Florida sells sunshine, but the state’s history has a darker side. Mobsters, murders, a cursed doll and a cemetery chair you sit in at your own risk. These are the most haunted places in Florida, and every one of them is a place you can actually go.
We teamed up with Shakti of The Florida Tribe to count down our 10 favorite Florida ghost stories. Watch the video, then use this guide to plan your own haunted road trip, with where each place is, how to visit and the history behind the legend.
Quick note: these are legends, and some have shaky history behind them. Where the facts and the folklore split, we say so.
Haunted Places in Florida at a Glance
- 1. Bloody Bucket Bridge: Wauchula
- 2. The Devil’s Chair: Lake Helen / Cassadaga
- 3. Robert the Doll: Key West
- 4. The Devil’s Tree: Port St. Lucie
- 5. Former Sunland Hospital site: Orlando
- 6. The Riddle House: West Palm Beach
- 7. Ashley’s: Rockledge
- 8. St. Augustine Lighthouse: St. Augustine
- 9. The Biltmore Hotel: Coral Gables
- 10. The May-Stringer House: Brooksville
1. Bloody Bucket Bridge (Wauchula)
Out in rural Hardee County, a small bridge on Griffin Road carries one of Florida’s most gruesome legends. The story says a midwife long ago smothered unwanted newborns, then dumped buckets of blood into the water below. Haunted by the sound of crying babies, she fell from the bridge and drowned in the same river. Locals say that under a full moon, the water still runs red.
Fact vs. legend: Skeptics point out that a bar called the Bloody Bucket stood nearby in the 1930s and ’40s, and the bridge itself wasn’t built until the 1940s. Creepy name, likely explanation.
📍 Griffin Road, Wauchula (Hardee County)
🕯️ How to visit: It is a working road bridge. Pull fully off the road, never stop on the bridge, and go in daylight.
2. The Devil’s Chair (Lake Helen / Cassadaga)
Cassadaga calls itself the Psychic Capital of the World, so of course its neighboring cemetery has a legend. In the Lake Helen–Cassadaga cemetery sits a brick, throne-like seat known as the Devil’s Chair. The dare: sit in it at midnight. Some say you’ll hear a whisper in your ear, others say the devil himself shows up to make a deal. Leave an unopened can of beer on the chair, the story goes, and it’ll be empty by morning.
📍 Lake Helen–Cassadaga cemetery, Volusia County
🕯️ How to visit: Visit during posted cemetery hours and be respectful, since this is an active burial ground. Pair it with a walk through the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp.
3. Robert the Doll (Key West)
Possibly the most cursed object in Florida. Robert was given to a Key West boy named Robert Eugene “Gene” Otto in 1904, and the stories started almost right away. Gene blamed Robert for everything that went wrong (“Robert did it”), and neighbors swore they saw the doll move from window to window.
Today Robert sits behind glass at the Fort East Martello Museum. The rule is simple: ask his permission before you take a photo. The walls around him are covered in letters from visitors apologizing for not asking, blaming him for car accidents, lost jobs and runs of terrible luck.
📍 Fort East Martello Museum, Key West
🕯️ How to visit: Regular museum admission gets you in to see Robert. Planning a late-October trip? Our Key West Fantasy Fest guide covers the island’s biggest Halloween party, and the Florida Keys guide covers the rest, and my best things to do in Key West has the full list.
Hear the island’s darkest stories on a guided walk through Old Town after dark.
Check Tour Times →A historic guesthouse in Old Town, an easy walk to Duval Street and the ghost tours.
Check Rates & Availability →4. The Devil’s Tree (Port St. Lucie)
This one is tied to real crime. Local lore connects a gnarled oak in Oak Hammock Park to Gerard John Schaefer, a former Martin County deputy convicted of murder in the 1970s and suspected in many more killings. The legend says he brought victims to this tree.
The rest is folklore, and it’s wild: chainsaws that break when people try to cut it down, workers who died after trying, and a hollow in the trunk filled with concrete that the tree simply grew around. Whatever you believe, locals will tell you one thing: don’t touch it.
📍 Oak Hammock Park, Port St. Lucie
🕯️ How to visit: A public city park with posted hours. Go in daylight and stay on the trails.
5. The Former Sunland Hospital Site (Orlando)
Sometimes the building doesn’t have to be standing. Orlando’s Sunland Hospital cared for children and adults with severe disabilities and closed in the 1980s after years of investigations into neglect and abuse. The main building was torn down in the late 1990s, and a playground now sits on part of the site.
Visitors describe an overwhelming sadness there, the feeling of being watched and the sound of children’s whispers. This is a place to visit quietly, if at all. The people who lived here were real, and so was what happened to them.
📍 Orlando
🕯️ How to visit: The site is now public park land. Be respectful. For the rest of your trip, see our Orlando vacation guide.
6. The Riddle House (West Palm Beach)
The Riddle House started life as a funeral parlor before becoming a private home, and it was later moved to Yesteryear Village on the South Florida Fairgrounds. Its most famous spirit is Joseph, an employee of homeowner Karl Riddle who, the story goes, hanged himself in the attic rather than face his money troubles.
Joseph has a reputation as one of Florida’s most aggressive ghosts, and he’s said to especially dislike men. Workers who moved the house reported tools thrown from the locked attic, and male visitors still report being pushed. The house was featured on Ghost Adventures in 2008.
📍 Yesteryear Village, 9067 Southern Blvd, West Palm Beach
🕯️ How to visit: Yesteryear Village runs nighttime History & Haunts tours on select dates through the year. Check the village’s calendar before you go. More ideas in our West Palm Beach guide.
Downtown, close to the waterfront and a short drive to the fairgrounds.
Check Rates & Availability →7. Ashley’s (Rockledge)
Ashley’s is a friendly, still-open restaurant on the Space Coast with a famous permanent guest. In 1934, a 19-year-old local named Ethel Allen was murdered and her body found near the Indian River. Her killer was never caught, and legend says her story is tied to the building, then known as Jack’s Tavern.
Guests report seeing a woman in 1930s shoes in the next restroom stall, only to find it empty, and a reflection in the mirror that isn’t their own. Fact vs. legend: local historians say there’s no proof Ethel was ever connected to the tavern, but that hasn’t slowed the stories down.
📍 Ashley’s, Rockledge (Brevard County)
🕯️ How to visit: Just go eat. It is a working restaurant, so be a good guest. Make a day of it with our Cocoa Beach guide.
An easy, budget-friendly base minutes from Ashley’s and the beaches.
Check Rates & Availability →8. St. Augustine Lighthouse (St. Augustine)
In the early 1870s, during construction of the new lighthouse, two daughters of keeper Hezekiah Pittee were killed when the supply cart they were playing on broke loose and plunged into the water. Visitors on night tours report children’s laughter from the top of the tower and footsteps running up the iron stairs, with no one there.
The lighthouse’s own Dark of the Moon tour is the only St. Augustine tour that takes you inside the lighthouse, grounds and keeper’s house after dark. It has also been featured on Ghost Hunters.
📍 St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Anastasia Island
🕯️ How to visit: Book the Dark of the Moon tour directly with the lighthouse. Visiting in November or December? See our Christmas in St. Augustine guide for Nights of Lights, plus the full St. Augustine vacation guide.
Walk the oldest city in America after dark with a guide who knows the city’s darkest stories.
Check Tour Times →A simple, central base close to the historic district and a quick drive to the lighthouse.
Check Rates & Availability →9. The Biltmore Hotel (Coral Gables)
A monument to 1920s glamour, jazz-age parties and murder. During Prohibition, the Biltmore’s 13th floor hosted a speakeasy and gambling scene, and in 1929 gangster Thomas “Fatty” Walsh was shot and killed there.
Fatty apparently never checked out. Staff and guests report the elevator heading to the 13th floor on its own, and stories of cigar smoke and the sounds of a party from a century ago. You can still book a room here, if you dare.
📍 The Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables
🕯️ How to visit: Book a room, grab a drink or explore the historic lobby. Plan the rest of your trip with our Miami vacation guide.
Book a night at the 1926 landmark itself and see if the elevator takes you to the 13th floor.
Check Rates & Availability →10. The May-Stringer House (Brooksville)
Many call it the single most haunted building in Florida. The Victorian-era May-Stringer House is now the Hernando Heritage Museum, and its most heartbreaking spirit is a little girl, Jessie May, who died in the house as a toddler in the 1870s.
Visitors report a small child crying for her mama, dolls in her room that seem to move on their own, and the feeling of a tiny cold hand slipping into theirs. Ghost hunters say there are many more spirits here, too.
📍 May-Stringer House, Brooksville (Hernando County)
🕯️ How to visit: Reservations are required for both history tours and the two-hour ghost tours, so book ahead. It is a short drive from the springs, so pair it with our Weeki Wachee guide.
Florida Ghost Tours Worth Booking
Want the stories without wandering a cemetery at midnight? A guided ghost tour is the easiest (and legal) way to do haunted Florida after dark.
- Key West: Key West Ghost & Mysteries Guided Tour
- Tampa: The Official Ybor City Ghost Tour or the Downtown Tampa Ghost Tour. Make a night of it with our Tampa vacation guide.
- Sarasota: Haunted Sarasota Trolley, ghost stories, mysteries and spooky fun on wheels
- St. Augustine: The Original Haunted History Ghost Tour, plus the lighthouse’s Dark of the Moon tour (book direct)
Looking for more Halloween fun? Our best Florida events in October 2026 guide covers Halloween Horror Nights, Howl-O-Scream, pumpkin festivals and more.
Most Florida parks and cemeteries close at sunset, and trespassing after hours can get you a fine. If you want the haunted experience after dark, book an official night tour. You’ll get the real history, and nobody gets arrested.
Compare the ghost tours: St. Augustine Haunted History Tour · Ybor City Ghost Tour · Downtown Tampa Ghost Tour · Haunted Sarasota Trolley (October only)
Haunted Florida FAQ
What is the most haunted place in Florida?
It depends who you ask. The May-Stringer House in Brooksville is often called the most haunted building in the state, Robert the Doll in Key West is the most famous single haunt, and St. Augustine is widely considered the most haunted city in Florida.
Can you actually see Robert the Doll?
Yes. Robert is on display at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West. Tradition says you should ask his permission before taking a photo, and the walls around him are covered in apology letters from visitors who did not.
Where is the Devil’s Chair in Florida?
The Devil’s Chair is a brick seat in the Lake Helen–Cassadaga cemetery, near the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Volusia County. Visit during posted cemetery hours and treat it as the burial ground it is.
Is the St. Augustine Lighthouse haunted?
It is one of Florida’s best-known haunts. Two of keeper Hezekiah Pittee’s daughters died in a supply-cart accident during construction in the 1870s, and visitors report children’s laughter and footsteps. The lighthouse’s own Dark of the Moon tour takes you inside at night.
What is the best ghost tour in Florida?
St. Augustine has the deepest lineup, including the lighthouse’s Dark of the Moon tour. Key West, Tampa’s Ybor City and Sarasota also run popular guided ghost tours, especially in October.
Is it legal to visit haunted places in Florida at night?
Only where it is open to the public. Many parks and cemeteries close at sunset, and trespassing after hours can get you a fine. Stick to official night tours or posted hours.
Which of these would you dare to visit? Let us know in the comments on the YouTube video, and if we get enough requests, we’ll dig up 10 more for part two.
🗺️ This spot is on our interactive Florida map
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