Overview
Featured on the popular TV show, America’s Most Haunted, the Casablanca Inn in St. Augustine is located in what is often referred to as the “Nation’s Oldest City.” The city itself has a long and rich history, and there are several documented cases of hauntings and paranormal activity throughout St. Augustine. The Casablanca Inn is among the most elegant places in the city to supposedly be haunted.
Paranormal Activity at Casablanca Inn in St Augustine, FL
People traveling the seas or walking nearby are said to have witnessed a light waving back and forth from the second floor of the inn. It is said that the widow who owned the inn would do this to warn bootleggers smuggling alcohol in when it wasn’t safe to enter the harbor. She procured alcohol from the bootleggers because many of her guests wanted it, and she made much money in doing so. In addition to seeing a waving light, others have reported seeing strange, wispy, fog-like apparitions in and around the inn, hearing creaks on the floorboards when no one’s there, sounds of people talking and sounds of children playing.
From Boarding House to Inn
The Casablanca Inn was originally built in 1914, but back then it was known as the “Matanzas Hotel” because it overlooked the beautiful, tropical Matanzas Bay. Later, it became known as the “Bayfront Boarding House,” a name change that the widow who bought the property in the 1920s initiated. A few years later, she again renamed the establishment, this time calling it the “Casablanca Inn,” the name that it still retains today. During its time as a boarding house, many children resided in it, which is perhaps why sounds of children playing have reportedly been heard there.
