Ghost of Judge John B Stickney

The Hugenot Cemetery opened in 1821 across the street from the historic City Gate in St. Augustine. This was followed soon after by a yellow fever epidemic that swept through the town, claiming many lives. Reported sightings of ghostly visions and orbs floating through the cemetery late at night are very common. The ghost of a girl in white who was buried in the cemetery has been said to appear standing on top of the City Gate. She was supposedly a victim of the yellow fever epidemic, but her body was left at the gate and no one ever claimed her. Thus, she was buried at the Hugenot Cemetery. Another legendary ghost from this cemetery is an old Reconstruction-era judge named John B. Stickney, who died on a long trip to Washington, D.C. and was buried in the Hugenot Cemetery. His body was later exhumed so it could be buried elsewhere, and somehow a couple of drunks stole his gold teeth in the process. Now, he haunts the cemetery in search of his teeth. Whether these specific stories have any historical truth, the Hugenot Cemetery is nonetheless rumored to be very haunted.

Bite or Smite

Bite or Smite

Rabbit was playing on a ledge at the second bend of the Hillsborough River when he saw a gator swimming by. Rabbit picked up a rock and tossed it at the gator and had a big laugh when it bounced off the gator’s back. There was an old turtle sunning on a log nearby. He stuck out his neck, looked up at rabbit and warned “Stay away from that gator, rabbit. By bite or smite, it'll get you.” Rabbit laughed at the turtle because he knew he was smarter than any gator. So, rabbit got the biggest rock he could find and rolled it right up to the ledge and teased the gator over by dangling his feet. When the gator came over, rabbit rolled that rock off the ledge and it fell right on the gator’s head knocking it out cold. Rabbit was so proud of himself he got down in the water raised up that gator's head and smiled at the turtle. Well, it turns out it was no ordinary gator, it had an second head growing right next to the first one. It had been hiding under water and, with a splash, it gobbled rabbit right up. Turtle just watched, shook his head and said “I told that rabbit, by bite or smite, it'll get him and, by the looks of it, smite got to do the eating today."

Bite or Smite is an old Tampa folktale recorded by R. Perez and A.L. Lopez in 1930 during their research on local superstitions for the Federal Writers’ Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Florida

The Milky Way

Way

---

Ever so long ago, the Breathmaker blew his breath toward the sky and created the Milky Way. This broad pathway in the night sky leads to the City of the West. There is where the souls of good Indians go when they die.

Bad Indian souls stay in the ground where they are buried. When the Seminole Indians walk through the woods and step where a bad person has been buried, they become fearful. Even though the grave is covered with brush, they always seem to know that a bad person is buried there.

The Seminoles say the Milky Way shines brightest following the death of one of their tribe. They believe this is so that the path to the City in the Sky will be lighted brightly for the travelling Seminole.

For a good Indian to be able to walk over the Milky Way, he must first be one whom everyone likes. He cannot be one who talks in an evil manner, or lies and steals. He must be brave at all times and an honour to the Seminoles.

In the Seminole language, so-lo-pi he-ni means "spirit way" or "the Milky Way for human souls." And if-i he-ni means "dog way" and is the sky-path for the souls of dogs and other animals that die. Spirits never return to earth from the City in the Sky. Seminoles do not believe that ghostly visitors ever come back and visit their people again.

Along the Milky Way lives Rain and Rainbow. The Seminole word for Rainbow means stop-the-rain, and that is what the Rainbow does when it appears.

When the Sun is eclipsed, Seminoles say that toad-frog has come along and taken a bite out of the Sun. Toad-frog continues eating at the Sun until the Sun disappears. Seminole hunters shoot arrows at toad-frogs whenever they see one, preventing eclipses of the Sun or Moon. Seminole hunters like to make a loud clamour to scare the toad-frogs away when they do appear.

Along the Milky Way is Big Dipper, which seems like a boat to the Seminoles. They say it is used to carry the souls of good Seminoles along the Milky Way to the City in the Sky. The Seminole tribe calls the Morning Star the Tomorrow Star, and the Evening Star is known to them as the Red Star.

The Orange Tree Deer

The Orange Deer

In 1567 explorer Pedro Menendez came to Tampa where he encountered the native Tocobaga tribe. Among the tribe he found and rescued several Europeans who had been taken captive, including Diego Cerón, a man with a remarkable tale of survival.

Cerón told his rescuers that he was part of a small expedition out of Cuba that was shipwrecked nearby. He and the other survivors had run out of all of their supplies and in desperation he decided to use some discarded orange seeds as ammunition. He went into the woods and found a large buck and shot it right in the side but it got away. 

A few months later everyone but Cerón had perished and, just as he was sure he was going to join them, he found an orange on the ground. He couldn't believe his eyes and gobbled the whole thing right up. He kept walking and soon he found another, and another.

It wasn't long before Cerón was headed back to camp, pockets full of oranges, when he heard a sound. He turned to see that same buck he shot a few months back but it looked quite different. The buck had two full sized orange trees growing right where it's horns normally would be.

Cerón followed the deer, surviving off of its oranges for years until he was eventually captured by the Tocobaga tribe. The oranges dropped by the buck are said to have seeded the first orange trees throughout Florida.

Chopping Off A Head

Spoonbill and the otter

Spoonbill and Otter had been friends so long they started growing tobacco for the cigars rollers in Ybor City. Spoonbill was up early one morning waiting to get started on their crops when a cold wind started to blow. With such a long neck he was able to tuck his head under his wing to stay warm. Right about then otter started making his way to the fields and shouted "Morning, spoonbill. What ever happened to your head?" Spoonbill was a bit of a rascal so he replied "I chopped off my head left it at home for Mrs spoonbill to comb it real good and get all the bugs out." So, otter decided he wanted to do the same thing so he ran on back home, brought an axe to his wife and said "Hey, take this axe and chop off my head. While I'm out in the fields working you can comb my hair nice and get all the bugs out." 

"Chop off your head? You fool, you'll be dead." Cried Mrs Otter

"No, I won't. I just saw spoonbill and he cut off his head and he's as alive as either of us. Now chop it off quick, I tell you. Chop it off!" 

So, Mrs. otter took the axe and chopped Mr. otter's head clean off. He wobbled around around for a few seconds and then fell over dead. After that, spoonbill ended up with the whole tobacco farm for himself.

Desidero The Catfish Merman

In the heart of Tampa, a young woman named Isabella yearned for love. Seeking guidance, she visited a sacred spring, Palma Ceia. There, she met a mysterious man, Desiderio, and fell deeply in love. However, Desiderio had a secret: he was a merman. He warned Isabella never to follow him to the spring. Unable to resist her curiosity, she did, and witnessed his transformation. Heartbroken, Isabella later gave birth to a child, half-human, half-catfish. She released the child into the spring, where it grew into the legendary walking catfish of Florida.

Spirits of the Sanford fire station

This historic 1887 building was lovingly restored by a local artist, but soon afterward she started experiencing strange things. Pebbles would fall from nowhere, and she heard footsteps that seemed to be coming from the third floor -- except that there isn't a third floor anymore. The building itself served many purposes for the small town, having been a fire station, jail, armory and city hall. The old third floor once served as a courtroom. The ghost could be related to the court room, or it could be one of the many firemen who met an untimely end while serving the town of Sanford. There was also a fireman who was murdered by his wife in the late '60s. The haunting could also possibly be related to a hanging on the grounds in 1923 when it was still part of the town jail. There's also a possibility, according to a vision experienced by the new owner, that the ghost could be that of a boy who was kicked by a horse while bringing water to the men building the firehouse. Whatever the explanation, it's definitely a good thing that she isn't afraid of ghosts.