The ghost
of a murdered girl haunts her old house.
She was murdered by a serial killer and
once her body was found, the mother went
insane and lived out the rest of her life
in a mental institution.
Due to
the horrible circumstances surrounding
the death the family left the house one
day and never came back. Everything in
the house is the same as it was the day
the family left.
History:
After
learning about this legend on the New
Smyrna Beach Historical Ghost Tour,
I felt drawn to this house. Not sure if
it was the tragic history or the eerie
thought of everything inside the home
being undisturbed for more than 30 years.
Or maybe it was the Spirit of a innocent
life cut short calling out for help. Whatever
the reason, I felt the need to find out
everything I could about this house, without
disrespecting the privacy of the remaining
family. Also, the legends surrounding
this house are quite detrimental if they
are not true. So I believe there is a
great need to get the actual history and
facts, no matter how apathetic they might
be, out to the general public.
The murdered girl in this legend
is Barbara Bauer. She was in fact killed by
Gerald Stano, a serial killer known to have
killed over 40 women.
Barbara
was only 17 years old when she took a
trip to Daytona Beach on September 6,
1973 to get some material for her cheerleading
outfit. Her car was found in the Holly
Hill Plaza in Daytona, while her body
wasn't found until April 1974 in a dump
near Starke Florida.
No one knew who had killed
her until 1982 when Stano himself decided to
confess. Stano told how he had seen her on the
side of the road having car troubles and he
offered his assistance. Since they both had
the same type of car, Barbara felt comfortable
enough to accept help from him.
There
are no public records that detail what
happened to the family personally after
this, however in 1986 after another stay
of execution for Stano, Audrey Bauer,
Barbara's mother, was interviewed by the
Sun Sentinel. She was quoted as saying
that she wanted to kill Stano herself.
She said that she'd like to pull the switch
on him, and if he ever got out, she wished
that they'd let him out in front of her
house, "'cause he wouldn't last long!"
Another quote from this article says,
"Audrey Bauer said her whole family
is still affected by Barbara's death".
Audrey Bauer's comments in
this article are anything but maniacal. I believe
this interview proves that the mother did not
live out the rest of her life in a mental institution
as the legend states. Also, as far as the timeline
goes, it shows that in 1986 they were still
living in this house. This is supported by Volusia
County public records stating that the homestead
exemption on this property wasn't switched until
1989.
The father, Albert Bauer, is still
alive as well and still is a practicing veterinarian
in the New Smyrna area. Both parents own property
all around New Smyrna Beach. The house in question
was built in 1922 and was used as a boarding
house when they were building the railroad through
New Smyrna. After it was completed the house
was later turned into a residential home.
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free to comment about this
hunt!
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Join the discussion about
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August
2005:
We got our first look at the
house while on the New
Smyrna Beach Historical Ghost Tour. A lot
of weird things happened that night. You can
read all about it, HERE.
The following are actual pictures and a video
from that night.
The outside experiences we
all felt could have been (and probably were)
nothing but over active imaginations, or was
it something more? I will admit, this house
along with the legend associated with it, is
all around freaky with a twist of scary, but
is it really haunted? There is only one way
to find out, and that is to get into the house!
I
doubt that the owners of the home, understandably,
would allow access into it for a Spook Hunt.
Even if it is to possibly help the spirit of
their daughter move on. Although we've entered
abandoned places before without proper permission,
this is still someone's home, and we want to
respect that, so trespassing is out of the question.
That leaves us with only one option. Give up
and go home?
Not exactly...
SpookHunter Greg
& I were in the New Smyrna area on
other business. We had a few extra minutes
in our schedule, so we decided to drop
by and take a few pictures of the outside
during the day. While we explored the
outside, we noticed the property was for
sale. I called the realtor just to get
some history on the house. The more I
talked to them, the more interested I
became in actually seeing the inside.
So when the invitation to view the house
came up, I didn't have the heart to tell
them I couldn't actually afford to buy
the property, so I just accepted the offer
and with-in a few minutes we were inside!
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free to comment about this
hunt!
Or,
Join the discussion about
this hunt by Clicking
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*DISCLAIMER* SpookHunters.com
and all those connected to us, do not
encourage anyone else to call the realtors
up just to get to view the inside of
this house. They are very busy and showing
the home to actual potential buyers
is what pays their bills. Besides, In
a moment you'll see that it's not nearly
as spooky as you'd think it would be.
Although it was fascinating.
Anyway, we just happened to luck into
it and hope this website will satisfy
your curiosity.
Plus, the
house is infested with fleas.
When the realtors arrived,
we first asked them about the car in the driveway.
They confirmed that this was the daughter's
car that broke down that fateful night in Daytona.
The parents parked it and haven't moved it since.
Upon
entering the house, it was immediately
clear that the house wasn't just left
in as is condition. It looked as if they
had been using it for storage. There was
a lot of nice furniture in the house that
was ruined due to the elements, and on
top of the furniture was pieces of the
ceiling that had cracked and fallen down.
There were boxes all over the place and
stuff was just piled everywhere. The realtor
informed us that Dr. Bauer still comes
to the house every now and then to retrieve
stuff, but gave no reason for the way
in which the house was left.
There's
also power still in the house. In the
front room a radio was playing when we
first entered the home. It was tuned to
an oldies station and that set the mood.
In the kitchen the refrigerator was still
running, and there was food in the pantry,
dishes in the cabinets, and pans out on
the counters. Upstairs in all the bedrooms,
there were beds and dressers and more
boxes over flowing with stuff. There was
clothes in almost all the closets and
magazines were scattered all across the
floors. Recent magazines too, like sports
illustrated from the 80s. There is also
a personal gym upstairs. An old weight
bench and full set of weights, although
rusty, are sitting in a room just waiting
to be used once more.
It was definitely weird being
in the house. It was like a normal home, yet
different. Almost like they were packing up
all their stuff and then just threw it everywhere.
It's hard to explain. It was very fascinating,
yet horrifying, and filthy. To me it felt like
walking around in a grieving family's nightmare.
Words can only explain so much. The following
is actual videos set to music from inside the
Bauer house along with more still pictures.
Or,
Join the discussion about
this hunt by Clicking
Here!
So, as you can see everything
about this house is tragic, but is there anything
paranormal? Personally, I doubt it. I know we
all felt funny when we looked at the place at
night, but I believe that was just us. Going
back during the day helped to confirm that in
my mind. It just felt like any other old dilapidated
home. The only exception was the history. The
very sad & tragic history.
If Barbara's spirit is sadly
clinging onto a memory of a life cut too short,
she may be forced to move on in the near future.
The house, as stated earlier, is up for sale.
At the time this website was published, the
current highest bidder on the property wants
to renovate the house and turn it into a bed
& breakfast. However, the bid is nowhere
near the asking price. There has been talk about
tearing the building down and just selling the
land.
What ever happens to the old
house, for Barbara's sake, I hope she's at peace
and her family can finally heal.
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