All documented legends

South — Documented legend filings

Documented legends in Florida

Florida keeps 35 documented legends — stories that trace to a published or recorded telling, the shelf where folklore earned a citation. What is verified is the telling: the book, the article, the record that carried the story into print. What the story claims is filed as reported, not endorsed.

35 dossiers0 counties covered77% open to visitorsSt. Augustine Lighthouse — deepest file

Also filed documented legend:Hawaii76 Louisiana65 Arizona60 Texas58 Virginia55 Michigan52 Illinois50 New York49

Other Florida shelves:local folklore27 anecdotal reports18 investigation claims8 media-reported hauntings3

High confidence

St. Augustine Lighthouse

St. Augustine, Florida

The museum presents lighthouse ghost stories and investigation experiences.

4 claims · 3 legends→

Historic Settlement

Koreshan Unity Settlement

Estero, Florida

Surviving members transferred settlement land to Florida in 1961.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Sculpture Garden

Coral Castle

Homestead, Florida

Ed Leedskalnin single-handedly quarried and moved 1,100 tons of oolite—how is still argued.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Tampa Theatre

An indexed operator excerpt describes alleged spirits of employees and patrons.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Casa Monica

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1888 Moorish hotel—Flagler’s neighbor, revived.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Cathedral Basilica

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1797 cathedral—America’s oldest Catholic parish.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Key West Cemetery

Key West, Florida

"I told you I was sick"—the 1847 cemetery at the island’s heart.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Fort Zachary Taylor

Key West, Florida

The 1866 fort that held the Union at the Confederacy’s edge.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Curry Mansion

Key West, Florida

The 1899 mansion of Florida’s first millionaire—still a family home.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Edison and Ford Estates

Fort Myers, Florida

The neighbors’ winter estates—Edison and Ford’s Florida.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Rosewood

Cedar Key, Florida

January 1923—the town erased from the map.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Pensacola Lighthouse

Pensacola, Florida

The 1859 Gulf light with a keeper’s bloodstains legend.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Castillo de San Marcos

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1672 coquina fortress—the oldest masonry fort in the U.S.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Ponce de León Hotel

St. Augustine, Florida

Flagler’s 1888 Spanish palace—now Flagler College.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fountain of Youth

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1513 landing park—the spring that made the legend.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Old Jail

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1891 jail built to look like a hotel—Pinkerton’s disguise.

2 claims · 1 legend→

González-Alvarez House

St. Augustine, Florida

The "Oldest House"—St. Augustine’s oldest surviving dwelling.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Palace Saloon

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Florida’s oldest bar—1903, and the ship captains still drink.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Biltmore

Coral Gables, Florida

The 1926 tower hotel—the Fatty Arbuckle floor and the dead veteran.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Ernest Hemingway House

Key West, Florida

The 1851 house where Hemingway wrote—and the six-toed cats remain.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Captain Tony’s Saloon

Key West, Florida

The bar built around the hanging tree—the oldest saloon in the Keys.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Sloppy Joe’s

Key West, Florida

Hemingway’s bar—the 1933 original on Greene Street.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Ca’ d’Zan

Sarasota, Florida

The Ringlings’ Venetian palace on Sarasota Bay—1926.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Arcadia Opera House

Arcadia, Florida

The 1906 opera house—where the fire’s dead are said to watch.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Everglades

Homestead, Florida

The River of Grass—the sawgrass sea and the Skunk Ape’s country.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Ocoee

November 2-3, 1920—the Election Day massacre.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Hunter Arms Hotel

St. Cloud, Florida

Historic hotel with a published Vivian ghost tradition.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Myakka River / Skunk Ape country

Sarasota, Florida

Florida’s swamp sasquatch—famous for the 2000 "Myakka photos."

1 claim · 1 legend→

Fort East Martello

Key West, Florida

Fort associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Donnelly House

Mount Dora, Florida

Historic house associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Historic District

Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp

Cassadaga, Florida

Historic district associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Cassadaga Hotel

Cassadaga, Florida

Hotel associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Florida Theatre

Jacksonville, Florida

The theater’s indexed history page recounts a haunted reputation.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Florida House Inn

Fernandina Beach, Florida

VISIT FLORIDA publishes a haunted reputation for this inn.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Lakeside Inn

Mount Dora, Florida

VISIT FLORIDA describes the hotel as reputedly haunted.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Full Florida record → state index· Every documented legend filing → evidence shelf

Record last amended October 2, 2026 · shelves recounted with the archive