So, Friday the 13th, a full moon....what a great night for a "Ghost Walk". It just so happened that Mt Dora had one to offer, so away we went!!
Ruthie and Karen standing outside the old prison which now houses the historical museum.
We had a quick tour of the museum, including an old stile which later in the tour led to one of the famous ghost stories. It seems that during prohibition, there was a gentleman (?) who was big time into bootlegging. Trying to make as much money as he could as quickly as he could he cut many corners, including using old parts and pieces of basically junk. Long story short, he ended up with poisonous moonshine killing several people and leaving others deathly ill. when he was finally caught and put in jail.......
This is the actually prison cell he was in which has a window open to the outside. Story goes that one night while he was sleeping a posse of people who wanted to see him hung, decided they would do the next best thing which was to put a string down his throat while he was snoring and drip molasses laced with arsenic down the string and into his system.
This guy was the funniest magician....he did not talk but managed to get Ruth to give him her ring. It disappeared before our eyes and ended up in a tied pouch in his pocket and on a hook within the bag. None of us could figure it out!!!!
Jill....this was SO your thing.....one of the woman even had a detector on her cell phone ....
This was Dr. and Mrs. Nutter (and folklore has it he was a NUT). Story goes he worked with black lung back in the mines of PA. It was believed he did some very nasty experimenting on live patients and killed others to use them for experiments. Since there was a huge fire in Mt Dora years ago, the facts are not able to be proven. We visited his house, which is said to be haunted. When the law started to close in on Dr. Nutter he simply disappeared. However, the story goes they dug up some floorboards and found body parts.
After a quick puppet show (about ghosts, of course...) we started our tour.
This was our cute little guide. She was very informative, but we all thought one of the guys might have been much funnier.....
We started tour on Royellou Lane. Royellou was the original name of Mt Dora. Named for one of the founders three children. I am not sure exactly when the name Mt Dora came about.
This magnificent house is now the home of the Masonic Temple. It was originally owned by Mr. Donnelly, one of the richest men in Mt Dora. The story goes that once a woman came into town, wanting to buy a piece of property. She met with Mr. Donnelly and asked him who owned this house and he told her he did. She then pointed to a parcel across the street and asked who owned that...he replied "I do". this went on for one parcel after another. Finally she asked, "is there anything in this town that is not owned by you?" He told her the lake across the way did not belong to him and she asked to whom it might belong. He said "why that belongs to God"....her reply "well how did He ever get that from you?"This was supposed to be a good place to see orbs but I didn't!!
This is the old Renaissance Hotel which is now used primarily for shops. It is also believed to be haunted and orbs and figures can often be seen in the windows.
Another haunted house.....see any figures or orbs????
This picture hangs in the Frosted Mug....a tavern which has open air rooms so one can enjoy the evening while imbibing. They also sell (are you ready).....fried black olives. They are filled with mozzarella cheese, dipped in a coating and fried. No we didn't try them.
Anyway the story behind this one is that this little girl stood in front of a fireplace in the Lakeside Inn in this red dress. She told her mother she saw her father standing there smoking a cigar. Her mother told her that was impossible as her father had died several years ago. The little girl walked out of the hotel and was never seen again. However, there are claims that people will walk by and all of a sudden got a strong odor of cigar which then immediately disappears.
This is the Woman's Hospital which has now been turned into a restaurant. It is believed to have many spirits. Carolyn, the woman standing in the blue taking a picture took her picture at the same time I did from the same place and got a much different picture than I did?????So whether you believe or not....it was great fun on a beautiful evening and a very, very good history lesson of Mt Dora.
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