Back To US RAT Sites RAT Sites Weird Museums Mystery Spots Back Home The Underground Railroad
FL Africa Queen (boat) Key Largo, FL
FL Alcazar Hotel, St. Augustine More Info
FL A 30 Foot Lobster that resides Treasure Village at Mile Marker 86.7 on Plantation Key in the Florida Keys.
FL An Immense Alligator Mouth that serves as the entrance to the Gatorland Zoo in Orlando, Florida.
FL Big Bamboo Lounge ( looks terrible outside, great inside) Kissimmee,FL
FL Big John ( muffler man type) Cape Coral, FL
FL Boat & Trailer Races, Bithlo, FL
FL Coral Castle, Homestead ,FL
FL Coral Gables City Hall, Miami, FL More Info
FL A Large Coral Reef located outside the Italian
Fisherman Resturant in Key Largo, Florida. ![]()
FL Drive Thru Funeral Home, Pensacola, FL
FL Edible town of Two Egg
FL Figure 8 School Bus Race, Bithlo, FL
FL Florida's Splendid China, Orlando? FL
FL Giant's Camp, Show town USA, really strange, 10 miles S. of Tampa, FL
FL Giant Orange, on US 1 north of Melborne, FL
FL Great Dane Statue, (40 feet) Orlando, FL ( recent victim of 18 wheeler hit & run!)
FL Giant Lobster, The Keys, mile marker 86.7, Plantation Keys, FL
FL Haunted Mansion,mile marker 13,Kissimmee,FL
FL Hotel Ponce de León, St. Augustine More Info
FL House built just like a UFO,heading from Gulf Breeze to Pensacola beach & Navarre.
FL Iwo Jima Statue,visible from Veterans Memorial Bridge,from Fort Myers to Cape Coral,FL
FL Johnny Donutseed (25') Lloyd, Florida (exit 32 State Road
59)
FL Large upside down building on the main tourist drag, International Drive, Orlando, FL
FL Swampy, the Largest Gator ever built, Christmas, FL
FL Miami Police Museum, a must! Miami, FL
FL Monkey Jungle, Miami, FL
FL Museum of Opium, Humen, FL
FL Parrot Jungle, Miami, FL
FL Jayne Mansfield's Death car, Tragedy in US History Museum,
FL Possum Monument, Wausau, FL
FL Possum Capital of the World & bronze plaque, Chipley, FL
FL Soloman's Castle, some where in a central Florida swamp. Good hunting!
FL Spongeorama, Tarpon Springs, FL
FL The Bubble Room, weird restaurant bar,Orlando, FL
FL The Bubble Room, weird restaurant & bar, Captiva Island,FL
FL The factory for Randall Knives in Orlando (Rt 41) Orland More Info
FL Town of Small pox Tommies Old Place, FL
FL The Ralph M. Munroe House, Miami FL More Info
FL The Venetian Pool is at 2701 DeSoto Boulevard in Coral Gables, no backroads but neat, FL More Info
FL Waterways of Beer Can Pond, Muck Lake and Rotten Egg Slough, FL
FL World's smallest post office, ( 7'by 8' ) Ochopee, FL
FL World's Smallest Police Station ( phone booth?) Carabelle, FL
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FL, The American Police Hall of Fame and Museum
Miami, FL
FL, The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing"Anything to go faster!!" Ocala, FL
FL South Miami Beach/Washington Ave. and 11th St. FL
FL The Wolfsonian Foundation Museum of Decorative and Propaganda Arts,
covering "the arts of reform and persuasion" and aspects of vernacular
and public design 1895-1945.
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These places have strange powers. Approach with great caution!
Spook Hill, Lake Wales, FL
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FL British Fort, Sumatra vicinity, FL. More Info
FL Mose Site, St. John's County, FL. More Info
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| Coral
Gables - Biltmore Hotel - unexplained noises and lights are seen here. Here is a history
on that Biltmore hotel. It was served at a hotel in the early twenties and then they
used it as a hospital during WWII and many people died in that place. In 1968
they chose to turn it back into a hotel and in 1983 they spent over 55 million to restore
the hotel. Jacksonville - Carriage House Apartments - apartment 40 is haunted by previous residents, it is no longer is use as an apartment due to numerous complaints. Jacksonville - Homestead Restaurant - ghost of Alpha Paynter is seen by the fireplace. Miami - Hirschfield Theater - footsteps and other unexplained events are common here. St. Augustine - Abbot Mansion - haunted by 2 spirits, Miss Lucy and The Captain. West Palm Beach - Burger King - a young man haunts this store. He has been seen by numerous employees. Orlando - Zuma Beach night club - an old woman ghost has been seen by the stage. When she comes it gets real cold. Key West - Ocean Key House Resort - Third Floor Suite facing Duval Street - Cold spots during the day. At night, sounds of keys and objects moved around on dresser, sound of sighing, and feeling of someone sitting down on the bed while you're in it! Day or night, upon returning to the room, the lights and curtains are never in the condition in which you left them. Sarasota - The Old Women's Dormitory - building at the Ringling School of Art and Design has been haunted for decades by a ghost named Mary. It used to be a hotel in the 20s and she committed suicide in the stairwell between the second and third floors. It is now an unused fire escape. She has been observed walking the corridors (out of the corner of the eye, turning a times, a resident would enter her room and her paintbrushes would be slowly swirling in the water of the rinse cups as if someone had just spun them around and let go. Sanford - New Tribes Mission - Former hotel is now home to missionaries from New Tribes Mission. In the East Wing there have been disturbances of many kinds including poltergeist activity and cold spots. To date there has been no formal paranormal investigation due to fear of bad press, but an informal check shows that something is going on there. Daytona Beach - Northeast side of
the Orange Avenue Bridge - at the bridge approach. A dark-haired woman in a
nightrobe has been reported. There have been reports of flying objects such as
chairs in the area, even when there is no wind. There is reputable documentation Tallahassee - Florida State University, Cawthon Hall Dormitory - According to a story reported in the University newspaper, The Florida Flambeau during the summer of 1971, numerous students have related encounters over the years with a poltergeist in an old dormitory. According to the report, several years prior to the University's becoming coed in 1949, a female student was sunbathing on a balcony on the roof of the shadowy gothic building. As is typical in Florida, a sudden and particularly violent thunderstorm arose to the east of the building, and welled up ominously over the campus. Although the sky directly above the dormitory was blue, a freak lightning bolt snaked across the sky, curling over the building's turrets striking a sunbathing female student, killing her instantly. Since that time, subsequent occupants of the room she occupied have reported mysterious object movements, unexplained sounds in the room at night, and at times an overwhelming sense of another individual present in the room. Sometimes students would find that common items, such as stacks of books or pictures, would be moved around during the day, with no apparent rhyme or reason, other than perhaps a restless spirit seeking to maintain her link with the world of the living. Anastasia Island - The Lighthouse - near St. Augustine, 3 known spirits: one of a small girl who was hit by a train and killed there around 1900; one of a man who hung himself (when, not known), and one unidentified spirit in the basement of the keeper's house. During the 1980's, when the keeper's house was being restored, workers spent the nights in the place to protect it from vandals. They would wake up in the middle of the night to see a small girl in old-fashioned clothes watching them. She would then vanish. The workers would also sense things during their work and would look up to see an apparition of a man hanging from a rafter. The spirit in the cellar has never been seen, but workers at the lighthouse all report an uneasy feeling when they're down there alone, especially at closing time when the place is very quiet. There have also been stories of footsteps on the lighthouse stairs when there's no one around. The guides there are very open about the ghosts. There are many good reasons for the lighthouse and keeper's house to be haunted: the man who hung himself, the little girl who was killed by the train, a lightkeeper who fell to his death while painting the former lighthouse (very close to the newer one), and 13 executed pirates who were buried behind the lighthouse. Also, there has been some form of a lighthouse on the site since Ponce De Leon in the 1500's. St Petersburg - Don Cesar Resort - Reported sightings of the now deceased owner. Orlando - Belleveiw Mental Hospital - Belleveiw was an old Mental hospital in the Pine Hills section of Town. Many reports of poltergeist activity voices and screams. Now it is closed, awaiting repairs or demolition. Rockledge - Ashley's restaurant - has a ghost that will often "play" with employees and guests. The building is right on the railroad tracks it's rumored that a woman was killed by a train there. St. Augustine - Flagler College - once Ponce de Leon Hotel, has numerous ghost stories, most of which are in Ponce de Leon hall, the girls' dormitory. One such story is how the mistress of Henry Flagler haunts the 4th floor where she hanged herself. The room is boarded up, but some students venture up to peek in the keyhole still. On I-75, South of Gainesville - Wayside Antiques - Employees have reported to hear a voice from the back of the huge antique store call them by name, usually when they're opening or closing the store. Also, in one of the upstairs showrooms (right corner of the building facing I-75) is a antique dresser. A little girl, in period clothing, has been seen playing in the room around the dresser. She is usally only seen by psychics or those with honed psychic senses but others have reported a coldness or presense in the room. Orlando - Sunnyland Hospital - It used to be a hospital for people with T.B, back when there was no immunization, and people would go crazy. Then it became a hospital for mentally insane people or retarted people that families didn't want to take care of. It was closed down several years ago (at least 15) . The place has had all the windows and doors busted out, but beds still remain made with hospital paraphenalia lying around. The weirdest thing is that the third floor has always remained locked and noone has ever been able to get in there. If you go to the hospital late at night you can here shuffling and whispering coming from up there. And the sound of things being dropped . Melbourne - Miquels Mexican Restaurant - was once Doc Sloan's House. Doc Sloan was a bootlegger during prohibition and the rich guy in town. He built a fancy Mediterranean style house on what was then the edge of town. His three year old daughter caught herself on fire and died on the second floor of the structure. Since that time people have heard a child screaming, sometimes a child crying and many times things move about with no explanation. Tallahassee - The old mental hospital - is rumored to be hanuted. Apparantly, many of the residents were not treated properly and some even died. Although the hospital has been closed for years, curious ones who drive by claim to see lights on inside and people looking out the windows then disappear. Micanopy - The Herlong Mansion - Inez was the oldest of 6 siblings. They fought for 20 some odd years over the house after their mother passed away. The day Inez took possession of the house she had a diabetic seizure (I think) and died in her childhood bedroom. That room remains haunted. The Herlong Mansion is now a bed & breakfast and has been investigated by professional ghost hunters. Panama City - Confetti's a Nightclub/Eatery - Objects moving and a smoky apparition have been observed by the staff here. Brooksville - The Brooksville Heritage Museum - People have seen and heard things unexplained things in that mansion that is now a museum. Pensacola - Light House - There is a story about the light house on the navy base (NAS) being haunted by the former keeper. People have felt cold spots while touring the light house. Oviedo-The Celery Fields of Chapman
Road Miami Beach-Colony Theater Palatka-San Mateo First Church of
the Nazarene Ft.Pierce-The Boston House Fernandina Beach-Amelia Island Melbourne-The Henegar Center Gainesville-13th Street Wal-Mart Key West-The Hemingway House- Safety Harbor-The Safety Harbor Spa
Resort- Kissimee-Hunters Creek- Lakeland -Florida Southern College-
Tampa-Old Tampa Theater- Orlando-Disney World- Treasure Island- Cocoa Village-The Cocoa Village
Playhouse- Ocala-Ritz Historical Inn- Oveido-The Oveido Lights- Palm Beach Island- Marianna- Bellamy Bridge- Downtown St Petersburg- Deltona-Pineridge Highschool- Fort Myers- Williston- Longwood-The Old Longwood Hotel- Milligan-Cobb's Cemetery - Winter Park-Rollins College-Ann
Russel Theater- Miami-Deer Run-"Curtis
Mansion"- Coral Springs- |
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| I also
will suggest on a separate post (for your convenience) that the factory for Randall Knives in Orlando (Rt 41[Orange Blossom Highway] south off Rt 4 about three miles and about 6-8 miles north of Orlando BMW) be a RAT site. There is a nice knife museum with letters from US presidents (sorry, Bill C's not there), WWII/Korea/Nam vets, astronauts, movie stars, etc. who have used Randall custom knives. See also www.randallknives.com. |
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| In 1882, Henry Flagler, New York entrepreneur and cofounder of Standard Oil, became interested in the historic city of St. Augustine and its potential as a winter resort. Flagler's subsequent development of transportation and resort facilities in St. Augustine and along the east coast of Florida spurred rapid development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A focal point of this development was Flagler's Hotel Ponce de León. In 1887 Flagler hired two young architects from the prominent New York firm, McKim, Mead, and White, to design the hotel. With the design of the Ponce de Leon, John Carrere and Thomas Hastings launched a new architectural firm, Carrere & Hastings, which would gain national prominence. Flagler chose the Spanish Renaissance Revival style so that the hotel's design would compliment its historic surroundings. Retained to decorate the interior of the hotel, Louis C. Tiffany used stained glass, mosaics and terra cotta relief on the walls and ceilings and commissioned several grand murals. The hotel was the first large scale building constructed entirely of poured concrete. The popularity of "the Ponce" and its style strongly influenced the architecture of southern Florida for the next fifty years. The success of the Hotel Ponce de Leon was short-lived, however, as a series of weather related disasters struck Florida's coast in the 1890s. The Great Depression and World War II forced the closing of the hotel. In 1967 the hotel was sold to Flagler College. It has been renovated and retains most of its original integrity. |
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| The 1889 Spanish Renaissance Revival style Alcazar Hotel was the second luxury hotel constructed by Henry Flagler. The design of the Alcazar was inspired by the royal palace in Seville, Spain. With its two large towers, many spires and red tile roofs, the Alcazar lives up to its name derived from the Arabic word Al-kasr or "royal castle." The St. Augustine City Hall and the Lightner Museum now occupy the hotel. |
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| Originally a rock quarry, the Venetian
Pool is situated in a residential area of Coral Gables. Used as a source of coral rock for
construction during the early years of Coral Gables, the quarry was later turned into a
public pool. Coral Gables Corporation architect Phineas E. Paist and artistic advisor
Denman Fink designed a pool inspired by the lagoons of Venice. The Venetian Pool was
completed in 1924. The pool is surrounded by several Spanish style buildings, a garden
patio and a grotto. The grotto is carved from the coral rock of the quarry walls with
waterfalls, a cave and a rock diving platform. Spanning one section of the pool is a
Venetian style bridge leading to an artificial island with large palm trees. The terra
cotta roof tiles, observation towers and loggias of the pool's buildings continue a
tradition of Mediterranean-inspired design found throughout Coral Gables. |
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Coral Gables City Hall was designed in
1927 in the Mediterranean Revival style by local architect Phineas Paist and artistic
advisor Denman Fink. The Coral Gables City Hall is one of the city's finest civic
buildings and a focal point when entering the city. The richly ornamented building is
constructed largely of coral rock. The tower interior is highlighted by a mural, painted
by Denman Fink, which depicts the four seasons.![]()
|
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| The Ralph M. Munroe House, located in the community of Coconut Grove, is the oldest home in Dade County still in it's original location. Munroe, one of Coconut Grove's earliest settlers, was a noted yacht designer, photographer, and naturalist. Munroe constructed his home, which he called the Barnacle, in 1891. For 22 years he served as the "Commodore" of the Biscayne Yacht Club, during which time he designed over 55 different boats. His last surviving vessel, Micco, was destroyed by a hurricane in 1992. Commodore Munroe preserved the original tropical hardwood forest, known as a hammock, on his estate. Today, it is one of the few places where visitors can see a remnant of the once vast "Miami Hammock". |
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| British Fort, a National Historic
Landmark, like Fort Mose in St. John's County, Florida, is a precursor site to the
Underground Railroad, demonstrating that resistance to slavery arose decades before
abolitionism became organized and influential. Located in northwest Florida's Franklin
County, approximately 15 miles from the mouth of the Apalachicola River, British Fort is a
symbol of the strong relationship between runaway slaves and the Seminole Indians. During
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, slaves from the Carolinas and Georgia
escaped to northern Florida, at that time under Spanish control, and sought and received
refuge from the Seminole Indians. In return, the runaway slaves would cultivate crops,
paying one-third of their produce to the Indians. Seminoles welcomed the development of
black communities alongside their villages. Knowledgeable in the white man's languages of
English, French, and Spanish, the fugitive slaves often acted as interpreters and
intelligence agents for the Seminole community. In the summer and fall of 1814, near the conclusion of the War of 1812, British Major Edward Nicholls led an expedition to recruit Seminoles and blacks to assist the British fight against America. British soldiers and the black and Indian recruits constructed a fort 500 feet from the river bank on Prospect Bluff, which they called British Post. Consisting of an octagonal earthwork holding the principal magazine and surrounded by an extensive rectangular enclosure covering about seven acres with bastions on the eastern corners having parapets 15 feet high and 18 feet thick, the fort was used as the British headquarters for negotiations between the black and Indian communities. In 1815 when the British withdrew from the area, the fort, including its artillery and military supplies, were given to the many blacks and a few Indians that had moved into it, seeking the protection it offered and cultivating successful and profitable plantations around it. The fort became known as "Negro Fort" and it served as a "beacon of light to restless and rebellious slaves." In 1816, the American army, under the command of Major General Andrew Jackson, constructed Fort Scott on the Flint River a few miles from Florida to protect the American border between Georgia and Florida and to destroy Negro Fort, which was perceived as a threat to white slaveholders in Georgia. In July of that year, Jackson gave the order to destroy Negro fort and to return the blacks to their white owners. In the insuing warfare, an American shell hit an open magazine within the fort, killing approximately 300 men, women, and children. The few survivors were taken prisoner and turned over to Georgia slaveholders who justified their title to them by saying that their ancestors had owned the ancestors of the prisoners. This "savage and negro war," as Andrew Jackson himself called it, was devised to destroy black towns in Florida, depriving slaves of bordering states of a refuge, while at the same time bringing the entire Florida province under American rule. In 1818, Jackson ordered Lieutenant James Gadsden to build a new fort (which became known as Fort Gadsden) upon the site of the old Negro Fort, due to its strategic location on Apalachicola River. American forces were garrisoned their until Florida ceded to the United States. British Fort, or Fort Gadsden, is located in the Apalachicola National Forest and is a short distance from State Road 65, near Sumatra, Florida. The site is open to the public seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. |
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| A National Historic Landmark, Fort Mose
is a precursor site of the Underground Railroad, demonstrating that resistance to slavery
was both early and fierce, and that it arose decades before abolitionism became organized
and influential. The fort, established as part of the northern defense line for Spanish
St. Augustine during the mid-18th century, was the earliest known legally sanctioned free
black community in the present United States. Its site contains archeological evidence of
Native American occupations and the later British, second Spanish, and American presence. Fort
Mose's inhabitants were mainly runaway black slaves from the British colonies of South
Carolina and Georgia, who escaped to freedom to Spanish, Florida in small groups at least
as early as 1687. The Spanish Governors of Florida established Fort Mose in 1738,
abandoned it in 1740, but reestablished the fort at a nearby site in 1752. In defending
their freedom and Spanish Florida in the middle decades of the 18th century, the black
inhabitants of Fort Mose played a significant role in the geopolitical conflicts between
Britain and Spain in the Southeast. The Fort Mose site is a state conservation site and is located in St. John's County, Florida. It is not accessible to the public. |