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Explore Tampa Bay’s most haunted spots

Start cutting eye holes into bed sheets, Halloween fever is in the air. Here are a few spots around TBAY to get you feeling spooky.

October 6, 2023 • 
Patrick Sidwell
A pumpkin is lit up surrounding by pitch black darkness. Its eyes are triangles and its mouth is jagged and smiling.

You’re not turning me into a latte.

Photo by TBAYtoday

Get the pumpkin carving kit out, Halloween is around the corner. This handy guide will help you feel ghoulish at Tampa Bay’s creepiest spots.

Tampa

  • The Tampa Theatre | 711 N. Franklin St., Tampa | First opened back in 1926, the grand theater’s ghosts will send shivers up your spine. From the man in a fedora seen sitting in seat 308 to the 107-year-old organist who haunts the wings, there are ghost stories a plenty here. See them for yourself at a haunted tour.
  • The Cuban Club | 2010 N. Avenida Republica de Cuba, Tampa | It wouldn’t be Ybor City without a few ghosts. Destroyed by a fire in 1916, the Cuban Club reopened the year after. Keep your eyes peeled for a woman in a misty dress walking down the stairs, and be sure to check if there’s someone sat at the piano when it starts playing. Check out a tour.
  • Sulphur Springs Water Tower one | 455-479 E. Bird St., Tampa | Ever seen the water tower while driving down I-275? A lighthouse used to stand there, guiding boaters into Tampa Bay. Several ghosts have been spotted atop the 214-foot structure over the years.
An old-timey photo of the Tampa Theatre. It is misty and the seats are empty.

Catch a show, or maybe just some chills.

Photo by @tampatheatre

St. Pete

  • The Don CeSar | 3400 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach | It’s easy to get swept up in the charm of the pink palace that lines the Gulf of Mexico, but it hasn’t always been a dream house. Thomas Rowe built the Don for his lost lover, Lucinda, back in the 1920s. He never saw her in this life, but the pair have been spotted holding hands in the courtyard.
  • The Palladium Theatre | 253 5th Ave. N., St. Petersburg | What is it about theaters? Several guests at the Palladium have shared stories about a woman in red in the stairwell. Not to mention, you might encounter an unexpected visitor in the men’s bathroom.

Did we leave out your favorite haunted place? Let us know.