The Ghost of Ashley's Restaurant

A lot of strange things have been reported at Ashley's, located on US1 in Rockledge. People have reported seeing dishes and other objects fly around, feeling hands pushing them, and even seeing the ghost of a young woman in the ladies' room. While there were several legends told to explain these phenomena, investigators found a true story to back up only one of them. When Ashley's opened in 1933, it was called Jack's Tavern, and it was owned by Jack Allen. A 19-year-old woman named Ethel Allen (possibly related) either frequented or worked at the tavern. In 1934, she was the victim of a grisly murder, and her burned and mutilated body was found in the Indian River. Her murderer was never found. It's believed that Ethel is likely the ghost that haunts the restaurant to this day.

Seminole Creation Story

Hitchiti-Mikasuki Creation Story

(as told by my family elder Jayabutu McClellan)

The ground shakes and the opening to the cave is exposed - the People slowly walk to the opening and look out onto a strange new place - this is the Mother that had been created for them - but the cave represented security - as a child can not resist the calling of birth the People could not resist the calling of the new place. the cave now gave birth to the People - new life stepped onto the breast of Mother - a beautiful new beginning was at hand. 

The People were greeted by their many brothers and sisters that the Great Spirit had sent out ahead of them. Grandfather moved in the sky and kept the cycles in harmony and spoke to the People with his movement. Kiyas also moved and kept the cycles at the time of darkness and spoke to the People with his movement. Beyond Kiyas lay the Okiyas lights that were placed in order - all were in proper place and harmony for the telling of cycles and the times of planting, harvest and movement. It was into this place of creation that the Great Spirit delivered the People at the time of their cave birth. 

The People could speak to and understand all of the words of their four-legged, one-legged, winged, crawler, and swimming brothers and sisters. By instruction, these brothers taught and guided the People in the ways of the Great Spirit. Each of the brothers was told to take a small family group of the People and to teach and guide them. Some of the brothers found great favor with the Great Spirit and the families of the People were to be called by the name of these favored brothers. 

The wind spirit had breathed life into the People and he too was given a family of the People that would be called after his name. After family clan names were given to the People. Each family clan went out and built their village. No one was to take a wife from their own family clan - this was never to happen - nothing good could ever come from that marriage - each young man was to go to another family clan to get a wife - from this marriage good seeds could be planted in fertile place - and the spirit of the child would be a good spirit - the child would be a blessing to both family clans. 

Each clan received the gift of their brother who's name they used. Some were known as healers, some as warriors, some as leaders - each with their special gift. For many, many cycles the People lived in the way of harmony - led by those of great wisdom and following the movements of Grandfather, Kiyas and Okiyas. 

The ways of war, greed and jealousy were not known. The bones of the ancients rested in peace - their ways were the ways of the beginning and that was the way of harmony and understanding the cycles of life. 

Then came a time when the People selected a single leader, and this leader commanded the clans of warriors, and this leader fell in love with the movement and cycles of Grandfather - the leader looked to Grandfather for all answers - the cycles of Kiyas and the placement of Okiyas were used only for the worship of Grandfather - these things were not in harmony with the beginning and slowly pain and suffering came to the People. 

The Ghost Bridge In Pinecraft Amish Village

Some hundred years ago, an Amish family moved from Pennsylvania to Sarasota to establish a celery farm. Every week the eldest son, Amos, would load a train car full of celery and accompany it to it’s destination. On one such trip, he caught the gaze of a beautiful young girl hanging laundry on her family’s farm just north of the Phillippi Creek rail bridge. Her name was Ingrid, and the two soon fell in love with all the fondness of their true hearts and began secretly meeting beneath the bridge, for such a relationship between an Amish boy and an English girl was strictly forbidden. One evening Amos was preparing  to meet Ingrid, when his father became suspicious and forbade him to leave the house. As she waited, the young girl strolled back and forth along the shore of the creek gathering a bouquet of wild irises when she lost her footing and fell into the creek, tearing her dress and injuring her hand. She discarded the wet clothing in the creek and hurried home to mend her wound. When Amos’s father finally fell asleep he was able to sneak out of the house and hasten to the bridge. There, he found Ingrid’s clothes floating in the water and the blood soaked bouquet of irises strewn upon the shore. As he desperately searched the waters, the fiery eyes of an alligator were revealed by his lamplight, leaving him no doubt of his beloved’s terrible fate. Full of sorrow, he made his way onto the bridge, walked down the iron rail, onto a wooden plank and threw himself off it’s edge onto the Southern shore. The next day Ingrid saw Amos’s lifeless body from across the creek. Believing she could never be happy without him, she threw herself off the bridge, ending her life just as he had on the opposing shore. Unfortunately for them, their story did not end with death, as they had hoped. Ever since that fateful night the restless spirits of these forlorn lovers have haunted that bridge, forever searching for one another but unable to leave their places of death, Amos on the South shore and Ingrid on the North, from time to time hastily dragging an innocent passerby off the bridge, mistaking them for one another.