Visit These Sites If You Dare: Tampa's Most Haunted Places

TAMPA, FL -- It's one thing to visit a staged haunted house during the Halloween season. But are you brave enough to venture into a building where visitors have reported seeing real spectral figures?

There are a number of historic buildings in Tampa where spooky happenings are reported year round.

Tampa Theatre

Movie-goers enjoyed silent films featuring actors Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton when the Tampa Theatre at 711 N. Franklin St. opened in 1926. Today, the theater continues to be a popular venue for classic films for movie lovers - alive and dead.

According to locals, the Tampa Theatre is haunted by a number of spirits including Foster "Fink" Finley, the theater's first projectionist. Finley worked in the theater starting in the 1940s and reportedly died there from a heart attack in 1965.

Theater staff believes he continues to roam the theater. Finley was a chain-smoker and, at times, staff has seen cigarette smoke hovering in the air of the projection booth. Theater-goers occupying the back two rows of the balcony nearest the projection booth swear to smell cigarette smoke although smoking has long been prohibited.

The ghost of Rosa Rio may also linger in the theater.

The theater's Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ is a 1,400-pipe instrument installed to accompany silent films and Rosa Rio was the organist who played it until she died in 2010 at the age of 107.

Video by Aaron1912

On nights when the public has gone, staff claim to hear Rosa playing the organ. She's also very protective of the antique instrument. A theater manager accidentally stepped back into the orchestra pit and was about the fall on top of the organ when Rosa diverted her fall so she wouldn't damage it.

Then there's the Lady in White who has been seen pacing backstage and the mysterious man who appears in seat 308.

Courtesy Tampa Theatre

The theater hosts the Ghosts of the Tampa Theatre Tour on selected nights in October but reservations are a must because tours sell out quickly.

The 75-minute tour kicks off in the lobby and includes climbing stairs and extended periods of standing. Doors open 15 minutes before tour time.

Tickets are $15. There are still tickets available for tours at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26; 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27; 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Oct. 25 and Oct.28-29; 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25; and 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31.

Ybor City

No place in Tampa Bay can claim more hauntings than Ybor City.

Founded in 1885, the city was built on the backs of Cuban and Italian immigrants who came to America seeking a better life. Many ended up working for one of the city's cigar factories. And hundreds were killed in fires in the city's hastily constructed wood-frame buildings and during the yellow fever epidemic in the 1900s.

The largest fire in Tampa's history occurred on March 1, 1908, at 1914 12th Ave., according to Tampa Fire Rescue. The fire originated in the wood-shingled roof of a boarding house and quickly spread to more than 17 city blocks. An untold number of adults and children perished in the blaze. Store owners swear they can still hear the laughter of the fire's youngest victims.

During Prohibition, Ybor City became a notorious hangout for gangsters. Gambling czar Charles Wall used political connections to set up a bolita gambling racket in Ybor City during the 1920s and opened the lavish sporting parlor, the El Dorado Lounge, at 8th Avenue and 14th Street. It became a refuge for underworld figures and the scene of drive-by shootings at the hands of Wall's rival, Salvatore Trafficante Sr.

Additionally, the upper floors of the El Dorado were rumored to be the "largest house of ill-repute outside of New Orleans."

Between 1930 and 1959, Tampa witnessed more than 25 gangland killings, most of them in Ybor City. Among them, on Nov. 10, 1936, George "Saturday" Zarate, a drug trafficker for New York gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was gunned down in front of the El Dorado. A year later, Joe Vaglichi, whose brother was Al Capone's bodyguard, died in a hail of bullets from another passing car in front of the gaming parlor.

Ybor City's former Don Vicente Hotel is considered one of the most haunted buildings in the United States, according to Haunted Rooms.. Built in 1895, the structure served as a hotel, a meeting house (El Bien Publico) and a medical clinic.

Jose Luis Avellena Jr. and his disembodied nurse are said to haunt the basement of the Don Vicente. There are also reports of a mad doctor who experimented on patients and then burned the bodies in the basement incinerator.

Courtesy Historic Ybor

When the hotel was operating, Room 305, in particular, was a reported hot spot for paranormal activity. Guests reported seeing the apparition of a man at the foot of the bed. Other common hauntings in the Don Vicente included flickering lights, creaky footsteps, doors opening and closing and faucets turning on and off.

Another infamous haunted venue is the The Cuban Club. Built in 1917, it was named one of the most haunted buildings in the U.S. by the Travel Channel. The hauntings at the historic club are attributed to the ghosts of two people who died in the building during the 1920s. One is an actor who committed suicide on stage. The other is a board member who was murdered by a fellow board member during a heated argument.

Courtesy Cuban Club

Visitors have reported a piano playing by itself, the elevator moving up and down although no one pressed the button and entities walking the halls dressed in period clothing.

The old Florida Brewery Company building at 1234 E. 5th Ave., is the tallest building in Ybor City. Before the founding of Ybor City, the property was the site of the Government Spring.

Discovered in 1824, the spring provided water to Fort Brooke. Later, a swimming pool and ice factory were built on the site.

In 1896, Vicente Martinez-Ybor decided to try his hand at brewing beer. The successful Florida Brewing Company produced beer until 1961. A cigar company then took over the space in the '60s, bricking over many of the windows to keep the tobacco fresh. The building doubled as a Cold War bomb shelter.

During the 1980s, the building fell into disrepair and the tower and roof collapsed.

In 1999, the Swope Rodante Law Firm spent millions to restore it but the renovations failed to discourage the spirits that reportedly haunt the building.

Photo courtesy Swope Rodante Law Firm

One ghost story dates back to the opening of the brewery. To celebrate, the brewery offered free beer and a fight broke out between two men who imbibed a bit too much. One man of Cuban descent sustained severe head injuries in the fight and died. Visitors now claim to see a drunk man with a Hispanic accent hanging around the building.

Now and then, visitors can catch a glimpse of restless spirits dressed in immigrant clothing and zoot suits and Fedoras during the official Ybor Ghost Tour. The ghost tour is expanding its schedule for the Halloween season with Sunday night tours. Tours run select nights through Oct. 27 and include an exploration of the Cuban Club, the Don Vicente, cigar shops and other venues.

The tours are $25 for adults and $10 for children 8-12 . There is special pricing available on Tuesdays. The tour is not open for children under 5 years old and children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For times and reservations, click here.

For those more fascinated with the mob, Tampa Mafia Magazine hosts the Tampa Mafia Tours with Scott M. Deitche, author of seven books on the mob including Cigar City Mafia and The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr.

Deitche takes groups on 1 1/2 to two-hour walking tours through Tampa’s Mafia history.

The tour takes visitors to old gambling palaces, street corners and alleys where mobsters met their demise and restaurants where wise guys like famed mob boss Santo Trafficante Jr. held court.

Upcoming tours take place Saturday, Nov. 16 and Dec. 7 at 3 and 6 p.m. Tickets are $30. Click here.

Courtesy Tampa Mafia Magazine

Henry B. Plant Museum

The Henry B. Plant Museum with its distinctive Moorish minarets is now part of the University of Tampa. But from 1891 to 1933, it was a luxurious 511-room hotel that served as a grand winter resort for the rich and famous including Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, the Queen of England, Booker T. Washington and Stephen Crane.

Apparently, some of these guests refused to check out and continue to haunt the halls today.

People have reported hearing the disembodied voices of long-dead servants and the sounds of rolling dice in the hotel's former gambling casino. Students report an eerie feeling of being watched and doors opening and closing on their own.

The best-known specter is the entity known simply as "The Brown Man." He's described as a man wearing a brown suit with glowing red eyes. He appears and vanishes on staircases throughout Plant Hall.

There is also a phantom couple who have been seen dancing the night away in the hotel's former ballroom.

Visitors may catch a glimpse of these spirits when the museum at 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. hosts An Eerie Evening at the Tampa Bay Hotel Oct. 25-26 from 7 to 10 p.m.

Those attending will explore the museum by lantern and candlelight, hear true creepy tales of poisonings and unexplained deaths, learn about Victorian mourning and funerals customs, and create haunting images with spirit photography.

There will be light refreshments on the veranda, a close look at macabre items from Dysfunctional Grace Art Co. and an opportunity to shop in the Museum Store.

Advanced ticket purchases are strongly encouraged due to limited space. This event is intended for visitors age 16 and above. Tickets are $25 per person. Click here.

Courtesy UT

Fort Brooke Municipal Parking Garage

The last place you'd expect to find ghosts is in a municipal parking garage. But there are those who swear that the Fort Brooke parking garage is haunted.

That may be because the parking garage was built on top of a long-forgotten cemetery.

In 1823, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun ordered the establishment of a military post on the east bank of the Hillsborough River in Tampa near Hillsborough Bay. The post was named Fort Brooke after its commander, Col. George Mercer Brooke, and became a vital outpost during the two Seminole Indian wars.

The massacre of Francis Dade and 108 of his men by Seminole Indians began as a march from Fort Brooke to Fort Dade in Ocala. The main fort sat on the site of today's Tampa Convention Center.

Two cannons from the fort were relocated to the University of Tampa campus.

Courtesy Tampa Bay History Center

When the city of Tampa began building the Fort Brook parking garage in 1980, workers unearthed a cemetery that contained the remains of soldiers and Seminole Indians. The soldiers were reburied in military fashion and the remains of the Seminole Indians were relocated to the grounds of the Seminole Indian Reservation off Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa.

Preservationist were careful to treat the remains with respect. But it's possible they didn't recover all of the bones. Parking patrons say they have heard the ghostly sounds of Native Americans drumming and chanting, and have seen strange shadow figures.

Sulphur Springs Water Tower

As evidenced by today's Gasparilla Festival, a big part of Tampa's history featured pirates and privateers who would hide their booty-filled galleons in the shelter of the Hillsborough River.

The Hillsborough River next to the Sulphur Springs Water Tower is reported to have been one of the places pirate ships landed.

Courtesy Tampa Bay History Center

The water tower was built atop an artesian well in 1927 by Grover Poole to provide adequate water pressure to the Sulphur Springs Hotel and Mave's Arcade that developer Josiah S. Richardson built next to the therapeutic sulphur springs. But before the tower was constructed, the site was supposedly home to a lighthouse that served as a marker on many pirate treasure maps.

According to local legend, it is now haunted by the spirits of long-dead pirates who are still searching for the treasure that was never recovered. Over the years, there have been sightings of a ghost ship flying a flag emblazoned with crossbones. Some have claimed to see a terrible sea creature dragging the spectral figure of a little girl into the waters of the Hillsborough River.

Two years after the existing tower was constructed, the Sulphur Springs Tower, then one of the tallest structures in Tampa, became the preferred jumping-off point for suicidal investors who lost everything in the 1929 stock market crash.

One psychic who explored the area reported seeing misty apparitions walking around the top of the tower and then leaping off. Backyard Films explored the myths surrounding the tower.

The Old Federal Courthouse

The Old Federal Courthouse plays prominently in Tampa's haunted history.

Completed in 1905, the Old Federal Courthouse building at 601 N.. Florida Ave. was designed by James Knox Taylor, the supervising architect of the United States Treasury in Washington, D.C. The Beaux Arts-style building was originally designed for the United States Post Office but also served as a courthouse and customhouse.

Today, it's Le Meridien Hotel. However, despite extensive renovations, the building hasn't been able to escape its notorious past.

Gangster Charlie Wall, who founded the El Dorado Lounge casino in Ybor City, reportedly spent a great deal of time in the courthouse dodging charges of racketeering and prostitution in the 1930s and '40s.

Courtesy Tampa Bay History Center

He became best known for testifying before a federal committee investigating organized crime in 1950. Apparently, Wall spilled it all, detailing a multitude of crimes and underworld secrets for the committee. Three days later, he was gruesomely murdered. His ghost has reportedly been seen hanging out on the courthouse steps. His murder remains unsolved so, perhaps, he's still seeking justice.

Crown Colony House

A theme park is hardly a place you'd expect to find ghosts but, believe it or not, the Serengeti Overlook Restaurant, formerly the Crown Colony House, at Busch Gardens is said to be haunted.
Both staff and diners report strange happenings like trays of food suddenly flipping over, dancing orbs, moving shadows and a mysterious waft of cigar smoke.

Courtesy Tampa Bay History Center

The ghost-hunting team, Haunted South, even recorded some of these spooky happenings when Busch Gardens allowed the paranormal researchers on its grounds in 2008 to investigate. Haunted South picked up electronic voice phenomenon and mysterious electromagnetic impulses in the restaurant.

The restaurant was built in 1964 as a Valentine's Day gift for the third wife of Anheuser-Busch founder August Busch. It closed in 1982 for remodeling and reopened in 1990. That's when employees and diners began reporting strange happenings -- cold spots, a phantom playing the piano and the ethereal appearance of an 8-year-old girl named Wendy.

Oaklawn Cemetery

The oldest public burial ground in downtown Tampa, Oaklawn Cemetery, is the final resting place of notable Tampa residents like cigar magnate Vicente Martinez-Ybor.

Located at the corner of Morgan and Harrison streets, the cemetery was founded in 1850.

Most notable about the cemetery, whites and slaves alike were buried there. It also contains the gravesites of pirates, Confederate soldiers, Second Seminole War soldiers and yellow fever victims. With that kind of history, hauntings are a given.

According to Deborah Frethem, author of Haunted Tampa: Spirits of the Bay (2014), among the spirits haunting the cemetery is a man named Charles Owen who was hanged in 1882 after he broke into the home of a wealthy Tampa family and attempted to rape the daughter.

According to Frethem, the shadow of a man hanging from a oose occasionally appears near Owen's grave at sunset.

History 6 Feet Under leads a tour titled "Oaklawn Cemetery: What Lies Beneath," as well as Haunted Tampa Ghost Walk and Spirits and Spirits Stroll tours.

Friends of Historic Oaklawn Cemetery

Upcoming Haunted Tampa tours are scheduled Oct. 25-26, 30-31, Nov. 1-2 at 7:45 and 9:45 p.m.

Oaklawn Cemetery tours are scheduled Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. Click here for reservations.