OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Ocala has a long history of haunted locations and spooky hotspots. Locals have spread these tales throughout time, however, whether they’re true or not is up for debate. Here are some of Ocala’s reported hotspots for paranormal activities and apparatus sightings.
1. Fort King National Historic Landmark
The Fort King National Historic Landmark is a reconstructed fortress built in 2017 to be as historically accurate as possible after its deconstruction due to inactivity and preservation of building materials in 1846. Now, it stands as a historic and educational landmark where reenactments are performed, and stories are told to preserve the fascinating and long history.
With the long history of the first and second Seminole wars, the fort comes rumored with ghostly sightings and legends. One such legend is a haunting love story between a soldier and a Seminole woman. They fell in love, however, in Romeo and Juliette fashion, the Seminole woman believed her lover died and drowned herself, leaving the soldier to find her body and end his own life so they would be together. Now, people have reported seeing two figures walking around the water, orbs and hearing phantom gun shots and whispers of disembodied voices. Locals have also reported a sense of unease and strange feelings attributed to the hauntings.
2. Ma Barker House
Ma Barker House has a long history as what started as a regular lake house turned into a gang hideout, which eventually led to the longest FBI shootout in history. This house was the final resting place of the Barker-Karpis Gang matriarch, Ma Barker and her son, Fred Barker after the violent shootout.
Now, it stands as a museum at the Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area with rumors of ghostly encounters from the infamous gang members. Paranormal investigator, Kristy Sumner visited the house in 2019 as a part of the Soul Sisters Paranormal investigative team. Although she claims she can’t classify the house as haunted, she insists that Ma and Fred Barker’s “energy” still resides in the house.
3. Kerr City
Kerr City in the Ocala National Forest is one of eight registered historic ghost towns in the state of Florida. The city, founded in 1884 by George Smiley, was a large hub for Florida’s citrus industry and was widely considered to be the first developed town in the Marion County area. Though not open to the public without permission, the city still stands as a hub for paranormal sightings.
The Great Freeze from 1894-1895 wiped out all the citrus crops in the area, which led the town to crumble seemingly overnight. Many residents left while they could while others perished in the tragedy. The post office, which was the last part of the town to close in 1942, became the central location for the town’s ghost sightings. Most paranormal investigators have claimed to have seen spirits of former residents, including a postmaster with flowing red hair deemed “Sarah” in the second-floor bedroom of the old post office. Another named spirit, “Emily” has been connected to an indigenous burial ground. The Lake Kerr House, the town’s hotel, burned down before the Great Freeze in 1907 and some accounts link encounters with spirits to the site.
4. Panorama Inn
The Panorama Inn was located down the street from Silver Springs State Park. Established sometime in the early 1970s, the resort was known by two names in its lifetime – Panorama Inn and, later, Silver Lake Lodge. Not much is known about the resort’s old history, however by the early 1980s, the resort changed hands, and the property was left abandoned by the end of the decade.
The property quickly fell into ruin and became a go-to destination for paranormal investigators and urban explorers. Visitors to the site reported flickering lights in empty hotel rooms, strange noises and cold spots along the old walkways. The building was demolished around 2006, but the lot still exists.
5. Ocala National Forest
The Ocala National Forest is the second largest protected forest in Florida under the Everglades, established in 1908. With it’s large size, open camping grounds and local legends it has become a hotspot for paranormal activities and investigators.
Locals recount various factors, such as missing persons, missing graves, homeless encampments, rumors of cultists and multiple animals that have contributed to the ominous theories of paranormal activity. Documentaries and YouTube explorers who traverse the woods and explain their experience also contribute to the scene in the Ocala National Forest as well as the Rainbow People who are known to share their supernatural moments of seeing apparitions of children giggling.
Some of the haunted experiences locals have reported are sighting of The Dark Man, a shadowy figure of a man who walks along the paths of the Ocala National Forest wearing a dark trench coat and hat. Locals also report seeing legends such as the Vengeful Coyote Woman whose legend entails her father getting rid of her lover and her, subsequentially, getting rid of him before crying so much, she began to sound like a coyote before taking her own life. There have also been sightings of the Mysterious Woman of Juniper Springs whose legend entails her losing her child and now searches the area in a ghostly form to look for her child. The more common reports of haunting experiences among locals are hearing ominous screams, disembodied voices, animals behaving strangely, mysterious lights, having strange feelings and sensations and even seeing full body apparitions.
6. Rolling Acres Road
Rolling Acres Road is a long stretch of road in Lady Lake heading South away from the Villages. The road leads to a dead end Although it started a as a normal road in Lady Lake, it incurred an interesting legend of The White Lady.
Julia, also known as The White Lady, is believed to be a woman who was killed while waiting for her fiancé to meet her since her parents disliked him and wouldn’t let them meet. Locals who travel down this road claim to hear screaming through the dense forest, which is believed to be Julia Locals have even claimed to see a fully body apparition of a bright white ghostly figure, which is where she coined the name, The White Lady. Although the origin of this tale is unknown, the impact of it has left residents unsettled.
7. Seven Sisters Inn
The Seven Sisters Inn was built in 1891 with a long history of changing owners and functioning as a private residence. However, in July 2021, it officially became a bed and breakfast under the ownership of Richard Diamond.
This location is known to be haunted by the original owners Charles and Emma Reinauer. Guests have reported seeing the owners, a decaying lady and hearing music from the music room without anyone else in the room.
8. Ritz Inn
The Ritz Inn was built in 1925 with 16 apartments before being renovated to accommodate a higher demand for housing in the 1940s during a boom in population amid World War II. Now, it serves as a homeless military housing facility with reports of hauntings.
Local legends say the Ritz burned down, killing numerous people who now haunt the historical inn. Although there isn’t a specified date linked to the fire and no evidence has been found that the inn burned down, it doesn’t stop locals from speculating with recounts of their own ghostly encounters. Some of the reports include strange feelings, lights coming on by themselves, hearing disembodied voices and animals and even seeing apparitions. However, although many claim to have paranormal encounters, some claim to have stayed at the inn and experienced no haunting encounters.
9. Tiger Trail
SW 180th Avenue, also called High School Road or Tiger Trail by locals, is a stretch of road wrapped in eerie folklore and reported hauntings in Dunnellon. In the late 1800s, phosphate was discovered and mining operations flourished, helping establish the town around 1890. The road now leads to Dunnellon High School and became widely known partly because portions of the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers were filmed there.
Over time, Tiger Trail has become the setting of local ghost lore: tales say that around 3 a.m., the ghosts of three children allegedly killed in a traffic accident at the nearby traffic intersection, appear in or along the road, sometimes seen holding hands before vanishing as drivers approach. Some witnesses describe even more unsettling apparitions: a family of five with hollow, pitch-black holes for eyes and mouths, standing silently by the roadside, or shadowy silhouettes that dissolve into a dust-like swirl when headlights hit them. These encounters, reported on paranormal forums and collected in local ghost stories, share recurring details of child-sized figures, late-night appearances and sudden disappearances, reinforcing Tiger Trail’s reputation as one of Dunnellon’s most haunted roads.