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BN9.com web writer goes ghost hunting
A full moon hides behind the Vinoy Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. (Slideshow- photos by Jacqui Clark)
By Kelli Malafronte
Bay News9.com staff writer
Under the glow of a full moon late one night I set out on my first ghost hunt.
"I hope we see some ghosts," I said wide-eyed, to my roommate and Bay News 9 producer, Jacqui Clark. "That would be cool."
Jacqui had never been ghost hunting before either and I wasn't going alone to this thing. She also gets spooked easily. Hehe. I'd have to tell our ghost tour guide that, I thought to myself.
Since opening in 2004, Ghost Tour of St. Petersburg has offered nightly tours, covering various haunted sites in an eight block radius around downtown.
So, if you don't like to walk, this tour isn't for you.
The tours meet nightly at 8 p.m. in front of Full Monty Cafe on 2nd Street North. It's right near the Starbucks on the corner.
For this particular ghost hunt though, we met at 9 p.m. Ghost Tour offers special hunts which follow the phases of the moon.
I spotted our tour guide, Bob, as he is known in the human world, right away. He was dressed in all black, a DEAD give-a-way if you ask me.
The voice he puts on for the tour sounds like he could do voiceovers for the Haunted Mansion at Disney or MGM's Tower of Terror, only he speaks with an accent.
Bob and his wife, Anita, work as a team, although she doesn't wear a costume. She's more cutesy than scary, wearing a Ghost Tour t-shirt and dangly ghost earrings.
Ghost Tour guide Bob, and BN9.com writer Kelli Malafronte.
As our group waited for some stragglers to arrive, I tattled to Bob that Jacqui gets scared easily.
He then announced to the group that he found an easy target for the night. She wasn't amused.
Leading us through the city's historic streets by the light of a real lantern, Bob explained that the stories he would tell us are based on the book Ghost Stories of St. Petersburg, FL, by Tim Reeser.
"This isn't Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios or Howl-O-Scream at Bush Gardens," he said. "This is real."
I don't want to give the stories away (you'll have to take the tour to hear more) but here are some highlights:
- The Detroit Hotel on Central Avenue: The hotel harbors a mysterious portrait in the attic, one whose eyes follow unwitting intruders. He's apparently a ladies man with wandering eyes.
- The basement of Ceviche: It was once used as a morgue during WWII.
- The bird lady who roams downtown's Straub Park.
- Yummy Mama's Food Kafe & Marketplace- The second floor has been closed off because of ghost sightings and workers have reported strange things happening. Sometimes an older woman is seen in an upstairs window.
- The Vinoy Resort: The Grand Dame of St. Petersburg counts a revenge-seeking misty woman in white among its guests.
This is where the tour gets interactive. We were given Electromagnetic Field (EMF) meters. Half the group (Jacqui and I included) followed Bob and the other half went with Anita to the Museum of Fine Arts.
This picture was taken at Yummy Mama's Food Kafe & Marketplace. Notice the large orb on the right side. Some say orbs are signs there are spirits lurking about.
Before we headed over, Bob finally scared Jacqui.
"I finally got her!" he yelled.
"It was because I wasn't looking at him," Jacqui whispered to me.
As we entered the Vinoy, Bob told us to look like we owned the place. I took this to mean they usually don't go inside the hotel.
We rode a mysteriously small elevator up to the 5th floor and stood outside two supposedly haunted rooms. One of the rooms was featured on Sci Fi's "Ghost Hunters."
There were actually guests in the room so it would've been funny had they looked out the peep hole to see half a dozen people and a tall man in black holding EMF meters up to the door.
"Anyone getting anything?," Bob asked.
A few yellow warning lights, but, alas, no red lights, indicating danger. Ah well.
On the way out the concierge said, "Bye ghosties." I knew they had to know who we were!
Bob asked the valet guys, "Do you have my hearse ready?"
I don't think they played along, maybe they were new.
You're probably asking if anyone has seen ghosts on these tours. The answer is yes. Anita passed around pictures that were taken on previous tours that gave me goosebumps.
Using an EMF meter, BN9.com writer Kelli Malafronte searches for ghosts outside the Museum of Fine Arts.
As a resident of downtown St. Pete I was excited to see what this tour was about.
I rented my first apartment on 5th Avenue North next door to the Coliseum (which some believe is haunted) and years later moved near the Vinoy.
And it didn't disappoint.
With Halloween coming up, I can think of no better time for a little scare.
Some advice: don't forget to bring your camera and wear comfortable shoes.
Tickets are $15 per person; $10 ages 4 to 12. Tips are also welcomed at the conclusion of the tour for guides.
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