Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: South and Central Florida

by Greg Jenkins

Haunting ancient cemeteries and primitive landmarks as well as modern apartment complexes and highway sides, ghosts and restless spirits abound. This volume of Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore offers a delightful—and somewhat spooky—look into the darker side of the south and central areas of the Sunshine State. Explore fortress ruins in New Smyrna Beach, and keep an eye out for mysterious shadows and dark figures in the nearby forest; visit the island of Islamorada, where the ghostly remains of Flagler's railway rumble over tracks destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane; and, if you're especially brave, walk through the eerie corridors of the mausoleum in Myrtle Hill Cemetery near Tampa, where you are sure to hear whispers from the dead or the muffled echoes of a music box. Delve into the unknown with Greg Jenkins as he examines the history, legend, and paranormal rationale behind strange occurrences in many of south and central Florida's haunted locations. Get a fresh look at some of the state's most famous ghost stories and learn never-before-heard tales of the strange and the supernatural as you take a trip through Haunted Florida. The second volume of Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore , covering north Florida and St. Augustine, is also available.

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction

290 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read 2019
I found this book again while going through some boxes of books. It was a fun read about places in Florida that I've visited multiple times.

I really enjoyed this book. I'll more than likely read the other two in the series as soon as possible.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read this book before back a couple of years. I came upon it on a display at our local library. Re-skimming it made me remember a couple of road trips I took when I was in high school looking for a good scare.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really set the mood for spooky reading season. I found myself reading it close to bedtime and had to stop because I didn't want bad dreams. If you've ever enjoyed a local ghost tour or learning about folklore, this is like that in book form. My only complaint is that the Walt Disney World information was inaccurate. Unsurprisingly, the chapter focuses on the Haunted Mansion. However, the author easily mixes up Disneyland and Walt Disney World's history. He references a New Orleans style mansion, which is distinct to Disneyland, and notes that Walt Disney died in 1966 before the mansion's completion in the 1969. I was surprised that a Florida native would not recognize this egregious mistake without distinguishing between the two mansions. Walt Disney World did not even open in Central Florida until 1971. While that chapter was a disappointment, I will likely still read the other volumes.

[Heather R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have lots of family in Florida and always wind up looking for things to do when I make my inevitable visits. I love local legends and folklore— when done well, these stories have a way of shortcutting right to the heart of the location and the people living there.

This book highlighted a number of interesting ghost stories in the greater Tampa/Orlando area. My only complaint is that I would’ve loved to have seen more stories in other locations: Ft Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda and so on — there are just so many locations in a pretty large geographic area, and I feel like the book barely scratched the surface. However, it was a fun read and several of my relatives expressed interest in reading it next.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a marketing brochure for locations mentioned. Stories are OK.