Haunted Places in Hillsborough County, Florida



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    Center Place

    Brandon, Florida

    A spirit called (for some reason) "Matilda" is said to haunt this building. She was seen by at least one witness, and others claim to have either felt her presence or actually seen paintings and other objects move without explanation. Allegedly at one point local news reporters came ...

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    Britton Cinema

    Tampa, Florida

    Staff and visitors alike have reported several strange occurrences. Toilets flush on their own and doors mysteriously get locked in the ladies room. Apparitions have been seen in one of theatres. Ghostly voices were heard in the hallway outside theatre #5, and an usher swears someone called ...

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    Blake High School

    Tampa, Florida

    A cold spot is felt in the exact place in the auditorium where a teacher died years ago of a heart attack. The back of the library has a similar cold spot where people get "eerie feelings". The main theatre sometimes has strange lights appear in the wings, ...

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    Falk Theatre

    Tampa, Florida

    Once the Park Theatre, now called "Falk Theatre." Back in the "Park Theatre" days an actress named Bessie Snavely supposedly hung herself in her third floor dressing room. Her ghost is said to haunt the entire theatre.

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    Old Tampa Theater

    Tampa, Florida

    A projectionist from the 1940s supposedly haunts this theatre. Staff hear his footsteps and chains rattling in the hallways and behind the stage. Some claim to even see him up in the projecting room when it is supposed to be empty. There are reports of weird "bad ...

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    Don Vicente Inn

    Tampa, Florida

    Staff report a ghost in the lady's basement bathroom. The Travel Channel once ran a TV special on this hotel.

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    Myrtle Hill Cemetery

    Tampa, Florida

    The mausoleum here is supposedly haunted by a girl named Stephanie, who was killed in a car crash.

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    Sugar Palm Ballroom - 1550 E. Palm Ave

    Tampa, Florida

    For a short time in the late 1990s, this building housed the "Sugar Palm Ballroom". Guests at the Sugar Palm would occasionally see a ghostly figure wandering the hallways. During renovations in 2000 workmen complained that they were constantly harassed by unseen entities.

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    Bigelow-Helms Mansion

    Tampa, Florida

    This home dates to the early 1900s and is known as the "Bigelow-Helms Mansion", though lately it is used as office space for various businesses. People often claimed they heard screams and yelling from the building at odd hours of the night, and in general just got really weird vibes from ...

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    Hopewell Church Cemetery

    Tampa, Florida

    Although its called the "Hopewell Church Cemetery", no church stands here anymore. And don't confuse it with the American Legion Cemetery just next door. The one you want is surrounded by an old brick wall and has two wrought-iron gates at either end. The caretaker of the ...

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    Kennedy Blvd and Marion St

    Tampa, Florida

    Tim Reeser mentions this "haunted intersection" in his book, "Ghost Stories of Tampa Florida". Apparently Kennedy and Marion was the site of the old "Florida House Hotel". This hotel burned to the ground in Victorian times, and one of the victims was a little girl who was asleep ...

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    HMS Architecture Building - USF Tampa

    Tampa, Florida

    The fourth floor of this building - particularly room 469 - is considered to be haunted by a malevolent-feeling spirit by the late-night staff. Voices are heard, and on at least one occasion a wind-chime started jangling all by itself. One worker saw a spectral German Shepherd dog ...

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    Tampa Florida Brewery Building

    Tampa, Florida

    Ybor City has a rich history, and with it comes several ghost stories, including one about the drunken Cuban ghost at the Tampa Florida Brewery. Now the Swope Law Group’s law offices, rumor has it that at the old brewery's opening ceremony, where free beer was available, two drunken men ...

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    Cuban Club - Circulo Cubano de Tampa

    Tampa, Florida

    The Cuban Club, now a site rented out for events, was built in 1917 to serve the Cuban community. It has been the site of two deaths: One was an actor who committed suicide on the stage, the other was a murder in which one board member shot another in ...

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    Plant Hall

    Tampa, Florida

    Onetime Tampa Bay Hotel servants are said to haunt the Science Wing. Witnesses have felt something watching them and had an eerie feeling. Apparitions have been seen all over the campus; in fact, folks say ghosts abound in this University of Tampa hall after hours—and there are quite a few ...

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    Fort Brooke Parking Garage

    Tampa, Florida

    Built in 1980, this municipal parking garage was built over a cemetery. The bones unearthed during the construction were deemed to be the remains of soldiers and Native Americans. Although the bones were removed and properly placed, some say they have heard the ghostly sounds of Native Americans drumming and ...

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    El Centro Espanol - The Spanish Club

    Tampa, Florida

    The 1912 El Centro Espanol building is home to some strange occurrences. Folks say that the sound of crying babies can be heard in the building when there are no babies around. Also, when candles are blown out, they sometimes re-ignite.

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    L'Unione Italiana - The Italian Club

    Tampa, Florida

    In this building, over a century old, folks say a ghost named Virginia sometimes makes an appearance on the front staircase. Reports say Virginia was once a member of the cleaning staff.

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    University of South Florida Library

    Tampa, Florida

    Ghostly legend here tells of a young woman named Gottlieb, an English major who worked on the library's fourth floor, was found hanging from an oak tree. Foul play was suspected, and after that, strange things happened at the library. Book carts moved by themselves, automatic doors opened without being ...

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    Ybor City Museum

    Tampa, Florida

    Kim Cool mentions this haunting briefly in her book, "Ghost Stories of Tampa Bay." The claim revolves around the Ybor City Museum gift shop, and a particular book that frequently moves to different places around the shelves, and sometimes even flies violently to the floor when no one is ...

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    Ybor Factory Building - Ybor Square

    Tampa, Florida

    This factory was built in 1886 by Vicente Martinez-Ybor - at the time it was the largest cigar-factory in the world. It changed hands a number of times through the 1950s, but always remained in the cigar business, until it became Ybor Square in the 1970s. Now it ...

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    Gaspar's Grotto

    Tampa, Florida

    Haunted bars are a dime a dozen, but how many of them actually provide photographic proof that they're haunted? Gaspar's Grotto does - they proudly display two photos on their wall that may show the ghost of ... someone. No one's really sure what it shows, really, or if there's ...

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    Carmine's

    Tampa, Florida

    At least one waitress at Carmine's Restaurant in Tampa is convinced the place is haunted, according to Kim Cool in her book "Ghost Stories of Tampa Bay." She swears she hears ghostly footsteps on the second floor, and every time someone goes up to investigate, no one is there.

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    La France

    Tampa, Florida

    Apparently there's said to be a ghostly presence in this vintage clothing shop that likes to move items around on the racks, according to Kim Cool's excellent book, "Ghost Stories of Tampa Bay."

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    Island Flowers

    Tampa, Florida

    This flower shop got a quick mention in Kim Cool's "Ghost Stories of Tampa Bay." The ghost here, if it is a ghost, likes to swing the front door back and forth, ringing the security bell each time.

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    King Corona Cigars and Cafe Bar

    Tampa, Florida

    Dave Lapham recounts the story of King Corona Cigars in his excellent book, "Ghosthunting Florida." The owner was renovating the store one night when he saw a huge, hulking figure in the back. He was about to run for the front door when the figure just dematerialized into thin air. ...

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    Jackson House

    Tampa, Florida

    Deborah Frethem writes of this house in her book, "Haunted Tampa: Spirits of the Bay." According to Frethem, this building dates back to 1901 and was a boardinghouse once used by a number of African American greats during the days of segregation, like Ray Charles, Count Basie and even ...

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    Old Tampa Book Company

    Tampa, Florida

    This quaint used bookstore might be haunted, according to Deborah Frethem in her book "Haunted Tampa." The owners say a couple of chairs they inherited from a previous owner tend to move all on their own. One night the store's alarm went off, but the store was still ...

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    Old City Hall

    Tampa, Florida

    According to Deborah Frethem in her book "Haunted Tampa," strange ghost lights have been seen along the hallways and clock tower of the Old City Hall. She speculates they may be related to Donald Brenham McKay, who served two non-consecutive terms as mayor of Tampa in the early 20th ...

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    Ghost of Charlie Wall - Old Federal Courthouse

    Tampa, Florida

    Charlie Wall was an infamous gangster based out of Tampa of the 1930s and 1940s. He dabbled in all the usual rackets - gambling, prostitution, numbers, etc. What made him truly infamous was when he was called to testify before a federal committee investigating organized crime in 1950. He held ...

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    Oaklawn Cemetery

    Tampa, Florida

    A number of famous Tampa residents are buried here, and there are vague reports of ghosts haunting the grounds. Many feel uneasy as they walk the cemetery, as if someone is watching them.

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    James McCabe Theatre

    Valrico, Florida

    Reports say that paranormal groups have offered ghost tours as fund-raisers here. The 1915 building, once the Valrico Civic Center and then a woman’s club, is rumored to have more than a few haunts. Witnesses have seen apparitions and heard strange sounds, and experienced other odd occurrences.

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    Ghost of Irene Randall

    Tampa, Florida

    According to legend, Irene Wengel came to Tampa in 1902 to get an illegal abortion in a building that once stood near the parking garage. A couple days after Dr. Frederick Weightnovel performed the abortion, Irene became very ill with blood poisoning; she died shortly thereafter. Irene’s uneasy spirit is said ...

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    Sulphur Springs Tower

    Tampa, Florida

    Stories say the historic tower was often used as a landmark on pirates' maps, a tale that may support the fact that a ghostly pirate is said to roam the area. Another story told around these parts is that of a marine monster who lives in the waters adjacent to ...

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    Crown Colony House

    Tampa, Florida

    Built in 1964, the Crown Colony is a four-story building offering both a full-service restaurant and quick-serve café. If the stories are true, the building also harbors a few ghosts. In 2008, officials at Busch Gardens invited Haunted South and select members of the media to explore the park’s Crown Colony ...

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    Trelles Clinic - Ybor Resort and Spa

    Tampa, Florida

    The former Trelles Clinic, now the Ybor Resort and Spa, is housed in a 1904 building. Witnesses say the many ghostly phenomena here include a child that tugs on people's clothing, unexplained slamming windows, and an apparition of Conchita, a deceased wife of a doctor. TV's Ghost Hunters featured the ...

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    Academy of the Holy Names

    Tampa, Florida

    Academy of the Holy Names was established in 1881 and the current building opened in 1926. The school is run by the sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Ghosts of nuns have been seen walking around on the 4th floor, where the sisters used to ...