Ghost Stories of St. Augustine

Haunted History in the Oldest City

Walk the narrow streets of St. Augustine after dark, and you’ll feel it—that unmistakable chill that shakes your bones. America’s oldest city is a fun, beautiful place to explore history, beaches, golf courses, shopping, and so much more. But, when the sun goes down and the moonlight looms over the city's centuries-old coquina walls, the past feels closer than ever. Some say it’s just the weight of history. Others believe it’s the restless presence of those who walked these streets long before us.

While some of the city’s ghost stories are backed by documented tragedies, others have been passed down through generations. Whether legend, eyewitness account, or something in between, these tales have become part of St. Augustine’s story.

The Spirits of Castillo de San Marcos

The Castillo de San Marcos, completed in 1695 to protect the Spanish colony, has seen its share of battles, betrayals, and heartbreak. According to many visitors, it hasn’t forgotten any of them. Guests and rangers have reported sudden cold spots, muffled footsteps, and disembodied voices.

One of the fort’s most enduring legends, popularized by local ghost tours and retold in books like Ghosts of St. Augustine by Dave Lapham, tells of a Spanish officer who discovered his wife’s affair with another soldier. Both lovers vanished, and years later, workers uncovered a sealed chamber within the fort’s walls containing human remains still in chains. Historians note that the story is more legend than confirmed fact, but some visitors continue to report strange activity near the site of the alleged chamber.

The Lost Children of the Lighthouse

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is a highlight for history lovers and anyone looking to conquer the flight of stairs for some breathtaking, panoramic views of the shore. However, the lighthouse is also one of the most well-documented haunted sites in the city. In the 1870s, three daughters of a construction foreman drowned when a cart they were playing in rolled into the water. Since then, countless guests and staff have reported hearing children’s laughter echoing through the keeper’s house and footsteps racing up the lighthouse staircase.

Visitors have also claimed to see a small figure peering over the railing before disappearing, and paranormal investigators have captured unexplained audio recordings and electromagnetic spikes during overnight visits. Skeptics suggest the sounds could be explained by shifting structures or environmental noise, but those who’ve experienced them firsthand aren’t so sure.

Shadows in Tolomato Cemetery

Hidden behind an iron gate under age-old oaks, Tolomato Cemetery is one of the city’s oldest burial grounds, with graves dating back to the 1700s. It’s closed to the public, but many ghost tours stop outside its walls, where people often report a sudden drop in temperature, or the eerie sense of being watched.

One of the cemetery’s most enduring stories is that of a small boy in a white gown can be seen playing among the headstones before vanishing. Others have described the appearance of robed figures drifting silently between the graves, possibly remnants of the site’s days as a mission burial ground. There’s no historical record of these apparitions, but who are we to say these encounters were anything less than hauntingly real?

Unfinished Business at the Old Jail

The Old Jail Museum, built in 1891, might look like a grand Victorian home from the outside, but the inside was the site of harsh conditions, frequent violence, and even executions. Its dark history is often cited as the reason many believe the building remains haunted.

Visitors and tour guides report heavy footsteps pacing empty cell blocks, unexplained cold spots, and even the sound of clanging chains. Others claim to have seen a man in a striped prisoner’s uniform staring from a barred window in a section of the building closed to the public. Whether a spooky tall-tale or legitimate haunt, to many, it seems some inmates never left.

More Haunted Hotspots

Other sites across St. Augustine have their own ghostly reputations. At the Huguenot Cemetery, many visitors report sightings of a mysterious lady in white while the Spanish Military Hospital Museum is said to echo with the presence of soldiers who died there centuries ago. And at the Casablanca Inn on Avenida Menendez, guests often describe a woman waving a lantern from the balcony, quite possibly a nod to the innkeeper who once signaled to rum-runners on the bay.

Even St. George Street (now home to shops and restaurants) has reports of unexplained phenomena, from objects moving on their own to shadowing figures and unexplainable noises.

Belief & Doubt in the Ancient City

Not everyone is convinced. Skeptics argue that stories of footsteps, cold spots, and ghostly figures can often be explained by natural causes or the power of suggestion. But even the most skeptical visitors admit that St. Augustine feels different after dark.

Whether you believe in ghosts or simply enjoy a good story, there’s no denying that these tales offer a glimpse of St. Augustine’s past, and perhaps, just maybe, a brush with something that refuses to stay there.

Walk With the Spirits: Ghost Tours & Haunted Experiences

Reading about St. Augustine’s ghost stories is one thing, but walking the streets after dark is something else entirely. Lingering legends come to life on guided ghost tours, where costumed storytellers lead you through alleys, moonlit cemeteries, and historic buildings.

Each tour has its own style, and, they all share a fascination with the Oldest City's ghostly encounters.

Whether you’re a skeptic looking for a good story or a believer hoping to capture evidence of the supernatural, these tours offer one of the most memorable ways to experience St. Augustine after dark. Book a ghost tour and walk among the restless spirits, if you dare!