HGB Ep. 513 - Haunted Fort Lauderdale

Moment in Oddity - Stoneman Willie

When someone says, "I love my mummy", many people assume that the person speaking those words are referring to their mother. However in Reading, Pennsylvania, those sentiments could be referring to a mummified corpse. The Auman Funeral Home had been caring for a mummified corpse known as Stoneman Willie since he died in 1895. According to records, the mummy had been on display for 128 years. Those records show that Willie was picked up for drunkenness then released and shortly thereafter he was arrested again for breaking into a boarding house. The prison warden stated that Willie stood at 5 feet 11 inches and possessed sandy brown hair and a mustache. Willie died while in custody after his second arrest. Stoneman Willie was recently interred on October 7th, 2023 in Reading, Pennsylvania at the Forest Hills Memorial Park cemetery. The funeral home's director said that researchers are fairly certain that Stoneman Willie was actually James Murphy of New York who was of Irish decent and was in Reading for a convention. Willie's corpse, or James as it were, had become an icon of the area and attracted tourism to the funeral home. Be that as it may, he is no longer laying in state but is comfortably resting 6 feet under with a granite tombstone bearing both of his names. An informational relief will be added shortly and his whole burial story, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Days of Our Lives Debut

In the month of November, on the 8th in 1965, the soap opera 'Days of Our Lives' premiered. The episode was titled, "Beyond Salem, Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas". This Daytime Emmy Award winning show has been broadcasted practically every weekday since that debut episode. The original show consisted of seven main characters. Tom and Alice Horton, Mickey Horton, Marie Horton, Julie Olson, Tony Merritt and Craig Merritt. Dr. Tom Horton, played by Macdonald Carey was a cast member from the shows inception until his death in March of 1994. He is still heard voicing the epigraph, "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives", as well as the outro to commercial breaks. Frances Reid played Tom's wife Alice, the shows matriarch. She was a cast member for 42 years. Fans of the show are familiar with the fondness of Alice Horton's doughnuts that always worked their way into so many storylines. Over the years many core character actors have remained. Dr. Marlena Evans and John Black played by Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, Bo and Hope and so many more. With such a long running show and so many actors that have stayed for 10, 20 and even 30+ years one can imagine the set is more like a family than just a job. Here's to many more, "Days of Our Lives".  

Haunted Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale means fun in the sun at a beach for most people. But this oceanside town has another side. There are many haunted locations here and for good reason. The Seminoles fought with settlers, the titans of industry made this their playground and this is the Venice of America with 165 miles of scenic inland waterways. Water is a key conduit for paranormal activity. In October, we met up with our listeners Amanda and Charlotte and had some dinner and then headed off for a ghost tour. Join us as we share the history and hauntings of Fort Lauderdale!

Fort Lauderdale was originally known as New River Settlement. Before European settlers moved in, the Tequesta tribe was in South Florida and their dwindling numbers merged with the Seminoles. The Seminoles were a fiercely independent people and when the Spaniards came, they called them "maroons" or "wild, free people" because they couldn't be subjugated. The United States military built a stockade at the fork of the New River in 1838 and named it Fort Lauderdale after Major William Lauderdale. He led a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers during the Second Seminole War. Two other forts were built and named for him, one at Tarpon Bend and another at Bahia Mar. Fort Lauderdale was abandoned in 1842 and there weren't many people who lived here until the 1890s. The city itself wouldn't be incorporated until March 27, 1911. The city grew fast though and is today one of the ten largest cities in Florida.  

We had dinner at Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap, which features scratch cooked southern culinary food and craft drinks like beer and root beer. The root beer was amazing and the food was great too! Then we walked up to the downtown area to meet our tour group under the Thrive Sculpture, which to us looked pretty creepy. It features the giant upper torso of a woman ripping her chest open. We were told it was installed after Covid. Lina was our guide. Our group walked down towards the Riverwalk and stopped at the 9/11 Memorial that is there, which was made from a piece of debris from one of the twin towers. The walk goes along the New River. A train goes through this area as well and Lina told us that people occasionally claim to see shadow figures along the tracks because people have died on the tracks.

Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale got its start in 1968. The school changed locations a few times and added buildings to campus before closing in 2018. One of the buildings was an apartment complex off Sunrise Boulevard that was used as a dormitory called Sunrise Hall. Before the apartment complex was here, there was a three-story wooden home that probably started as a boarding house and eventually became what residents of the city called a den of filth. During the 1940s it became a flophouse and this lasted through the 1960s with the police making regular stops to deal with drugs, prostitution and murder. The building became a real eyesore and finally burned to the ground in the late 1960s. A small, apartment-style hotel was built on the spot and it was quite popular in the 1970s. There were a few stories of strange happenings, but paranormal stories didn't really start coming out until the school started using the building as a dormitory. Students claimed to hear strange sounds, particularly on the second and third floors. The most regular sound was moaning, which always started around 1 am. After a few minutes, the moaning would trail off, only to start again. There is no cause found for the moaning. The sounds of metal tools being dropped had also been heard. High heeled shoes are heard clicking on the first floor around 3 am. The walking goes towards the door and then goes away. Then shortly there after, the shoes sound as if they are running back in from the door and then stop as quickly as they started. Shadow figures were seen walking the halls at night and some students claimed to see shadow standing outside the windows of their rooms and when they would look outside, they would see no one there. They go back into their room and see that the shadow was still there. The shadow would eventually go away.

Esplanade Park 

Esplanade Park is today a community center for the residents of Fort Lauderdale, but it once was the scene of some bloody attacks. This park is down by the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk and has gardens and a pavilion. A fort had once stood where the park is now and had vast stores of ammunition and gunpowder. The Seminoles had formed a partnership with some mercenaries and this group of ten men broke into the fort and tried to smuggle out some explosives, but were caught. The commander decided to burn down the garrison with the mercenaries inside and they were killed. For years, the Seminoles and settlers fought with each other over land and this came to a head after a group of settlers assassinated the Seminole chief who was named Alabama. They then burned down his hut. The Justice of the Peace was named William Cooley and he arrested those responsible, but had to let them go because there wasn't enough evidence. Both the Seminole and Creek blamed Cooley for no justice and they planned to get revenge. The Second Seminole War broke out and on January 4, 1836, a group of Creek Indians attacked Cooley's homestead when he was away and killed his three children, his wife and the children's tutor, whom they also scalped. They then burned the house. This homestead was just a bit down from Esplanade Park.

Now it is said that the park is haunted because of the attack at Cooley's home and the killing of the mercenaries. The mercenaries appear as grotesque zombies with rotting flesh and open wounds. A man who was walking his dog along the Riverwalk felt a tugging on his shoes. He looked down to see a skeletal hand clutching his ankle from the ground and the man ran and called the police. The police actually found the bones still there when they got to the park and those bones were carbon-dated to the Third Seminole War. There are those who think this might be a mass burial site. Lina told us that a man had been walking through the park and he took a break on the bench. He tied his shoes, sat up and noticed a man was sitting next to him. He looked over and it was someone covered in blood, wearing indigenous clothing looking at him, who then disappeared.

Lucky's Tavern

Lucky's Tavern is the "Home of the 3-Legged Dog" and offers over 100 beers. Fort Lauderdale attracted mobs and gangs and one of these mobsters was standing in the doorway when he was shot and killed. The bar had been a pretty violent place. Staff members claim to feel strange things in the bar. One evening, a bouncer was laying his head down on the bar because he was tired and he felt something nudge him. He looked up and no one was near him so he laid his head back down. Then he felt another little push. He looked up again and still no one. The bouncer laid his head down one more time and was violently pushed off his chair. This time when he looked up, he saw a dark figure and it scared him. The bouncer told his boss and the boss told him that he shouldn't sleep on the job. People claim to feel cold spots and to see shadows in the bathroom. Female bartenders have been touched inappropriately by something they can't see. A woman in a long Victorian dress with her hair pulled back has also been seen here, missing her feet.

Original Fat Cat's Bar

There are really no public records about this location. Today its a dive bar with great food and live music. (43 minutes in is music) This was a residence for a time and a family was living there in the 1960s. The husband was found dead in the house from cardiac arrest, but the really strange thing is that his hair turned white. A few years later another family set up a business in the building. This was now the 1970s and they were selling clothing. Unexplained things started happening like patrons seeing shadows and being scared by something. The family claimed to hear strange chanting. They also saw a group of figures standing in a circle. Rumors circulated that something demonic was connected to the location. A group of paranormal investigators was brought in and they collected some evidence using some old experiments. A journal was discovered beneath the floor boards and as they flipped through it, they realized it had belonged to a warden and that got historians thinking that this had once been a jail. The warden wrote down his beliefs about rehabilitating prisoners and torture was the cure to him. There were forty-two prisoners under him and he would torture them every day with both physical and mental means. Neighbors finally called the police after getting tired of hearing the screams of the men. Before they shut down the jail, the warden poisoned all the inmates and then the guards, his wife, his children and himself. People claim to see shadows looking out of the windows. 

Fire Station 3

Firefighters were at Fire Station 3 for 77 years. They moved onto a new station and this one became a museum. The fire station was designed to look like the houses around it and even the interior was more home-like with a dining room, kitchen, living room and bedrooms that branched off a hallway. The only real difference was the engine bay where the fire trucks were parked. For years, firefighters at the station had weird experiences that convinced them that there was a ghost in their midst. They thought the spirit might date back to the 1940s because a firefighter named Robert Leland Knight died on his second week in the job. He stepped into a pool of water that had been electrified by a downed power line. The activity continued even after the firefighters moved out. Guides have reported seeing lights turn on and off, and locked doors and windows will suddenly swing open. This spirit likes to pull pranks. One day, a man was doing some repair work on a tile wall and he had heard the stories about the ghost. He decided to ask for his opinion so he queried, "Robert, tell me if you like what I’m doing." There was a loud noise in the other room, so he went to investigate and when he came back, almost all the tile work he had done was off the wall and neatly stacked on the floor.

Museum of Science & Discovery

This is a large building that opened in 1992 and is the most visited museum in the state of Florida. There are lots of displays, interactive programs, overnight experiences and an IMAX Theater. There was a sitting area outside the entrance and Lina invited us to sit down while she shares some legend connected to the site. A family had lived here with a three-year-old daughter. The father was an alcoholic and he would get very drunk every night. One night he didn't come home and his wife and child went out to look for him and they found him drowned in the New River. The mother went into a deep depression and she decided to take her life, but she couldn't leave her daughter behind so she threw herself and her daughter into the river and they drowned also. Staff at the museum claim to find puddles throughout the museum where there shouldn't be water and even wet foot prints. The scent of whiskey is also smelled. There are some people who believe that the spirit of the little girl haunts the New River Inn, which is right down the Riverwalk. And that brings us to Fort Lauderdale's historic village.

The New River Inn

The New River Inn was one of the first hotels in the area. Philemon Nathaniel Bryan was one of the founders of Fort Lauderdale. He was born near Jasper in Hamilton County in 1844 where we investigated the Old Hamilton County Jail. Philemon married Lucy Catherine Murray in 1867 and they had seven children. He had a citrus grove that he lost to frost, so he moved the family to Fort Lauderdale to start over.  The railroad would become his focus and was given the job of supervising the laborers laying track for Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway. The Bryans had a house across from the railroad station and they used it as a boarding house. Bryan saw the success a luxury hotel could have if it was built near the railroad station and so he replaced the boarding house with The Bryan Hotel. Contractor Edwin T. King built the hotel from hollow concrete blocks formed from beach sand. No rebar was used in the construction, rather this is considered a “gravity building” with the same kind of structure as the pyramids of Egypt where the weight of the blocks ensures its strength. The New River Inn was unprecedented in its luxury for the community and opened in 1905, featuring twenty-four rooms and two bathrooms. King also built the Bryans a concrete block house in the Colonial Revival style at 227 Southwest 2nd Avenue. That house still stands and is considered the oldest remaining example of residential masonry architecture in Fort Lauderdale. Philemon died in the house in 1925 at the age of eighty-four. Lucy died a year before Philemon after breaking her hip slipping on a pea pod on the front porch of the Bryan's former home when she was seventy-two and people claim that her spirit haunts the home. A Yoga Studio had once used the home and patrons claimed that when they would look in the mirror, they would see the image of an elderly lady with her silver hair in a bun and dressed in a black wool dress. She would give the startled patrons a friendly smile.

If you visit both the hotel and house, you will see they are made from the exact same concrete block. Eventually the name of the hotel was changed to the New River Inn. The hotel ran for 50 years before being closed in 1955. Today, it is a museum that pays homage to Florida’s past and pioneer life and still features the same wood floors and front desk. The museum has a few ghosts hanging out as well. On the tour we were told there were three spirits in the museum, but only one had been identified. They believe that spirit is Bryan himself. And we did find other claims that people see the spirit of an elderly gentleman resembling Bryan in his former hotel. But unfortunately, the story we were told behind his haunting here couldn't be more wrong. We were told that he passed away while trying to save his three children during a hurricane and that the children survived. Well, as you know from what we told you, Bryan died when he was 84. He had been ill for over a year. He more than likely is here, not because of tragedy, but because he loved the hotel. Lina went on to tell us that a tall, dark figure wearing a long coat has been seen and this figure has no face. When confronted, this ghost has thrown its arms up and asked, "What are you looking at?" There are those who think he was a visiting railroad man who died at the hotel. The third spirit seems to be a young girl of five or six. A staff member once saw a little girl kneeling down and they went up to talk to her. This person looked away for a moment and then looked back at the girl and she was gone. The belief is that she might be a girl who drowned in the river, either the daughter of the whiskey drinking man we mentioned earlier or some other child, possibly Lulu Marshall who had been a student of Ivy Stranahan - the Stranahans were a founding family of the city as well. Many died from yellow fever in the city. The girl likes to play with toys and has been seen looking out of the windows.

King-Cromartie House

Another building that is part of the historic village is the King-Cromartie House, which was moved to its location right next to the New River Inn. Legend claims that it was built from the wood of a sunken ship that was found down closer by Miami. This was built by Edwin T. King who was another early settler of Fort Lauderdale. He and his brother built some temporary homes before sending for their families. After Ed's family arrived, he petitioned the city for a school and a woman named Ivy Cromartie came to be the first school teacher. She was joined by her brother Bloxham who would end up marrying Ed's daughter Louise. The King-Cromartie house was built from Dade County pine in the four square Georgian style and completed in 1907 and was originally one-story with a dining room, living room and two bedrooms. A second-story was added later with two bedrooms and a bathroom. Eventually, Louise and Bloxham inherited the house and the couple had two children. The house stayed in the family until 1968. Louise was living in it with her brother Bird King at that time. They sold the house to a man named Stan Smoker and he deeded the house to the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale. In 1994, The Fort Lauderdale Historical Society took over the house and opened it to the public as the King-Cromartie House Museum, which we toured. Daniel Smith was our guide and he was a wealth of information. The house is filled with antiques, only a couple of which were original to the family. Daniel had maps to show us where the house had originally been built and pictures showing how the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale barged the house upriver to this site in 1971 to save it from demolition.

On a side note, we figured out what had gotten mixed up with the history about Philemon Bryan when learning about Ed King. Ed eventually moved from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Okeechobee and he died there during a hurricane in 1928. He dove into the water to save two children and lost his life. He was found after the waters receded, still holding one of the children. The house is said to be haunted by Louise King-Cromartie. Her translucent apparition is often seen looking out of an upstairs window wearing a white dress. She has also been seen walking inside the house and sometimes is in a pink dress with her blonde hair up in a messy bun. Visitors often report hearing children playing and laughing and this may be because there is a schoolhouse that is part of the historic village as well. Disembodied footsteps are heard in the house and the swing on the front porch has been seen rocking back and forth entirely on its own.

Schoolhouse

Daniel took us over to the schoolhouse, which is behind the King-Cromartie House. This is not an original schoolhouse, but a replica. Many of the artifacts inside though are authentic and people claim that they hear the disembodied sounds of children laughing and playing.

Stranahan House

The Stranahan House we were unable to visit because it was closed while were in Fort Lauderdale and we couldn't even drive past it because of construction. The house is said to be an "excellent example of Florida vernacular architecture." This was built by Frank Stranahan. Stranahan had been born in Ohio in 1864. He worked in a Youngstown, Ohio steel mill and this impaired his lungs, so he moved to Florida in 1890 seeking a better environment. He settled first in Melbourne, until a cousin offered him a job at the New River Camp at Fort Lauderdale and he arrived in 1893. That first job was managing the overland mail route. He also started a ferry service to help people get over the New River. Frank built a house for him to not only live in, but to service his enterprises, so this had a waiting area for the ferry and a post office. Frank also opened the house up as a type of trading post and he not only welcomed the white settlers, but Seminoles as well. He was liked by everybody and is seen as a founding father of the city.

We mentioned Ivy Cromartie earlier as the first school teacher in Fort Lauderdale. She was only eighteen years old when she moved to the town in 1899. Frank fell in love with Ivy, and asked her to marry him, but she said she would only accept under two conditions: he needed to shave his beard and he had to agree to not have children. She clearly liked children since she was a teacher, but it is thought she was traumatized when she helped her mother during a horrendous childbirth that didn't go well. The couple married in 1900 and Frank set about expanding the house into two-and-a-half-stories. The first floor had his office, a parlor, dining room and kitchen, while the second floor had six rooms: a master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, a sewing room and two guest rooms and there was a bathroom up there as well. The whole house was constructed from Dade County Pine and there were verandas on both floors. The house was ahead of its time with indoor plumbing, running water and electricity. 

Ivy taught the children of Fort Lauderdale for seventeen years and she also taught the Seminole children for fifteen years. She created the "Friends of the Seminoles" Foundation and helped to establish Everglades National Park, while also championing women's suffrage. The Stranahans had a great life...and then the Stock Market crashed. It wiped out most of Frank's assets, save his farming interests. A hurricane that same year wiped out the farming ventures. Then a trip to the doctor revealed that Frank had terminal cancer. He was told he had six months to live and he fell into a deep depression. Frank tried to kill himself during a hospital and he was sent to an asylum. Ivy was desperate to have him brought home so that he could die in peace there. She petitioned the authorities and they let him go home. And then she watched him like a hawk, never leaving him alone because she was afraid he would attempt suicide again. One day, she left him alone outside for just a moment, but it was long enough for Frank to tie himself to a heavy metal object and drown himself in the New River.

Ivy turned her beloved home into a boarding house to make ends meet. Frank's suicide meant she couldn't collect his life insurance money. She eventually leased the first floor to a restaurant. Ivy died in her sleep in 1971 and the restaurant continued to run in the house until 1979. When it closed, the house was given to the 7th Day Adventist Church to which Ivy had been a lifelong member. The church sold the house to the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. The house was restored to its 1915 look on both the interior and exterior and opened as a museum. The Stranahans had it painted white with green trim and that is what it is today. A hurricane-proof roof was put on the structure in 1996. The interior has Victorian era furniture with many original pieces to the Stranahans, including Ivy's china.

The house is said to be haunted. One spirit is believed to belong to Ivy's sister Pink. Pink's husband had gone away on what he called a business trip and Pink was pregnant and didn't want to be alone, so she came to stay at the Stranahan House. She had lost three previous pregnancies. She ended up losing this one as well after she heard news that her husband had left her for his wife, whom Pink had no idea existed. Pink hemorrhaged badly and refused to go to the hospital and she died in the parlor. Paranormal investigator John Marc Carr wrote the book "Haunted Fort Lauderdale" and he wrote in that about an investigation he conducted. EVPs that he collected made him think that Pink had wanted her husband arrested and is still seeking that in the afterlife. Pink asked where Clark was and he was the sheriff of Fort Lauderdale back at her time. Two orbs are seen traveling together at times and it is surmised that this is Pink and her unborn child.

Ivy's brother Albert was a black sheep of the family who enjoyed carousing around, gambling, drinking and sleeping with ladies of the evening. One of the latter gave him TB and he died from it in the Stranahan House six months later. His spirit manifests as a bit playful, but inappropriate at times. Albert has yelled, "Get out!" on EVPs. His spirit isn't the only family member here. Ivy's father, Augustus Cromartie, became ill and she had him move into the house where he died. This is today the gift shop and his presence is felt in there. He doesn't like change and he will throw things like books when displeased. Sometimes he will make the shop ice cold. And then, of course, Frank is here. Both visitors and staff have seen Frank's apparition in the house, but he is also seen jumping in the New River in a residual manner.

Ivy's spirit is still said to be in the house as well. Nobody is sure who the spirit is that helps out on the stairs leading up to the attic. They are narrow and can be dangerous and many times, staff have felt a cold hand on their backs steadying them on the stairs. Occasionally, the scent of a perfume that Ivy worry is in the area, so some people think that she is the helper. If Ivy gets upset with someone, she tends to blow in their ears. Otherwise, she is very pleasant. Ivy had taught Seminole children and a story claims that a young Seminole girl showed up on her doorstep one day and passed away. Her voice has been picked up on EVPs. She not only answers questions, but she likes to sing and chant. The girl has a sweet tooth and likes candy. She will take candy out of a jar that sits on Frank's desk in his office and staff will find it piled up in the attic.

Fort Lauderdale is more than just a fun Spring Break destination. Ghost enthusiasts who love history will have a great time here as well. Are these locations in Fort Lauderdale haunted? That is for you to decide!