I'd
like to start off by saying thanks to everyone that
came out and participated in the spook hunt. I wish
it could have been a little more, especially for those
of you who traveled from Tampa, West Palm, and other
places out of the area. I myself was a little disappointed
due to the lack of ghosts presence, but the guide told
me that since we were such a big group we probably missed
the ghost activity.
On February, Friday
the 13th 2004, SpookHunters got a personal & private
tour by Orlando Ghost Tours. It was only scheduled to be a
2 hour walking tour of downtown Orlando, but lasted almost
three hours. We got access to a couple haunted buildings,
and at the end of the night we were able to use some actual
ghost hunting equipment.
Or,
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The
first stop of the night was Church Street Station, which
turns out to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. The
various buildings here, some of Orlando’s oldest,
are allegedly haunted by the spirits of newborns murdered
by their prostitute mothers, a piano player (who, until
the building closed recently, liked to play for late
night guests), and a can-can dancer who died while preparing
to perform at Rosie O’Grady’s. While the
tour guide was explaining some of these legends to us,
one of the women from the tour, named Diana, felt something
in her hair. She mentioned it to the guide and of course
he said ghosts have been known to mess with peoples
hair. It just so happens, I was standing behind her
and filming when this happened. I do not see anything
on the video, but maybe you will.
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There
is a sports bar at church street station that is rumored
to be haunted. At the time of this tour the name of
the bar was Game Time. We were able to go inside of
it and look around. What made this bar special is that
it was actually an old church. If you go inside and
look up, the original ceiling, rafters and all, is still
there. Also, part of the confessional is still standing.
It is located directly between the bathrooms. There
is also a walk in refrigerated room that apparently
the staff will not go into alone because strange things
are experienced in it. Shadows are seen and a weird
feeling comes over anyone that goes in there. The cooler
is kept locked and unfortunately the workers were too
busy to let me go into it alone, or even show it to
me. However, I did wander off and find it with Diana,
the same woman that felt something in her hair earlier.
We both agreed as we stood outside the door that the
air was a little heavy, but due to lack of ghostly activity
I think it was just the humidity in the air. This section
of the building was under construction, and not properly
air conditioned.
We then
ventured over to the UCF Downtown campus. The tour guide
explained how this use to be a mortuary until 1992 and
that students and teachers hear and experience things
all the time. However I doubt that the tour guide was
prepared to have a young lady in the group that use
to spend nights in this building all the time in the
past. She shared with him, and the group, that she experienced
absolutely nothing. The guide then directed our attention
across the street to the Blue Room. A popular night
club in the Downtown Orlando area. The guide explained
how this use to be a funeral parlor and that even though
the club only took up the first floor of this two story
building, they can't seem to do anything with the second.
It seems when ever they get a tenant, they end up canceling
their lease early due to strange and unexplainable occurrences
there.
We then ended
up at the corner of Magnolia and Pine, where
we met up with another group that was taking
a tour. This is apparently one of the most active
locations in Orlando. The southeast corner of
the intersection is presumed to be the most
active, and is also one of the newest buildings.
In fact, it’s the fifth building to be
built on the site, after a series of collapses
and fires. As it turns out, this downtown corner
was once a Seminole Indian burial ground and
as anyone who goes to the movies knows, building
there was a big mistake. The street light on
the southwest corner was flickering on and off
while we were there. Both guides seemed to believe
that it was ghost causing this to happen. The
female guide said that the light usually goes
out when she walks to it and comes back on when
she leaves. Does that mean she's a ghost? Or
does she have some connection with the ghosts
of Orlando where they communicate to her through
a street light? In any case, the light flickered
a few times while we were there. Whether it
was ghosts or not, I think I will call my city
officials to check that out. That's just not
safe.
Or,
Join the discussion about
this hunt by Clicking
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Street
Light
Burial
Ground Site
After this, the evening wrapped up inside
the old Orlando courthouse, now home to the Orlando Historical
Society. Ted Bundy, one the most well known serial killers
in modern day history, had carved his name in the defendant's
table there, and it is still there today, protected by a piece
of clear plastic. Here was were we all got a chance to use
real ghost detecting equipment. All this is described in detail
on our Orange
County History Center page.
The
evening ended shortly before 11pm when the guard had to ask
us to leave the old courthouse. We spent nearly 3 hours searching
for ghost in many different spots of activity in downtown
Orlando, never seeing a thing. In any event, I found the night
to be very entertaining and educational. Who knew Orlando
had such rich history. The tour may not actually go into all
the buildings that are discussed, but the stories and history
as told by the guide more than compensated for it. The guide
was friendly and seemed very knowledgeable and passionate
about what he was doing. He certainly handle our mix of believers
and skeptics well. I think the tour is worth it. Just the
idea that maybe, just maybe a so-called ghost will appear,
is enough for a skeptic, like me, to give it a chance.
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The
evening ended shortly before 11pm when the guard had to ask
us to leave the old courthouse. We spent nearly 3 hours searching
for ghost in many different spots of activity in downtown
Orlando, never seeing a thing. In any event, I found the night
to be very entertaining and educational. Who knew Orlando
had such rich history. The tour may not actually go into all
the buildings that are discussed, but the stories and history
as told by the guide more than compensated for it. The guide
was friendly and seemed very knowledgeable and passionate
about what he was doing. He certainly handle our mix of believers
and skeptics well. I think the tour is worth it. Just the
idea that maybe, just maybe a so-called ghost will appear,
is enough for a skeptic, like me, to give it a chance.
