Ghosts of St. Augustine

by Dave Lapham, Tom Lapham (Illustrator)

The unique and often turbulent history of St. Augustine, America's oldest city, has spawned more than four hundred years' worth of ghosts. Author Dave Lapham has collected twenty-four stories from St. Augustine's rich oral history into a light yet sometimes hair-raising peek at the spooky side of the Oldest City. St. Augustine has lots to offer travelers with varied interests.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ghosts, Travel, History, Paranormal

168 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Doug Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Lapham's book is an excellent series of ghost stories from America's oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Clearly written in an engaging way, Lapham spins these tales out of his own personal research that includes onsite interviews. Careful descriptions of actual ghostly encounters are brought to life by quotes from people who have had their own personal encounters.

Pinpointing specific haunted locations in the old city like the St. Francis Inn, Flagler College, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse, the author shows how the spookiness there is widespread. Using chapter titles such as “Katie’s Guardian Angel”, “The Gallant Governor”, and “Gateway to Hell”, he immediately captures the reader's interest.

If you know St. Augustine, this book might well add a fascinating slant to your previous experiences there that will make you wonder what you missed. If you haven't been to that old city, it just might make you want to pay it a visit.

[Neil Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing we'd be heading to St. Augustine for part of our summer vacation, I snagged this book as soon as I saw it at The Salvation Army Store. Who can go wrong for ninety-nine cents, right? Not only that, it's fairly well known that St. Augustine is one of the country's most haunted cities. So, the plan was to read the book before the trip, to be prepared for some of the places we'd be visiting. As it turned out, I didn't get to the book until after we'd left St. Augustine. Interestingly, having seen a few of the places mentioned in this book, and having taken one of St. Augustine's several extremely popular "ghost tours," I was able to make meaningful connections between what I'd seen/experienced and what I was reading. It's one thing to visit the Huguenot Cemetery, the Castillo de San Marcos, or the St. Augustine Lighthouse, or to eat at a popular establishment like Harry's, and quite another to read about the supernatural "sightings" that have occurred in each of these places. It changes the perspective! To learn that Colonel Garcia Marti, garrison commander at the Castillo de San Marcos, had a young wife with a roving eye and a young officer under his command who was catering to the lady's fancies, and that the commander, in true Poe fashion, had them chained to the walls somewhere in the bowels of the fortress…and had the walls bricked up... causes the flesh to crawl and the hair to stand on end. Is it merely coincidence - a hot flash, say? - that my wife experienced extreme dizziness in this room and needed immediately to be escorted into the fresh air? This happened before I even picked up the book, I might add…!!! If you've visited St. Augustine, or if you just love a good ghost story, this is a perfect read. It was also a quick one, perhaps because I could readily identify with the sites in the book, or because being on a boat or a plane leaves one with lots of time to read. Either way, very enjoyable!

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

St. Augustine in Florida claims to be America's oldest city. It was founded by the Spanish, taken over by the British, returned to the Spanish, and eventually became part of the United States of America. With such a long history, it is easy to see how many stories and legends have grown up around the city. The author, Dave Lapham, is interested in ghosts but is not a professional ghost hunter or psychic. When he decided to write the book, he collected stories from many people, some first hand accounts of experiences with the supernatural. Some of the specters are recently deceased, others date back to the British or Spanish periods. Lapham believes in the stories but doesn't feel the need to persuade the reader. Rather, he tells each in an entertaining way. One of the stories is even told (quite effectively) from the ghost's point of view. The creativity is refreshing and makes the book very entertaining if light reading.

[Jaime Soria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book near the end of our visit to St. Augustine, and now I am wishing I had bought it at the beginning of the trip, so I could have checked out some of the locations, or at least gazed at the outside of these buildings. Nice collection of interviews and stories, most are spooky, seem potentially believable, and come from discussions the author had with residents about their experiences. Other chapters read more like fictional stories, particularly the chapter from the ghosts' point of view, as four young women move into "his" house. I noticed this author has at least two more recent Ghosts of St. Augustine books (this one was originally published in 1997), and I might consider reading them at some point. I found it fun to read stories of hauntings that happened in a city I so recently visited, but if you like books of this genre, I think this can be an enjoyable read even if you have never visited St. Augustine.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lived in the oldest, most haunted city in America for a year and have to say that I never saw a thing - even in my old, supposedly haunted dorm. That didn't stop me from researching as much as I could about St. Augustine lore and history, taking the uber-touristy "ghost tours" around downtown, and skulking about late at night in hopes of an orb, a fleeting image, a strange feeling, something.

St. Augustine history is fascinating even if one has never been, and the ghost stories are great. I'd recommend this one.

[Rick Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

That Saturday morning -the weather man forecast a rainy Sunday. I was afraid I would spend my third and last day visiting St. Augustine sheltering in my rented cottage. While roaming near Flagler College I got excited when I found a small shop selling used books. I thought it would be a good idea to read a St. Augustine ghost story book on Sunday. I entered the small shop hoping to find one. Upon entering, I saw a woman seating behind the counter with a book in her hands. She greeted me courteously and offered to point out the book category locations. As soon as she finished I turned around to start my search and that’s when I saw it! A red covered book that read “Ghosts of St. Augustine” by Dave Lapham. I immediately grabbed it and looked for other copies to no avail. I found another similar book, but for some reason besides the lower price, I chose to buy “Ghosts of St. Augustine” and I am glad I did. The sweet lady behind the counter told me that this was a very rare book to find at her bookstore, because most tourists take them home with them. She had just given me another reason to believe this was the right book for me at the time.
And now, I will review this delightful and fun book. After some serious research around St. Augustine, Mr. Lapham wrote a collection of twenty-four ghost stories. Each tale is introduced by an eerie sketch related to the ghost in the story. I really enjoyed the sketches and it was one of the reasons I bought this book. Each story is no longer than a handful of pages long and they are very easy to read. Most of the stories are tales gathered from locals who claim they experienced these events first hand. I recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy read and wants to let his/her imagination run. You won’t find any technical professional ghost hunter stories here. Which makes the book that much enjoyable to the rest of us. The book is 154 pages long and it is even more fun to read if you ever been in St. Augustine. Mr. Lapham makes references to some well known places in town – even for tourists. This book offers a chance to soak up part of the true essence of St. Augustine. I couldn’t think of a better souvenir to bring home with me.

[Karley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my June book. I thought that I would read a story per day, as these days I can't stay away from the streaming services. But I ended up reading several stories each day, telling myself, "Just one more and then I'll ____" You fill in the blank with some task that needed to be done. And while this isn't a very long book, I still managed to finish it within a week, which is something that I haven't done in a looooong time. I also found it fun to be able to look up the addresses/places mentioned in the book online, and see what they looked like, and try to remember if I had actually seen the place in real life, as I have been to Saint Augustine several times. I didn't have a ghost experience, but my mother swears that she did - in the castillo dungeon. Perhaps it was the unfaithful wive and her lover? A fun read.

[Ruth Failor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the author naming locations and history of relevant characters. Otherwise, nothing special. While living in Maryland I had a neighbor who relayed some very believable encounters she had with ghosts and one of my sisters still has very vivid memories of a haunting in our neighborhood where we went exploring in an old house that was to be demolished. Naturally, I’m very curious about ancient homes, cemeteries and buildings. Since our winter home is just 30 minutes north of St. Augustine I’ll make a point to visit some of these haunts in the next couple of months … maybe go it alone … mwah-ah-ah. Stay tuned …

[H. Forrester · Rating 2 out of 5]

One star for an initially interesting subject and some "factual" information. Or at least for providing the base and platform for the stories.

Another star for the fact that the book is a quick and easy read.

The reason the book did not receive more stars from me is because the stories feel incomplete and anti-climatic. The storytelling aspect is lacking. Also, the tone is inconsistent and switches from objective to subjective at random points.

As a child in elementary school, I read many ghost story books and can remember the well crafted stories.

I was hoping this book would be reminiscent of that, however, it disappointed.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up in St. Augustine because I thought the city was cool and knew I wouldn’t have time to explore it the way I wanted to. I also don’t believe in ghosts, but usually enjoy ghost stories because they start with historical backgrounds and end with entertainment. But while it was somewhat interesting to read, it really lacked the substance I was looking for. Just not my style but to each his own!

[Heathir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just spent last week visiting St. Augustine, this was a fun read! It was interesting to learn a little b a bit about the paranormal history surrounding the Anastasia Lighthouse, the Castillo de San Marco, the Flagler Museum, and other tourist 'haunts'

I have heard that the author has written several other books concerning the rather haunted Old City

Highly recommended!

[Dan E. Mongosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick fun read about some of the old haunted homes and structures in St. Augustine. Most of the stories are told from second person encounters with ghosts and strange occurrences. A nice blend of the city’s history and ghost stories associated with it.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories - pretty much what it says on the tin...er, cover.

What's nice about this collection is that the stories are pretty much first-hand, with names and locations changed a bit to protect the tellers of the stories.

[Bill Yancey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anecdotes about strange happenings in St. Augustine. All second hand. Okay if you like this sort of wild speculation.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read these types of books, but parts of it were informative about various places in the city. It is an easy enough read and might take your mind off things.

[Catie Merchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. I enjoyed it.

[Vicki Marmillot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book because I’m thinking of visiting St. Augustine while in FL this year. This book didn’t peak my interest at all. Kind of disappointing.

[Dottie Bagwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book from a 2000's Era trip to St. Augustine. Good times.

[Melinda Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this and going to visit these haunted places!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live close to St Augustine and tend to visit during the day and I have the shopping, historical, eating type experience. I've heard about the ghost tours and left that with the Ripleys Believe it or not and Fountain of Youth. Know it's there but haven't bothered. This is a compilation of ghost tales from St Augustine. The writing is good and the stories are interesting but, my question is why aren't the people having these encounters not more scared? If a ghost pushed me or slapped me I think I would die of fright. Also aren't rowdy ghosts like these called poltergeists? Intriguing read and I think I will stick to going down there during the day.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book was not what I expected. I visited St. Augustine in the summer and didn't get to see as much as I want.

Even though this book was suppose to be about ghosts, there was so much history in the stories that I found myself more in awe than scared.

This is a great book for my classroom. I think a lot of these stories would be great to read aloud or for young readers to get lots of practice.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that highlights some interesting incidents in the countries oldest city. The stories don't have much substance or "meat" to them, the majority of them are only two or three pages long and touch more on personal experiences than landmarks (a few are covered like St. Francis house, Harry's, etc). Gets you into the spirit of St. Augustine before, during, or after your visit there.

[Lisa James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy collection of hauntings in the Oldest City. if you decide to visit, read this first, then take your pick of the ghost tours in this historic location.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anecdotal stories of supposed haunted locations in St. Augustine. Needed more substance. Each story was three or four pages long with an illustration.

[Almareads]

No matter how much u read this book it'll never get old

[Emmanuel Nevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book detailing ghostly happenings in the oldest city in America. I loved every second of it!!

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

More glurge for the gullible.