When you think of Orlando it is likely that your initial thoughts turn to places like Disney World and Universal Studios. However, there is so much more to Orlando than its various theme parks. What about the site of the Ted Bundy murder trial, the former hotel with a demonic force in its underground tunnel or the motel where a ghost will share your bed?
Join us as we explore the top 11 most haunted places in Orlando, FL:
11 – Princeton Hospital (Lakeside Hospital)
Princeton Hospital was renamed Lakeside Hospital in 2000 but regardless of the name that it is known by, the fact remains that this is one of the most haunted places in Orlando.
This spooky psychiatric hospital is said to be haunted by the spirits of patients, doctors and nurses who have not only been seen as apparitions, but have also been known to move things around.
There are few sights more disturbing than an empty wheelchair being pushed down a corridor by unseen hands!
One frequently encountered spook is said to be a patient with hollow eyes who is often seen staring at staff. There is some debate over whether he is sad or angry!
The second and third floors of the hospital are said to be the hotspots for paranormal activity with people reporting hearing unexplained knocking, disembodied moans and voices, lights turning on and off and many other strange occurrences.
10 - Super 8 International DriveBOOK A ROOM
The idea of a creepy roadside motel may be a bit of a horror movie cliché, but it is certainly one that the Super 8 International Drive lives up to! In particular, room number 206 is said to be the stuff of nightmares!
When you make your bed there is a very strong possibility that soon after you will see the imprint of a human body appearing in the sheets even although nobody has laid down on the bed since it was made up!
Various guests have also claimed that they have awoken to feel somebody else in bed beside them and others say they are woken up when the bed starts to shake violently.
The room is usually icy cold even when the air conditioning has been shut off, it just seems to be impossible to heat!
This is without a doubt one of the most haunted places in Orlando!
9 - Hamburger Mary's
A haunted burger joint is certainly an unusual one, but Hamburger Mary’s bar and grill was not always an eating place. In the past it was also a hardware store, so perhaps that is where the tales of a little girl in Victorian clothing originate?
Staff claim that they often see the little girl in the restaurant and also skipping down the pavement outside. She is also known to knock on the doors and the walls of the property.
8 - Ceviche
Popular Orlando restaurant Ceviche has previously served as both a hotel and a church, and it is now considered to be one of the most haunted spots in the city.
Visitors to the restaurant have been reporting spooky occurrences ever since Ceviche first opened for business with most of them reporting seeing a 19th century woman standing close to the antique mirror that hangs in the bar.
Others say that they have experienced unseen hands pulling at their clothes and there is also said to be a ghostly priest lingering here too.
7 - Rogers Building
Rogers Building is a one time gentlemen’s club which is named after Gordon Rogers. His wife was not too happy about her husband’s choice of business!
It seems that despite this failure to see eye to eye over the purpose of the building, Gordon and his wife both developed a bit of an affection for this building, because neither one of them seems to have left following their deaths.
Apparitions of them both have been seen in various parts of the building, but most commonly either looking out of the second floor window, or drifting around in the art gallery on the first floor.
6 - Angebilt Hotel
The Angebilt Hotel is one of the tallest buildings in Orlando and has been a major landmark in the city since it first opened in the 1920s. It is also considered to be one of the most haunted places in Orlando.
It was once an extremely grand location, but from the 1970s onwards it declined and by the 1990s it had been converted into a temporary courthouse. These days it is largely office space with some restaurants on the ground floor, but there is a lingering presence leftover from its previous life.
The majority of the paranormal activity that is reported here seems to occur in the underground tunnel that runs underneath the Angelbilt. Witnesses have seen apparitions and recorded EVP there and many say they feel that the presence is demonic.
5 - Wall Street & Court Avenue
The current owners of this property have said that there is no paranormal activity, but many believe that they may simply be downplaying the stories in order to avoid what they believe is the wrong type of attention.
However, back when this was the Kit Kat Club staff would often report that bottles would fly off of the shelves on their own! This was by no means the only strange thing that was going on, and other people have reported strange experiences in the ladies bathroom.
On a number of occasions, a female apparition in a black dress has bee spotted on the rear staircase blocking people from going up.
Some have suggested that the hauntings can be linked to the fact that there was once a jail in this location many years ago.
4 - Greenwood Cemetery
Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery sprawls across over 100 acres and is home to the last Earthly remains of some of Orlando’s most prominent families. It comes as no surprise that such a place would be haunted.
One of the most well known spooks in residence at Greenwood Cemetery is the ghost of Fred Weeks who has been spotted on a number of occasions lurking just outside of his mausoleum.
There are sections of the cemetery which are rather chillingly named ‘Baby Land 1’, ‘Baby Land 2’ and so on. This is where children from the nearby Sunland Hospital (which we will talk about shortly) are buried.
Some say that they have heard the disembodied sound of children’s laughter and the unexplained sound of a music box playing in these areas.
3 - Lake Lucerne
At face value, Lake Lucerne seems to be a peaceful spot in down town Orlando, but appearances can be deceiving and this is actually one of the most haunted places in Orlando.
It is said to be haunted by the Lady in White, a female spirit dressed all in white who appears by an old oak tree on the Southern shore of the lake.
2 - Sunland Hospital
Sunland Hospital in Orlando was initially built to serve as a tuberculosis hospital, but it was later re-purposed as the Sunland Training Center for Retarded Children.
Over the years that it was in operation, there were numerous allegations of abuse, neglect and health code violations.
The hospital was torn down in 1999 and only the old administration block remains. The property is now a park, but it seems as though many of the former patients are still lingering here.
There are often reports of disembodied children’s laughter, strange light anomalies and the swings and other playground apparatus moving by itself as though the children who died in the hospital are still here playing.
1 - Orange County Regional History Center
If you are interested in learning all about the history of Orange County and how this Florida county went from being a renowned orange growing region to the world’s theme park mecca then Orange County Regional History Center is the perfect place to visit.
Here you can also learn about one of America’s most prolific serial killers, Ted Bundy. The building dates back to 1927 and it was the location of Bundy’s murder trial in 1979.
Some say that this is why the building is now considered to be one of the most haunted places in Orlando.
Some of the paranormal activity that has been reported here includes items in the museum moving on their own and even levitating.
There have also been a handful of sightings of an apparition that resembles Ted Bundy himself!