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After having published Ghosts of St. Augustine (Pineapple Press, 1997) and Ancient City Hauntings (Pineapple Press, 2004), I thought I was finished with ghosts for a while, but they weren’t finished with me. Out of the blue, I was given an opportunity to write Ghosthunting Florida, covering the whole state. I immediately jumped at the chance, and now my ghosts and I are back in business.

My interest in ghosts and the inexplicable events we all encounter during our lives has been casual but persistent. I am as sensitive to the paranormal as a bull gator, but I have had many, many experiences that have mystified me and that I cannot explain. And I have so many questions. What are ghosts really? And exactly, physically, where is “the other side,” or Heaven, or whatever you may call it? And why do some ghosts stick around and others don’t? And clothes! Those who see ghosts, apparitions, almost always see them dressed in period clothes. Clothes are inanimate, so how can they be transported to the afterlife?

And why doesn’t everyone believe in ghosts? There are volumes of research that make it pretty clear to me that the death of the physical body is not the end, and yet so many still deny the existence of an afterlife. Deborah Blum in her excellent book, Ghost Hunters (Penguin Books, 2006), examines the studies conducted by William James, brother of author Henry James, and a group of highly respected scientists during the nineteenth century. Their studies were meant to bring understanding of life after death and to bridge the gulf between science and faith, to make psychic research a legitimate branch of science. Still, there are skeptics.

Ghosthunting Florida, along with the other books in the America’s Haunted Road Trip series, seeks to answer some of these questions and to sway skeptics with accurate, objective observations and experiences, and then let the reader draw their own conclusions. Whether you’re a paranormal investigator, an amateur ghosthunter, or just someone who enjoys a good ghost story, you will like this book and find it useful. In addition to the stories, which I have arranged by region, I have included a ghosthunting travel guide, Visiting Haunted Places, which provides detailed information about visiting the sites written about in this book and a list of resources.

For those who might wish to do their own ghost hunting, here are some guidelines and rules of etiquette:

1 Conduct all your investigations with an open mind and don’t be fooled by the “evidence.” No one has yet proven scientifically beyond a doubt that ghosts actually exist. You probably won’t be the one to do it, so be non-judgmental and open about what you experience and observe. And be skeptical of the evidence you gather by examining all possible explanations.

2 Interview witnesses separately, so that they don’t influence each other with their testimony.

3 Document all your activities. When professional and serious paranormal investigators visit sites, they are often loaded with infrared cameras, EMF meters, and all manner of highly sensitive equipment. If you have that sort of equipment, by all means use it. I don’t, but I like to carry a pen and notebook, a tape recorder, and a camera. It is helpful if each member of your party carries the same equipment also. The tape recorder is good for recording interviews, and you might catch unidentifiable sounds or voices from a site.The camera is a great tool, too. You might be surprised by what you pick up with your camera that you can’t see with your eyes. Most often bright, white spots—orbs—will appear. They can often be attributed to reflections, dust particles, water spots, and the like, but sometimes, when you enlarge these photos there seems to be no explanation for anomalies. Orbs are actually quite common.

4 Respect the site. Respect the history of a haunted site and the people who inhabited it. Take nothing from the site and leave nothing. Do not enter any site without permission and observe the rules and regulations. A special note about cemeteries: Cemeteries are sacred places, and they tend to be very haunted, often by malevolent spirits, so once you get permission to visit a cemetery after hours, don’t visit alone and always try to include an experienced person in your group. You should never enter any site without permission. If you obey the rules and use a little common sense, people will be more inclined to help you in your explorations.

5 Respect the privacy of your contacts. Some people may tell you their stories but, for whatever reason, may not want to reveal their identity. Respect their wishes. I used real names in this book, unless permission was not given to do so, in which case I used pseudonyms which I marked with an asterisk (*) after the name.

6 Be a knowledgeable ghosthunter. This is important. Study the literature. Learn from serious ghosthunters and paranormal investigators. We do not know or understand the laws that govern the world of spirits, and exploring that world is traveling into the unknown. The experts say that the more you know about it, the better your chances of being successful—and of keeping safe. And never, ever resort to dubious psychic “tools,” such as Ouija boards, which can, in inexperienced hands, summon unwanted and uncontrollable spirits. I urge you to read and learn from the experts before venturing forth on your own ghosthunting expedition.

As I said, I am not very sensitive. Yes, I have experienced the inexplicable, have been overwhelmed by feelings of negative energy, have seen images that may or may not have been apparitions, but I am no psychic, and I am sure that my imagination had much to do with many of my experiences. But I have sensitive friends, most particularly my sometimes sidekick, Joanne Maio. She doesn’t like to be called psychic, but she is extremely sensitive, so much so that she often is asked to walk through buildings and areas suspected of being haunted and give her impressions.

I have divided the state into five geographical regions: The Keys and the South, West Central, East Central, North, and the Panhandle. Each is unique in its own way. Because Florida is such a long state, over one thousand miles from Key West to Pensacola, I would recommend visiting each area separately, taking time to enjoy all the many interesting places in each region. There are many excellent guides to day trips around the state, and ghosthunting activities can easily be incorporated into these excursions, even on extended weekend mini-vacations. In fact, many readers of my previous books have said that they’ve used the stories as springboards for their children to research and study the history and culture of particular places.

For the avid ghosthunter and paranormal investigator, the Ghostly Resources section in the back of the book provides a listing of online resources, books, and organizations helpful to me in researching the stories. The organizations listed are especially open to assisting others delve into the mysteries of the other side.

I hope you will enjoy Ghosthunting Florida and find it useful and entertaining as you conduct your own explorations of the spirit world. Please feel free to contact me through my publisher if you would like to share your experiences. Don’t forget to check out the other books in this series; even though you might not be able to visit the sites, the books contain some great stories!

Now, buckle up and join Joanne, my intrepid wife, Sue, and me as we begin ghosthunting Florida.

Dave Lapham

Orlando, Florida