YMCA founder Franklin W. Smith came to St. Augustine with dreams of opening a lavish resort for all his snowbird friends up north. Unfortunately after he built the hotel he ran out of money and it was bought by Henry Flagler. And like Flagler’s other old hotel the Casa Monica is thought to be one…
One of the most popular restaurants in St. Augustine is also the most haunted! The building was home to Margaret Worth, the wife of General William Worth who died from cholera during the Mexican American War. Margaret Worth was a pillar of her community and active in her church. Maybe that’s why the bar and…
Allen appeared on CBS Morningline in Nashville a few days before Halloween to talk about some of the books from the Southern Ghost Stories series. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Tucked away in the Caraway Hills of Gibson County, Tennessee, people have claimed to see bright lights and other strange anomalies late at nigh. In 1973 two local high school students told a newspaper reporter that they saw what appeared to be a “small sun low on the horizon” before they got spooked and ran…
Tucked away in a gift shop on Music Valley Drive in Nashville, is an old bus that at one time belonged to country music legend Ernest Tubb. According to legend, when Tubb wasn’t on the road and had a hard time sleeping, he would go outside and climb into the bus and go to sleep….
Is Philadelphia the most haunted city in the country? That’s what American Hauntstorian, Allen Sircy is trying to find out with his latest book, Southern Ghost Stories: Philadelphia. After publishing eight books about other hauntings around the country, the Tennessee-based author spent the last three years researching the history and alleged hauntings in Philadelphia for…
On the morning of September 19, 1902, Nome, Alaska witnessed the state’s first legal execution when 26-year-old Fred Hardy was hanged for the murders of three gold prospectors on remote Unimak Island. Hardy, who had a troubled past, never stopped proclaiming his innocence. Hours before his death, he spoke to reporter Mary E. Hart through…
Located in Savannah, Georgia, just behind River Street on a bluff is Factor’s Walk. Factor’s Walk has a series of pathways made of concrete and iron bridges that connect the bluff to the top floors of the buildings that were used by cotton brokers over two hundred years ago. Since Cotton was the main export…
Built for a slave trader in the early 19th century, the Beauregard-Keyes House is one of the most historic homes in the French Quarter. After the Civil War it was home to Confederate General P. G.T. Beauregard and later acclaimed Frances Parkinson Keyes. The house is said to be home to some spirits that lost…
In 1929 the first ever Academy Awards were held at the Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room in Hollywood, California. That night Wings won the award for best picture and Emil Jannings and Janey Gaynor took home the Oscar for Best Actor and Actresses. However, during the awards ceremony, someone was slighted and didn’t receive an award…
