Elijah Hand Building

Orlando, FL · Historical Buildings

Elijah Hand Building Elijah Hand was an undertaker and furniture-maker from Indiana who moved to Orlando in 1885. It might sound like an odd juxtaposition, but back in the day it was fairly common, as the undertaker often was also responsible for crafting coffins. Elijah was different from other undertakers because he was a practicer of a then-new art-form - embalming. This allowed families to delay burial for more than the customary 24-48 hours, to allow friends and family time to travel and attend from far-away places. As the first and, at the time, only embalmer in Orlando, his practice flourished. His embalming-and-furniture store became known as the "Hand Building", and still stands to this day. The undertaking was done on the ground floor, while the upper floor housed his furniture store. The story goes that Elijah had become so successful, and often had so many bodies to attend to, that he would often store them upstairs on empty beds or sofas until there was enough room in his morgue. More modern workers in the Hand Building (which has long been general office space, though as of writing it appears to be vacant once more) would often see items thrown by unseen hands, or moved around on their desks to inappropriate places. There are also claims of a "Lady in White" seen amongst the offices.

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Geographic Information

Address
Near 18 W Pine St
Orlando, FL
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GPS
28.5412663, -81.3809151
County
Orange County, Florida
Nearest Towns

Quick Answers

Is Elijah Hand Building really haunted?
Visitors rate Elijah Hand Building at 81.8 out of 100 on our EHP (Estimated Haunted Probability) scale. So far 2 people have shared firsthand experiences from this location in the comments.
Where is Elijah Hand Building located?
The address is Near 18 W Pine St, Orlando, FL. GPS coordinates: 28.5412663, -81.3809151.
What kind of haunted place is Elijah Hand Building?
Elijah Hand Building is listed under Historical Buildings in our Florida section.
What is the nearest town to Elijah Hand Building?
Orlando, FL is the closest town, about 0.2 miles away, with Holden Heights (3.1 mi.) and Fairview Shores (3.5 mi.) also nearby.

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Share Your Experiences

Comments (2)

  • Alek |

    Hi I am actually renovating the building currently and can tell you as someone who is sensitive, the top floor is the worst. You are cold even when it’s hot out, dust suddenly whips up in small clouds when there is NO cross breeze and on top of that, room 24 is locked sometimes for no reason... we are going back there this week but I think I might not go, I felt a strong presence upstairs that wasn’t malicious but wanted me OUT and I was by myself too when I was up there. I’ll send more photos when I get back in.

  • Tommy Bahama |

    Before this building fully closed down and became dormant it used to be a club called the "Blue Room", i frequented it quite often and was close friends with the owner. He actually turned the second floor into a condo / living space area which the few times i went up there and saw the place it was creepy. He reported hearing and seeing things and his secretary also said strange things would happen. I remember when they added a VIP section on the right hand side of the building, it was a full demo and all kinds of strange things were unearthed. The place is def creepy that is for sure, doesn't surprise me its been abandoned this long and sits directly in the heart of downtown Orlando.

Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the truest sense, ghost stories. Haunted Places makes no claims that any of these stories are factually accurate or scientifically provable.