Everyone knows that a few spooks and spirits roam the halls of Plant Hall, but there are several other places around Tampa that are known to be resting places for the eternally restless.
The Tampa Theater
Just over the bridge and in the heart of Tampa sits the ornate Tampa Theater. The theatre is used to show movies, host celebrity shows, and it is the home base for several film festivals every year. Back in the Tampa Theater’s hayday, a veteran projectionist named Foster Finley,collapsed and died of a heart attack in the theatre. Finley worked for the theatre for 30 years and decided to stay for his afterlife. Workers cite strange sounds in the projection room, the occasional smell of shaving cream and objects suddenly going missing.
Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn
Sometimes referred to as “Hotel Hell,” The Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn was built in 1895 and eventually became a health care clinic in 1890. It was refurbished in 1998 and is now a quaint and posh hotel. Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn was featured on an episode of The Dead Files where they investigated the sightings of an elderly Hispanic woman in the basement believed to be a nurse from back in its clinic days. Room 305 of the hotel is believed to be particularly haunted, and many faucets in the hotel tend to turn on and off.
The Cuban Club
Dubbed “One of the Top 10 Most Haunted Places in the U.S.” by the Travel Channel, The Cuban Club is the alleged residence of two spirits: an actor who committed suicide on stage and a board member who was murdered. Both spirits, along with a piano that plays on its own and a woman’s unexplainable cries, have been noted on numerous occasions at the 96-year-old event venue. Today, the club can be rented out for parties and occasions.
Swope, Rodante P.A.
Perhaps the most unassuming haunted location in Tampa is the 116-year-old building that currently houses the Swope, Rodante law firm on 5th Avenue in Ybor. It used to be the Tampa Florida Brewery and is the final resting place of a drunken man who spooks employees with his muttering and laughter. Nobody knows exactly who he is, but the rumor is he died fighting over a mug of beer.
If it’s a trick you’re looking for this Halloween weekend, check out one of these local ghoul-infested establishments and see if the rumors are true.
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