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Orlando horror stories: 36 of the most haunted places in Central Florida

By Orlando Weekly Staff on Thu, Oct 8, 2015 at 9:45 am

Ghoul season has officially begun. Halloween is just around the corner. In honor of the spirit of haunting, we researched some of the most haunted places in the Orlando area on Haunted Places to share with you.

What's your favorite Orlando ghost story?

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Orlando Executive Airport
Once an Orlando Army base, this airport housed almost 750 German prisoners during World War II. Travelers who go through Orlando Executive Airport sometimes hear foreign speech late at night. Is it possibly the lost souls of these German prisoners?
Image via H.J. High

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean
Meet George, a former-worker-turned-ghost at this popular attraction. Guests say George tends to cause trouble if people are disrespectful to his name or do not believe he exists. Just another reminder to always be nice ... even to ghosts.
Image via the WDW Blog

Princeton Hospital/Lakeside Behavorial Healthcare, Orlando
This former psychiatric hospital has been host to randomly moving wheelchairs, bodiless voices and apparitions that sometimes appear hollow.
Image via Examiner

Sunland Mental Hospital, Orlando
This children’s hospital for the mentally ill is one of the scariest local spots we've come across. Police reported that a man who was curiously seeking ghosts in this abandoned building fell three stories down an elevator shaft. His ghost, and those of screaming children and lost boys, still haunt the playground where the hospital once stood.
15 spooky images of the abandoned Sunland Mental Hospital

Disney's Haunted Mansion
Employees of this spooky attraction have experienced encounters with several ghosts that have found a way into this place. Between little kids running around the ballroom, a child's laughter in the stretch room and disappearing Disney workers, it's hard to tell which ghosts are projections and which are real.
Image via Wikipedia

Peabody Hotel, Orlando
This hotel, now rebranded as Hyatt, once claimed the title as the “Second Tallest Building” in Orlando. Apparently, it claimed several lives, too. After reports of suicides, the ghosts of these lost souls can are seen roaming around the hallways.
Image via Wikipedia

Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando
As one of the oldest places in Orlando, this spooky cemetery houses some of Florida’s most prominent residents, including Mayor Bob Carr and Joseph Bumby. Tales of children playing with flashlights and Confederate soldiers roaming the fields have been reported by those who dare to go there after dark.
Related: Best reason to hang out in a cemetery
Image via greenwood-cemetery.net

Pritchard House, Titusville
Some say that one of the former owners, Lola Pauline Smith Pritchard, still walks the halls of her 1891 home. You don't want to go trespassing in Miss Lovie's house, but if you do find yourself inside, prepare yourself for some spooky voices, flickering lights and a grandfather clock that pings even though it's broken.
Image via nbbd.com

Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, Lakeland
Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, and it's believed that his ghost still haunts the building. Apparently, the choir screen was improperly placed and an apparition of Wright can be seen in the screen. Lesson learned: don't mess with his buildings, or he definitely will come back to haunt you.
Image via bluffton.edu

Elijah Hand Building, Orlando
19th century undertaker Elijah Hand's business was so booming that he had to start keeping bodies in his upstairs furniture store. Nowadays, people say items are sometimes thrown by unseen hands. And it wouldn't be a proper haunted building without a "Lady in White" sighting, too.
Image via richesmi.cah.ucf.edu

Boot Hill Saloon, Daytona Beach
Bikers just can't get enough of the Boot Hill Saloon. Even in death, some bikers make a pit stop at their favorite watering hole and have a riotous time. The spirits here make the jukebox play even when unplugged, hurl items across the bar and turn on the faucets in the bathroom when no one is around.
Image via floridamemory.com

Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando
Harry Leu and his wife, Mary Jane, purchase this land in 1936, and rumor has it, they haven't left. People who have toured their mansion report frequent apparition sightings, especially on the second story porch, and the sound of footsteps when no one is in the area.
Image via Wikipedia

Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens , Winter Park
This museum features more than 200 Polasek scultures, and some of the staff believe that his spirit looms over the art. One guest took a picture of Polasek's "Stations of the Cross" and in the photo was a tear suspended on the sculpture's cheek. To this day, the staff has no idea how that got there.
Image via polasek.org

Zellie's Pub, Mount Dora
The spirits haunting Zellie's Pub seem pretty pissed. Workers have been pushed in the bathroom, a beer mug got thrown all the way across the bar and the lights flicker at random. These ghosts have no chill.
Image via edibletapestry.com

Bliss Nightclub, Orlando
Before closing in 2013, the staff at this dance club refused to go into one of the refrigerators after dark claiming that they felt like they were being watched. As if the evil presence wasn't enough, furniture had a way of moving all on its own... or was it a ghost?
Image via hauntedplaces.org

Hamburger Mary's, Orlando
The Hamburger Mary's staff reports sightings of a little girl dressed in Victorian clothing. She has a tendency to tap on the window and wave to guests, as well as skip down the street late at night.
Image via tastychomps.com

Carey Hand Building, Orlando
This building is currently being used by UCF for the Ying Academic Center, but back in the day it used to house the Carey Hand Funeral Home. It's said that footsteps and whispers can be heard creeping their way around the building.
Image via database.organsociety.org