Orlando's Haunted History is Enough to Turn Non-Believers Into Ghost Hunters

Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando is home to a tremendous amount of eerie activity, in part thanks due to the multiple child cemeteries on its premises.
Photo by: Rain0975, via Flickr. (CC BY-ND 2.0)

With hundreds of years of fascinating history, Florida is definitely at the top of the list when it comes to most haunted places in the US, but we were wondering - just how haunted is the City of Orlando? Well, as it turns out, the city is pretty haunted, as it's home to numerous historical monuments and landmarks, and all sorts of spooky, fascinating things have happened in Orlando over the years.

Whether you're a ghost hunting pro, or you're unsure when it comes to paranormal activity, these Orlando Real Haunts are places you won't want to miss on your next trip to the sunshine state's most infamous city!

• The Interstate 4 "Dead Zone" (Between Daytona & Orlando) - While this real haunt isn't within the official city limits, it's creepy enough that it definitely belongs on the list. Between the cities of Orlando, and Daytona, there is a stretch of Interstate 4 known as "The Dead Zone", because of the unusually high amount of paranormal activity, as well as car accidents. It's believed that the highway was built over the graves of four German migrants who died of Yellow Fever, and are now haunting the stretch or roadway, which many have reported seeing orbs of light and apparitions on.
  
  Locals will also tell you that numerous hurricanes and storms have traveled directly up this pathway, adding fuel to the fire that something spooky is going on here.
  
  
• The Elijah Hand Building - Built in the 1800s, the Elijah Hand Building is said to be home to all sorts of creepy paranormal activity. Folks have reported feeling like "they're being watched" whilst they walk past the building, and some have even reported being hit in the head by small objects as they walk by the nineteenth century structure.
  
  So why is this building so packed with bad juju? A more mundane reason than you might think, actually. Elijah Hand was an undertaker, and while this particular business was one of his other endeavors, a furniture store, it's said that he "stored" bodies on site, which while creepy, doesn't seem too unreasonable, considering his chosen profession. Apparently not all of the undead agreed with that sentiment, which is why the property is haunted by mischievous spirits to this day.
  
  
• The Greenwood Cemetery - There are few things that can make a cemetery more inherently creepy than it already is, just by nature, but somehow, the Greenwood Cemetery has managed to make itself much creepier than your average, run of the mill cemetery. How? Well, because a tremendous portion of the cemetery is dedicated to children ages 5 and under, who passed away at the local Sunland Hospital.
  
  Sections of the cemetery are creepily named things such as "Baby Land 1", "Baby Land 2", and "Baby Land 3", and contain the remains of children 5 and younger exclusively, including infants, and people have reported more than just feeling an eerie presence in these graveyards. In the "Baby Land" Sections of the cemetery, there have reports of people hearing children's laughter, as well as music boxes playing, despite there being no one around. If encountering the ghosts of children isn't enough to send a chill up your spine, then frankly, I do not know what is.
  
  
• Room 206 at The Super 8 Motel on International Drive - Ok, so you've seen movies about a haunted motel room, right? You're familiar with all of the tropes? Well, guess what? Room 206 at The Super 8 on International Drive live up to the hype. Folks have made the bed, only to see a body-shaped depression form in the sheets instantaneously, and guests have complained of feeling like someone is in the bed with them while they're sleeping.
  
  Guests have also said the room is downright arctic cold, even with the AC turned off - it definitely sounds like there's an unwanted guest that's taken up permanent residence in this Super 8 Motel.
  
  
• Ceviche Restaurant - The restaurant was once home to a church, as well as a hotel, but it seems like this nightlife hot spot can't shake some of its more haunted history. According to numerous reports, restaurant patrons and staff have seen what they've described as "a 19th century woman" standing in front of an antique mirror at the bar, and there have also been reports of patrons feeling like a ghostly hand was tugging at their clothing.
  
  Another legend says that the priest that was once the leader of the flock at the church-turned-hotel-turned-restaurant/bar, still walks the grounds of Ceviche to this day, trying to look after his flock like a good shepherd. I guess he didn't get the memo that the only holy water currently being served is tequila.

Have You Visited Any of Orlando's Real Haunts?
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