Haunted Florida: The Sunland Hospital System

by Victoria A. Lawrence

  

      The guilty fascination with abandoned hospitals is prevalent among ghost hunting shows, horror movies and teenagers without supervision. Go to any school and there will be one kid who knows “the story” about that derelict sanitarium over the hill. It usually involved a spirit of a patient who was brutally tortured by sadistic doctors until succumbing to death. This patient still roams the grounds, looking to capture the soul of unwitting juveniles, just daring them to come at night, alone.

      Orlando, Florida has its haunted hospital stories too. There was more than one creepy infirmary in the city, but the most notorious would have to be the infamous Sunland Hospital. Unbeknownst to many children who tell the tale, there is actually more than one Sunland; it was a chain of hospitals in Florida originally named the W.T. Edwards Tuberculosis Hospitals. The first opened in 1952. They all looked similar; white, five stories high with fewer storied longer buildings branching off the main one, and many windows to facilitate the movement of air, thought, at the time, to be of paramount importance in the treatment of TB. 

      Advances in treating tuberculosis diminished the need for such facilities and in 1968, the hospitals would be taken over by the state, revamped as the Sunland Mental Hospitals. The Sunland hospital in Orlando, the main facility, would be the only hospital that did not share the W.T. Edwards origin. The administrators had the best intentions for the facilities from the start. Mostly occupied by children, the hospitals had playgrounds, picnic areas, accessible swimming pools, gaming areas and frequent visits from special guests, such as the state's governor and Woodsy the Owl. Many of the children were active members in the boy scouts.   

      By the end of the 1970s, many state run facilities found themselves in a difficult situation. Federal funding that assisted state run programs diminished with each administration. Overpopulated and understaffed, hospitals like Sunland quickly became the subject of scandals and horror stories. By 1983, all the Sunland Centers were shut down. While the minors were sent to foster homes, a schoolyard legend states that many of the patients, the less needy and over the age of 18, were released out into the streets. The wards would fall into disrepair, tempting the listeners of ghost stories to explore the ruins. 

Visitors to this location have reported apparitions, orbs and the sounds of voices and crying. At the Orlando location one night, I heard sounds that could be children crying or cats screaming, although it went on continuously the entire time I was there like a banshee coming from trees (note to law enforcers, I worked for the county at the time and had a legitimate reason for being there). Some amateur investigators report seeing solemn faces of children in the windows of the few surviving buildings, intelligent and interactive apparitions of children running on the grounds, or of hearing objects move and seeing locked doors opening and closing inexplicably. Both the websites Ghost Report and author Greg Jenkins (Pineapple Press) note reports of the faint scent of  roses in the playground area. I will admit that while I was there, I did not stop and take the time to smell the roses. 

Photo of the red brick building by Victoria A. Lawrence. 2009.

      Another schoolyard legend has it that one intrepid explorer at the Orlando site fell down an elevator shaft at one hospital and died. The dying part was embellished, but in July of 1997, the Orlando Sentinel reports that while playing “hide and seek” with friends, 23 year old Keith Murdock did fall down a shaft and severely injured himself. Keith’s friends left him there in fear of authorities. It would take hours for anyone to find him in the bottom of that shaft. Suffering from several broken bones, including a fractured skull and spinal injuries, he would have to be airlifted out of Sunland to a working hospital. One could only imagine what Keith thought, laying there for hours, abandoned, in the bottom of that dank elevator shaft in the pitch of night. Or what he saw.

      The fall provided fodder for those arguing for the razing of the hospital. Within the next decade, the once gleaming white buildings turned urban legend womb would be demolished. Any traces of the Tallahassee buildings are gone, replaced by apartment buildings. A few of the administration buildings in Orlando still exist and there is now a public park at the original, albeit creepy, Orlando address: 2100 All Childrens Way, Orlando, Florida, 32818. 

      The public park closes at sundown and thrill seekers are not welcome anytime of the day. A note of warning, a few of the surrounding populace lend credence to the legend that many mental patients were simply released into the area. Take care when visiting the Orlando facility and do not go alone.

Photo 1: Florida State Tuberculosis Sanitarium, Orlando, circa 1939, courtesy Florida state archives

Photo 2: View of Governor Claude Kirk visiting a child at Sunland Hospital, Tallahassee, FL, 1968, courtesy Florida state archives

Photo 3: Woodsy the Owl at Sunland Hospital, Tallahassee, FL, courtesy Florida state archives
Photo 4: By me (VAKL) back in 2009. 

Creepy Abandoned Churches

     How you feel about churches probably has something to do with your upbringing. Some people feel comfort just walking into one, some admire the art and architecture of a more aesthetically-driven time, some feel foreboding or alienation, some feel instantly bored, recalling a childhood of homilies no right-minded seven year-old would suffer through gladly and the joy of kicking one's neighbor, a little violence to relieve the tedium.
      However you feel about working churches abandoned churches can be spooky. For instant chills check out this beautiful compilation of the 7 Creepiest Abandoned Churches from Environmental Graffiti by Yohani Kamnudin, including The First Methodist Church in Gary, IN where scenes from Nightmare on Elm Street were filmed, a spectacular 17th century church in Italy with trees growing out of the top and St. Stephen’s Church, Chicago, which looks like the walls are bleeding. Jesus. 
       The photo provided here is not in the slide show: we found it on Wikimedia Commons, a public domain photo by Charles O'Rear, circa 1973 of an "abandoned church at dusk on north side of Interstate 80," which runs from California to Jersey so it could be anywhere. We're going to guess that a) it was in Indiana, b) that it fell into disrepair and became a hangout for misspent youth who drew Satanic whatnots on the disintegrating walls for fun and that c) caused the local busybodies to annoy a weary town council to order it to be either torn down or turned into a Wawa. What say you? 

Post by EditrixMTraveler

Haunted Canada: Victoria Ghost Walk

There are almost too many things to love about Victoria, B.C. British Columbia's capital is rich in both First Nations and British culture, dazzling gardens, excellent restaurants and charming walks, from harbor to highway. It’s also full of ghosts.

At least it is according to Victoria’s Ghostly Walks, an excellent way for any Morbid Traveler or curiosity seeker to spend a cool August night in BC (No kidding! They have cool nights in August in Canada! Fabulous) and the most chilling place - not temperature-wise - was unquestionably  Helmcken Alley in Bastion Square. In this former prison the dead inmates were buried onsite in unmarked graves and where they’re still alleged to be. 

MT’s looking for a place to stay in BC might want to try the gorgeous Gatsby Mansions, where  floating heads that appear to guests who take room #5.

Unless, of course, you can afford the famous  Fairmont Empress, Victoria’s grand landmark,. Built between 1904 and 1908, the Empress made Travel & Leisure’s Top Ten Hotels in Canada list (only if you click the link you’ll see a picture of the Parliament buildling; we have a picture of the Empress, above). It’s is so luxe some guests have decdied to stay forever. And ever.  

This includes the regal structure’s architect, Francis Rattenbury. Rattenbury. Rattenbury was a star but as his fortunes and marriage declined he took a lover, Alma, into the home he shared with this wife according to The History of Metropolitan Vancouver, and, as I recall, our Ghostly Walks guide. The Rattenbury scandal was too much for the public to take: commissions dried up and eventually “Ratz” and Alma both divorced their spouses and went to England where Alma took a lover, the  18 year-old chauffer, George Stoner who eventually bludgeoned Rattenbury to death in a jealous rage. Alma was acquitted of the crime but committed suicide upon hearing of Stoner’s death sentence;. That sentence was commuted to life, thanks to public sentiment; Stoner served seven years. At the age of 61 he was seen in the audience of a play about his own story. Rattenbury is still seen as well:  his tall, young, mustachioed figure, is said to walk the halls of the Empress, his greatest accomplishment. 

We can tell you for a fact that a smart cocktail on the veranda of the Empress is a delightful way to let an afternoon drift by and we understand their high tea is a world class experience as well. Like all of BC’s capital city the hotel is exquisite and for those who are looking for a little extra paranormal zhuzh the tower in that photograph above is said to be haunted as well.

The Victoria Ghost Walk was one of my favorite evenings out in the city which is saying a lot - I’d do it again in a minute even though I felt like everywhere I went after that was haunted by something. Or maybe I just had such a good time I wanted it to be. When in Victoria you’re going to enjoy walking anyway; get some dark romance and amazing stories on this excellent tour while you do it. 

Oh, the candy apples? There's also a haunted sweets shop on Government Street, but we don't want to have too many spoilers in case you decide to walk the walk. Besides we're pretty sure you can find something that looks like this all on your own...

How much does it cost? Victoria's Ghostly Walks tours are $14 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, $8 for kids, $35 for families and $22 for the Ghost Walks Extreme tour, for which you have to make reservations. Check the website (link above) as dates vary throughout the year or call 250-384-6698.

How do you get there? Victoria is an island so once you get to a closer point, like Seattle. If you go that route you can get there via our favorite method, the Victoria Clipper, which will let you kick back, relax, have a beer, have some food and enjoy a view that will relax you like Valium (they also provide whale watching tours, so if you don't see any ghosts, maybe you can see some whales). Form Vancouver and other places you can try BC Ferries and if you love to fly (like we do) and have some cash (like we don't)  you can go for a small plane, sea plane or helicopter for as low as $200 RT - see VictoraBCCA.com for a list of airlines. The cheapest way to go is going to be ground transportation which you can manage for about $20 yfrom both Vancouver and Seattle - go to Victoria BC Tourism's recommendations page for links.

Post by EditrixMTraveler
All photos by EditrixMTraveler. First photo: Totem poles in Beacon Hill Park. Second photos: Fairmont Empress Hotel. Third Photo:candy apples from a sweet shop - though not the haunted one - on Government Street, Victoria, BC.

Haunted strip mall

Cemeteries, abandoned churches, murder houses - those are the kinds of places you think are going to be haunted. As I said to a friend when starting this blog .”There’s no such thing as a haunted strip mall.”

Well, when I’m wrong I’m really, really wrong.  

I’d never have thought anything as contemporary as a Starbucks or as practical as an Albertsons would be inhabitable by ghosts and yet both Above the Norm.com and StrangeUSA report that before a particular strip mall in Phoenix was built  the buildings on the site were thought by the locals to be haunted. Photos on Above the Norm show a sunny, bright, cream-pink-and-teal group of buildings, the essence of what we imagine the commercial southwest to look like, but the sunny brightness may belie something darker in many ways. Teens who broke  into the old buildings  at night reported, among other things,  crying and whimpering in dark hallways and three gravestones that only appeared at night time.

It’s hard  imagine ghosts in a place where skinny soy lattes and cake pops  are available….though, come to think of it, haven’t we all haunted a Starbucks from time to time? 

If you have a haunted strip mall story please send it to us at editrixmtraveler@gmail.com. Not that we wouldn’t believe you but we’d like to see the spirit who could keep us away from the clearance rack at Steinmart or Ross. 

Image of Arizona flag from Wikimedia Commons in the public domain

5 Haunted Movie Places We Love

Location, Location, Location....realtors know how much it matters and film scouts know it too. A place can be just as menacing a character in a film as the ghost itself - what would the Blair Witch have been without the woods? - so here are five of our favorites, four of which you can still visit. Safe travels!

1. The Overlook, The Shining 

     Few haunted places in film had quite the grand, menacing, human presence of The Overlook from Stephen King’s famous novel.  In real life it’s The Stanley Hotel in Colorado and the story ABC News tells is that Stephen King and his wife Tabitha checked into room 217 for a one-night stay. The supernaturally prolific author had some ghostly encounters, inspiring the blockbuster novel and film (a reedy TV movie version was filmed at the Stanley making one wonder less about ghosts and more about why people remake perfect films). Founders F.O. and Florida Stanley are said to still inhabit the hotel in a friendly way and About.com says the fourth floor, formerly the servants quarters, is the most haunted part of the building. 

Tony wants to go visit The Stanley, Mrs. Torrence. Tony wants to stay there forever. And ever. And ever. 

Photo by SGerbic on Wikimedia Commons, public domain

2. Hill House,  The Haunting (1999)

     Before you even start, I KNOW it wasn’t as good as the original with Julie Harris & Russ Tamblyn and if you really want a treat get yourself the actual book, The Haunting of Hill House  by Shirley Jackson or audiobook, read by Bernadette Dunne. 

    Whatever the faults of the remake the special effects were fab and the house was a special effect unto itself.  The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations lists three for this film, most notably the exterior of the gargantuan, psychically intimidating Hill House exterior. That’s Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire, now Harlaxton College, private but open for private tours. The kitchens, WGML says, were from Belvoir Castle and were also used for one of my all-time favorites, Young Sherlock Holmes (that’s two perfect films listed in one post). 

Finally WGML lists Florida as one of the locations, a note verified by IMDB, but it doesn’t say where, which is too bad, since I have a lot easier access to Florida than I do Lincolnshire. WGML does helpfully add what train to take from London to get to Belvoir Castle but not how to get a free ticket to England so you can catch that particular choo-choo. Working on that.

Photo uploaded by Merchbow on Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain (tags {{Not-PD-US-URAA}} or {{Not-PD-US-URAA|country|URAA date}

3. Practical Magic  

The faded old Victorian two-story on a hill by the New England sea - my dream house and very possibly yours, too, and it wasn’t even real! The wonderful website Hooked on Houses explores the home of the Owens women which turns out to have been an exterior-only, set in Washington State and torn down after filming was over. Their enchanting interiors, too, were filmed on an LA soundstage - even novelist Alice Hoffman was impressed.

     Sadly, then, this isn’t a haunted house you can visit, but I included it because I love both the house and the movie - on a bad day who doesn’t wish they could just live in a houseful of margarita-drinking witches? And if you haven’t read the book do yourself a favor and pick it up - Alice Hoffman’s prose are the real magic.

4. The Ennis House, Los Angeles, CA

       

The location for the original version of The House on Haunted Hill, (1959) directed by the great William Castle and starring the legendary Vincent Price. It certainly isn’t your typical spooky old wooden, two-story house but a Frank Lloyd Wright design which I can only describe as deco-Mayan and which has been the location for numerous other films -  KCNET has some pics from a few of them including Blade Runner, Black Rain and even a satirization in South Park. 

1. The Exorcist stairs, Georgetown, Washington D.C.

Never did I think a staircase would have it’s own Yelp! page, but anything having to do with The Exorcist deserves special treatment. The film, after all,  had them lining up for blocks in 1973 when it was released,  was the first horror film to be nominated for an Academy Award and remains one of the most influential films ever made. In fact, watch any film about possession or demonism - or any paranormal docu-show dealing with them - and you’ll likely find that what it’s possessed by is William Friedkin’s genius.

       The lethal staircase looks as creepy as ever and has a pretty terrific photo gallery on Yelp (click the title link) - it’s pretty staggering that a staircase can have so many moods, from downright frightening at night to goofy when people take snaps of themselves laying ‘dead’ at the bottom of it to just a staircase when there are dogs on it. Thoroughly worth a click-through and if you have a pic of yourself here send it to us! 

Not that we want to see you dead at the bottom of the stairs. You’re not on our list. 

Photo by SDC on Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Sage advice

Yesterday my neighbor was burning sage, a new age and old world way of getting rid of of bad spirits. The scent reminded me of the last couple of times anyone I knew did house cleansings with sage and I  realized something disturbing. Within the past several years two friends of mine did house cleansings with sage…..and I never went back to either house again.

So if sage burning works does that mean I’m the evil spirit? 

Here’s a great blog post  about how to use sage: Mercado’s Life Lessons: Sacred Sage. In case you ever want to get rid of me.

Picture from a 14th century book described on Wikimedia Commons as being in the public domain.

The Whaley House, one of America's "most haunted"

Two loves, twelve years and what seems like a lifetime ago a girlfriend and I were walking in Old Town in San Diego when she casually mentioned the house we were passing was The Whaley House, dubbed by the Travel Channel as “the most haunted house in America,” and one of the country’s “most terrifying places.”

The house must have been closed by the time we passed it or surely we would have gone in - she did, after I’d left California, and reported being “creeped out” upstairs by the still silence and plastic-wrapped furniture (she’s never have survived the 1960’s. You can read about the house’s history here and why it’s thought to be haunted, but two things to note:

* Just last month a new artifact was discovered in an old book collection gifted to the house by SDSU alumnus Kit Sickels which contained a receipt for a gun signed by Thomas Whaley and dated 1853. You can see a nice big PDF scan of the document here; evidently documents dating back that far in San Diego are quite rare and this one was valued at $750.

* The house is open for regular visits on a daily basis but they also put on monthly Ghost Hunting Tours.

Stephen King fans will notice a place called The Marston House on the Whaley House website. It’s NOT the Marsten House from Salen’s Lot, which is, or was,  in Maine nor is it a haunted site so don’t go bugging them about it. 

Photo by Joe Mabel from Wikimedia Commons with permission.

HOW DO I GET THERE?: The Whaley House is only 4.2  miles from the San Diego International Airport. The Whaley House Museum is at 2476 San Diego Ave. San Diego, CA, 92110. Click here for Google Maps.

Find flights from your town to San Diego on Orbitz.

HOW MUCH?: House tours are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for kids 3-12, kids 2 & under free. Ghost tours are $50; check their calendar is here and you can buy tickets online (recommended, since the tours are limited to 20 people and could sell out pretty easily).