow’s walk lantern signals to coordinate their illegal operations.
Built as a railroad boarding house during Florida’s antebellum expansion, the inn accumulated supernatural residents through its service to Civil War figures, Gilded Age titans, and the dangerous criminals who transformed the property into a smuggling headquarters during Prohibition, creating layers of historical trauma that manifest in the bold female spirit who climbs into bed with unsuspecting guests and the sad-looking male apparition who roams the hallways in eternal sorrow.
Major Leddy’s wife maintains her posthumous claim to the inn through her brazen supernatural behavior, entering guests’ rooms uninvited and settling into beds alongside visitors who discover that death has not diminished her desire for companionship, while her manifestations demonstrate how Victorian-era proprietorship transcends mortality through protective and possessive haunting behaviors.
The melancholy male ghost presents a stark contrast to the assertive female spirit, his sorrowful presence manifesting through hallway wanderings that suggest unfinished business or tragic circumstances that bind his spirit to the historic property where he lived during the inn’s golden age of presidential visits and industrial magnate gatherings.
The widow’s walk serves as a supernatural beacon where Prohibition-era bootleggers received lantern signals indicating safe harbor for their illegal cargo, with this criminal activity creating psychic imprints that contribute to the inn’s reputation as one of Amelia Island’s most haunted locations featured prominently on the Museum of History’s popular ghost tours.
The inn’s location in Fernandina Beach’s historic district, surrounded by other haunted landmarks including the Williams House, Bosque Bello Cemetery, and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church cemetery, creates a supernatural corridor where multiple centuries of Florida history manifest through ghostly encounters that range from melancholy wandering to bold bedroom invasions.
Haunted Hotels in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Riverside Hotel Fort Lauderdale
Address: 620 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phenomenons reported: European-style luxury, steamship boarding house influence, New River waterway connection
Why it's Haunted
Riverside Hotel Fort Lauderdale on Las Olas Boulevard stands as a historic luxury landmark since 1936, where the spirits of its golden age continue their eternal residence alongside the echoes of the New River Inn’s tragic history that created the supernatural foundation for Fort Lauderdale’s most persistently haunted hospitality district along the waterways that once welcomed steamship travelers and witnessed countless human dramas unfold.
Built during the Great Depression as an elegant European-style establishment on the New River adjacent to the historic Stranahan House, the hotel occupies a location steeped in supernatural activity from the nearby New River Inn, where pioneer Philemon Nathaniel Bryan died in 1915 after operating the steamship boarding house that became the spiritual epicenter for paranormal phenomena that now permeates the entire Las Olas corridor.
The ghostly presence of LuLu Marshall, a young student from Ivy Stranahan’s 1899 elementary class who died tragically young, continues to manifest throughout the historic district, with her spirit in vintage clothing playing in hallways and peering from windows of buildings along the river, including sightings near the Riverside Hotel where her childhood energy creates an atmosphere of innocent haunting that connects the modern luxury accommodation to Fort Lauderdale’s pioneer heritage.
The spectral figure of a rancher or cowboy, believed to be connected to the New River Inn’s boarding house era, paces the waterfront area including the vicinity of the Riverside Hotel, his restless spirit glaring at modern visitors as if protecting the territory where steamship passengers once disembarked to begin their Florida adventures, while his presence demonstrates how the supernatural energy from the original inn continues to influence the entire riverside hospitality district.
The hotel’s location on the New River creates ideal conditions for paranormal activity, as waterways are renowned for their ability to conduct spiritual energy, while the proximity to the Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale’s oldest building and site of numerous reported hauntings, establishes the Riverside Hotel within a supernatural corridor where multiple centuries of human experience manifest through ghostly encounters that blur the boundaries between Fort Lauderdale’s pioneer past and its modern luxury present.
Haunted Hotels in Hollywood, FL
Historic Hollywood Beach Resort
Address: 101 N Ocean Dr, Hollywood, FL 33019
Phenomenons reported: Al Capone hangout, sex worker strangulation, suffocation murders, elevator manipulation
Why it's Haunted
Historic Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood dominates the eastern terminus of Hollywood Boulevard since the 1920s, where the horrific choking murders of sex workers by Al Capone’s associates in Room 202 during the 1930s created one of South Florida’s most violently haunted accommodations, transforming the former gangster hangout and bible college into a supernatural prison where the Choking Ghost continues its eternal reign of terror on the second and seventh floors.
Built as Al Capone’s favorite retreat during Prohibition, the hotel served dual purposes as a luxury destination and criminal headquarters until the brutal strangulation and suffocation murders of multiple women on the second floor created a psychic imprint so powerful that the victims’ spirits continue to manifest through the terrifying phenomenon of invisible hands choking sleeping guests and making breathing impossible in Room 202 where the original killings occurred.
The Choking Ghost phenomenon terrorizes modern visitors with phantom hands that grab throats during nighttime hours, while guests report feeling invisible fingers pressing against their windpipes and experiencing the sensation of being suffocated by unseen forces that recreate the violence perpetrated by Capone’s criminal associates in the space that witnessed their most heinous murders.
The second floor serves as the epicenter of supernatural activity, where guests consistently report being followed down hallways by unseen entities that whisper their names and call out to them, while the cold temperatures in Room 202 become so extreme that visitors can see their breath despite Florida’s tropical climate, creating physical evidence of the traumatic energy that refuses to dissipate from the murder scene.
The hotel’s transformation from luxury accommodation to bible college and back to resort accommodation could not cleanse the building of its violent supernatural residents, as the spirits of the murdered women continue their attempts to communicate their tragic fate through banging noises in the middle of the night, disembodied voices echoing through empty corridors, and the persistent manifestation of cold spots that mark the locations where their lives ended in brutal fashion.
The seventh floor adds another dimension to the hotel’s supernatural activity through floating orbs and strange lights that many paranormal investigators attribute to roaming spirits, creating an atmosphere where multiple forms of supernatural manifestation occur simultaneously throughout the property that cannot escape its connection to organized crime violence and the innocent victims who died at the hands of Al Capone’s murderous associates.
Haunted Hotels in Key West, FL
Marrero's Guest Mansion
Address: 410 Fleming St, Key West, FL 33040
Phenomenons reported: Cuban bigamy, cigar maker fortune, estate dispossession, maternal protection
Why it's Haunted
Marrero’s Guest Mansion in Key West carries the heartbreaking story of Enriquetta Marrero, whose spirit is said to still linger within its walls. Built in 1889 by Francisco Marrero, a Cuban cigar maker, the mansion was meant to entice Enriquetta to move to Key West.
The couple raised eight children there, believing it was their forever home. But tragedy struck when Francisco died suddenly on a business trip to Cuba. After his death, it was revealed that he had another, legal wife, Maria, in Cuba. Maria claimed the estate, and through the courts, she successfully stripped Enriquetta and her children of everything.
Devastated, Enriquetta left the mansion, vowing to return in spirit and never truly leave. Today, guests believe she keeps that promise. Suite 7, once her bedroom, is the center of most activity. Visitors report smelling lavender — her favorite scent — and witnessing her ghost search for her lost hairbrush. Some encounters are gentle and comforting, while others are frightening, depending on whether Enriquetta approves of the guests.
The mansion’s transformation into a guest house hasn’t diminished her power. Chandelier swaying, doors locking from the inside, and even phantom baby cries from the old nursery (Rooms 17 and 23) are common. Built on Key West’s “Bone Island” limestone bedrock, which is said to amplify paranormal energy, Marrero’s Guest Mansion remains a haunting reminder of love, betrayal, and a mother’s eternal devotion.
Haunted Hotels in Lake Helen, FL
Hotel Cassadaga
Address: 355 Cassadaga Rd, Lake Helen, FL 32744
Phenomenons reported: Friendly Spiritualist Movement Ghosts; Psychic Capital Supernatural Vortex; Deceased Medium Spirits; Gift Shop Poltergeist Activity; Spiritualist Camp Historical Phantoms
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1927 within the 57-acre Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp established in 1875 by New York medium George P. Colby, Hotel Cassadaga operates as both a historic inn and spiritual sanctuary in America’s ‘psychic capital of the world’ where mediums, healers, and spiritualists practice communication with the dead.
The nearly century-old hotel is haunted by friendly spirits who died during the early days of the spiritualist movement, their presence manifesting through objects shooting across the gift shop, mysterious touches, room items being moved by invisible hands, and the overwhelming sensation of being watched by benevolent entities who welcome guests seeking spiritual connection.
The hotel’s location within the spiritualist camp creates a supernatural vortex where the veil between worlds remains perpetually thin, allowing deceased mediums, former hotel guests, and spiritualist community members to continue their otherworldly communications through séances, psychic readings, and paranormal encounters that guests experience throughout the property. Visitors report hearing disembodied voices, feeling unexplained touches, sensing invisible presences, and witnessing objects move independently as the spirits of long-dead spiritualists demonstrate their continued ability to interact with the living world.
The hotel’s connection to decades of spiritual practices, séances, and communication with the dead has created a concentrated supernatural environment where ghosts are not feared but celebrated as proof of life after death, making Hotel Cassadaga a unique haunted destination where paranormal activity is considered a normal part of the spiritual experience rather than something to be feared.
Haunted Hotels in Micanopy, FL
Herlong Mansion
Address: 402 NE Cholokka Blvd, Micanopy, FL 32667
Phenomenons reported: Family Estate Ghost Inez; Bedroom Mirror Apparitions; Electromagnetic Anomalies; Construction Worker Encounters; Victorian Period Dress Spirit
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1845 by the Simonton family as a simple Florida ‘cracker style’ farmhouse and transformed into a grand Greek Revival Neo-Classical mansion in 1910 when Natalie Simonton married wealthy entrepreneur Zetty Herlong, the mansion became forever haunted by Inez Herlong Miller, who died from a diabetic episode in her childhood bedroom after spending 18 years battling her five siblings in court for ownership of the family estate.
Inez’s restless spirit manifests most powerfully in her former room where guests report seeing her apparition through the dressing table mirror, floating across the room draped in a red shawl, while others hear her gentle voice, smell unfamiliar perfume, and feel mysterious mists of water sprayed on their faces during the night.
Electromagnetic field readings spike dramatically at the top of the stairs and in Inez’s room, while paranormal investigators document the phantom footsteps of a woman who fought for decades to reclaim her birthright only to die alone in the mansion she finally won.
A mysterious woman in period dress appears on the second-floor veranda before dawn, watching guests from thirty feet away before vanishing when startled, while construction workers renovating the mansion fled after hearing doors opening and closing upstairs accompanied by footsteps that ceased only when Inez’s name was called aloud.
The mansion’s tragic history of family conflict, legal battles, and premature death created a supernatural concentration where Inez continues her eternal vigil over the home she died trying to possess, making Herlong Mansion a haunted monument to obsessive love and familial greed in rural Florida.
Haunted Hotels in Monticello, FL
1872 Denham Inn
Address: 555 W Palmer Mill Rd, Monticello, FL 32344
Phenomenons reported: Diphtheria death, heart attack, cotton fortune, lantern vigil, child mortality
Why it's Haunted
The 1872 Denham Inn in Monticello, Florida, is often called the crown jewel of America’s most haunted small town. Built by Scottish immigrant John Denham, who made his fortune in cotton trading, the Italianate mansion has witnessed generations of family tragedy. Between 1868 and 1951, several members of the Denham family died within its walls, turning the home into one of the South’s most intensely haunted bed and breakfasts.
John Denham died of diphtheria in 1874 at the age of 54, setting the stage for a series of untimely deaths. His daughter, Mary Mason Clark, suffered a fatal heart attack on the third floor in 1911, while Fannie Mason Kurtz, a later proprietor, passed away before the living room fireplace in 1951. Today, John’s spirit is said to keep a nightly vigil. Guests often report seeing a phantom lantern glowing in the cupola, where he once watched over his cotton empire.
The inn’s most haunted space is the Blue Room, where Sarah Denham’s ghost rocks eternally in her chair, waiting for someone long gone. Mary Mason Clark’s spirit is said to rule the third floor, while an elderly lady ghost roams several bedrooms, greeting guests as if Southern hospitality never died.
The mansion also echoes with the voices of children, including six-year-old Jane Palmer Denham, whose laughter and music are heard late at night. Restored by Patricia Inmon, the Denham Inn now welcomes both living guests and its permanent ghostly residents, making it a must-visit landmark for paranormal enthusiasts.
Haunted Hotels in New Port Richey, FL
The Hacienda, a Historic 1927 Boutique Hotel
Address: 5621 Main St, New Port Richey, FL 34652
Phenomenons reported: Child Ghost Matilda; Prohibition Era Bootlegger Spirits; Ladies of the Night Phantoms; Secret Basement Tunnel Hauntings; Assisted Living Facility Deaths
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1927 in Spanish Colonial Revival style during New Port Richey’s dream of becoming ‘the Hollywood of the East,’ The Hacienda operated as a luxury hotel harboring secret tunnels, bootleggers, brothels, and gangsters during Prohibition before serving as an assisted living facility where numerous elderly residents died within its salmon-colored stucco walls.
The hotel is haunted by Matilda, a little girl who came to visit her grandmother during the assisted living era and died tragically, her spirit now floating through hallways and appearing as mysterious blue orbs dancing to rock music in the former grand ballroom.
The basement’s hidden rooms, once used for gambling, drinking, and prostitution, manifest the spirits of ‘ladies of the night’ who died violent deaths at the hands of dangerous clients, their presence announced by the phantom scents of perfume and cigar smoke while coins and money move on their own across gaming tables. Investigators experience bed linens mysteriously rearranging themselves after stepping onto balconies, while workers commonly walk through pockets of inexplicably cold air in rooms where elderly residents breathed their last breaths.
The secret staircase leading to three basement bedrooms serves as a supernatural highway where bootleggers, gangsters, and murder victims continue their illicit activities in death, while paranormal investigators document electromagnetic anomalies and floating apparitions in tunnels that once smuggled illegal alcohol and now harbor the restless souls of those who died pursuing forbidden pleasures during America’s most lawless era, making The Hacienda a haunted repository of Prohibition-era violence and elderly care facility tragedies.
Haunted Hotels in Orlando, FL
Monumental Hotel Orlando
Address: 12120 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32821
Phenomenons reported: No recorded deaths, modern paranormal activity, equipment responses, electromagnetic phenomena
Why it's Haunted
The Monumental Hotel Orlando, located on International Drive, is one of Florida’s most mysterious haunted locations. Built in 2003, the hotel has no known history of deaths, murders, or tragedies, yet it has become a hotspot for paranormal activity that defies conventional haunting theories. This modern property draws investigators from around the world who are eager to uncover why spirits seem to inhabit a place with no apparent past trauma.
The hotel’s reputation for supernatural phenomena began soon after it opened. American Ghost Adventures, ranked among the world’s top ghost tour companies, conducts regular investigations here and has documented consistent and unexplained events. These include EMF spikes that seem to jump between devices, sudden phantom breezes in sealed rooms, and door handles rattling violently without any mechanical cause, suggesting an intelligent presence at work.
Investigators also report cold spots appearing out of nowhere in climate-controlled areas, electronic devices turning on by themselves, and flashlights being knocked to the ground from stable surfaces. The use of ghost-hunting tools like the Ovulus often produces words and responses believed to come directly from spirits.
Some speculate that the hotel’s location in Orlando’s bustling tourist district contributes to this activity. With millions of visitors bringing intense emotions and energy, the environment may provide fertile ground for unexplained phenomena. Guests have reported feeling phantom touches, witnessing paranormal equipment activate, and experiencing sudden, dramatic temperature drops. Today, the Monumental Hotel stands as a modern haunted mystery, blending contemporary hospitality with chilling, unexplained encounters.
Haunted Hotels in Safety Harbor, FL
Safety Harbor Resort and Spa
Address: 105 N Bayshore Dr, Safety Harbor, FL 34695
Phenomenons reported: Sacred spring healing, salt obsession, supernatural wellness treatments, phone call phenomenon
Why it's Haunted
Safety Harbor Resort and Spa in Tampa Bay blends natural mysticism with supernatural legend, built around the famous Espiritu Santo Springs, first discovered by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1539. Long before Europeans arrived, the Tocobaga Indians considered these waters sacred for their healing properties. Centuries later, Dr. Salem H. Baranoff transformed the site into a health resort, dedicating his life to natural wellness and strict salt-free diets. His devotion was so intense that many believe he never truly left, continuing his mission from beyond the grave.
The most well-known phenomenon at the resort is Dr. Baranoff’s obsession with salt. Guests and staff report salt shakers mysteriously sliding across tables, vanishing completely, then reappearing in bizarre locations like towel closets or behind televisions. These ghostly antics are said to be his way of removing “sodium temptations” that he believed corrupted the healing energy of the sacred springs.
Other strange occurrences happen throughout the property. Massage therapists feel unseen hands on their shoulders, while clients sometimes report feeling extra hands working on them during treatments. In the restaurant, music systems turn on and blare at full volume without explanation, and certain offices remain unnaturally cold despite climate controls.
Housekeepers often hear disembodied voices calling their names, and empty rooms mysteriously place phone calls to the front desk. Today, Safety Harbor Resort stands as a unique haunted destination where five centuries of spiritual history converge, and where Dr. Baranoff’s ghost continues to guide and protect the sacred waters he so deeply cherished.
Haunted Hotels in St. Augustine, FL
Casa Monica Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection
Address: 95 Cordova St, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phenomenons reported: Gilded Age Socialite Spirits; Flagler Suite Child Ghost; Lady in White Phantom; Ragtime Piano Hauntings; Henry Flagler Era Ghosts
Why it's Haunted
Built in 1888 by Franklin W. Smith and purchased four months later by railroad tycoon and Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler, the Casa Monica Resort stands as Florida’s most haunted hotel, where the ghosts of Gilded Age socialites and tragic deaths continue to manifest in America’s oldest city.
The Flagler Suite harbors a ghostly child who leaves mysterious handprints on the first-floor bathroom mirror, while housekeeping staff report hearing voices saying ‘We’ve been expecting you’ when entering rooms that are completely empty, the phantom greeting suggesting spirits who died awaiting loved ones who never arrived.
The Ponce de Leon Suite is terrorized by a lady in white who has been photographed multiple times, her spirit turning radios on by themselves as she dances eternally to waltz music that plays at 4:50 AM, possibly the ghost of a socialite who died during the hotel’s 1920s heyday when it hosted celebrities and wealthy northerners escaping harsh winters.
Guests throughout the resort report phantom footprints appearing on carpets like invisible dancers, furniture moving mysteriously during the night, and the sounds of ragtime piano music echoing from empty halls where long-dead guests continue their eternal revelries.
The paranormal activity has become so pervasive that housekeeping staff work in pairs to avoid encountering the numerous spirits alone, while guests consistently report hearing their names called by disembodied voices and witnessing 1920s-attired figures dancing in the lobby during the pre-dawn hours when the veil between worlds grows thin, making Casa Monica a haunted monument to Florida’s Gilded Age where Henry Flagler’s railroad empire brought both wealth and supernatural residents who refuse to check out.
Haunted Hotels in St. Petersburg, FL
The Ponce De Leon Hotel
Address: 95 Central Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Phenomenons reported: Florida Land Boom period, waterfront construction, bed shaking phenomenon, guest flight
Why it's Haunted
The Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Petersburg has stood along Florida’s waterfront since 1922, earning a reputation as one of the state’s most haunted landmarks. Originally built during Florida’s Land Boom as a luxurious Mission Revival–style destination, the hotel now draws paranormal investigators and ghost tour enthusiasts seeking to experience its dark side.
The sixth floor is the epicenter of the haunting, notorious for disturbing activity so intense that guests often abandon their rooms in the middle of the night. Reports include beds shaking violently on their own, sudden cold spots, and an overwhelming sense of dread. Even front desk staff acknowledge the floor’s reputation, warning curious visitors of its terrifying history.
The haunting was investigated by the nationally televised show Ghost Hunters, which documented unexplained temperature shifts, electromagnetic spikes, and physical manifestations on the sixth floor. The evidence suggested a powerful, intelligent force that claims this part of the hotel as its own domain.
The identity of the spirit remains unknown, but many believe a traumatic event or violent death occurred there long ago. Its aggressive behavior — moving furniture and overwhelming guests with feelings of fear and despair — points to deep emotional energy imprinted on the building.
Some theorize that the hotel’s waterfront location on Tampa Bay amplifies the haunting, as bodies of water are often linked to paranormal activity. Today, the Ponce De Leon Hotel stands as one of Florida’s most fearsome haunted destinations, where luxury and supernatural terror collide.
Haunted Hotels in Tampa, FL
Hotel Flor Tampa Downtown, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
Address: 905 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33602
Phenomenons reported: Major General Clarence Tinker Pearl Harbor WWII Ghost; Sapphire Lounge Surefire Military Soldier Spirits; Florida First Skyscraper 1927 Historic Phantoms; Transient Housing Decline Death Residents; Tony Markopoulos Restoration Preserved Architecture Hauntings
Why it's Haunted
Originally opening in 1927 as the Hotel Floridan after construction beginning in 1926 at a cost of $1.9 million, Florida’s first skyscraper became forever haunted when it served as the tallest building in the state until 1966, witnessing nearly a century of Tampa’s most significant historical events including World War II soldier training, prohibition-era activities, and the tragic decline into transient housing that attracted desperate souls who died within its walls during the hotel’s darkest operational periods.
The hotel’s supernatural epicenter is the former Sapphire Lounge, nicknamed ‘Surefire Lounge’ by WWII soldiers who frequented the establishment for good times before shipping overseas to die in combat, their spirits returning to the renovated space now called The Dan restaurant where friendly ghosts continue seeking the camaraderie that death denied them during America’s bloodiest conflict.
The property harbors the tragic spirit of Major General Clarence L. Tinker, the highest-ranking Native American officer and first general killed in action during WWII, who was drinking at the Sapphire Room bar when he received word of the Pearl Harbor attack before departing for his fatal mission, his restless presence continuing to manifest throughout the hotel’s historic corridors.
The building’s paranormal activity intensified during its decline from 1960s-1989 when it operated as transient housing for Tampa’s most desperate residents, many of whom died alone in weekly rental rooms during the structure’s transformation from luxury accommodation to urban decay, their forgotten souls refusing to abandon the skyscraper that became their final earthly refuge.
Following hotelier Tony Markopoulos’s $18 million restoration that reopened the hotel in 2012 as Hotel Flor Tampa, the meticulously preserved architectural details created an atmospheric backdrop where WWII military spirits, prohibition-era patrons, and transient housing victims coexist in Florida’s most historically significant haunted skyscraper, making this Tampa landmark a supernatural monument to the state’s architectural heritage and the tragic souls who found both luxury and despair within its towering walls.
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