The St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine's oldest inn dates back to 1791 and is from the city's Second Spanish Colonial Period.  During that period, the threat of invasion was so great that the King of Spain ordered that structures were to be built so that they might "serve as a defense of fortress against those who might attempt to occupy the town."  That was how the St. Francis Inn was built and other than the addition of a third floor and mansard roof in 1888, it still looks the same today.

The property has changed ownership many times over the years.  The first owner Gaspar Garcia, a sergeant in the Third Battalion of the Infantry Regiment of Cuba, was granted the lot in 1791 by the King of Spain.  He built his home on this lot.. Eleven years later Juan Ruggiers, a sea captain, bought the property and his family held it until the early years of American rule in Florida. Subsequent owners and residents included other military figures. In 1838 retired Colonel Thomas Henry Dummett of Britain's Royal marines and his wife Mary bought several hundred acres along the Tomoka River and built a sugar mill plantation and rum distillery.  Like other well-to-do planters, Dummett kept a house in St. Augustine, now the St. Francis Inn. Carrying on the military tradition, Colonel Dummett's daughter Elizabeth married William J. Hardee, an 1838 graduate of West Point and survivor of the battles of Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, and Atlanta.  Another Dummett daughter married Brigadier General Melville A. Cochran.  After Colonel Dummett's death, his daughter Anna, who never married, converted the family home into a lodging establishment in 1845. Anna raised 10 nieces and nephews -- children of three of her sisters who had died before the 1860s. In 1861, Florida seceded from the Union and Anna embraced the Confederate cause, even though St. Augustine under Yankee control until the war ended in 1865.

The Inn was not always named "St. Francis." Between 1900 and 1920 the building was also known as "The Teahan House," "The Hudson House," "The Valencia Annex," "The Amity Apartments," "The Salt Air Apartments," "The Palms," and "The Graham House" . It was not until 1948 that the Inn was christened "The St. Francis Inn."

Now for the haunted history.  The story is set during the middle part of the 1800s when a military officer and his family purchased the home. The officers nephew, who lived with the family, fell in love with Lily, one of the maids.  Unfortunately during those class-conscious times, it was forbidden for the couple to be together and the uncle prohibited them from seeing each other.   Forlorn, the nephew hung himself in the attic where they used to meet.

Guests have reported an apparition that walks the halls, sometimes carrying sheets or towels. Lipstick is usually missing from makeup cases and makeup is found strewn on the floor.  Lights and televisions reportedly turn on and off by themselves. 

Our Findings:  Armed with three digital cameras, eleven 35 mm cameras, eight of which were the disposable type, one voice recorder, two video cameras, an EMF meter and a digital thermometer we were ready to find Lily.  We captured so many orbs in our room that we don't have enough space to show them all.  While we were away from the room we would leave the video cameras running and we left them on while we slept, not that we got much sleep that weekend.  We just had too much to do!!  We have reviewed some of the tapes, 

GHG Orb Video posted at GhostTracker from this visit.

On the few that we have reviewed, we see orbs "dancing" around the living and kitchen areas of our suite.  Several photos were particularly interesting.  You've seen the pictures taken in the pool area.  We posted these pictures not only to show ecto and orbs but to demonstrate that two different types of digital cameras can photograph anomalies within seconds of each other thus providing some evidence that the problem is not with pixels and that the lens was not dirty.  Some researchers discount a digital photo as proof due to the lack of a negative and due to he pixels not forming properly.  We agree with these theories but we do use digital cameras.  If we are lucky enough to catch an anomaly on the digital we will immediately try to replicate the photo using a 35 mm camera.  

On our first night in the Elizabeth Suite, between 1:00am and 2:30am we would hear a rapping or knocking sound.  When we would try to investigate, the sound would cease.

Two members finally dozed off, when the other heard something different she did not wake the others. As she looked towards the window a man appeared. He paced back and forth as if pondering a problem.  He seemed unaware of our presence, it was more as if this was his room.  He was described as a tall, dark, slender man, maybe 25 to 30 years of age, possibly of Latin or Spanish decent.  He hair was coarse like fine wire, pulled back in a short pony tail.  His shirt was white, looked silky, with full billowing sleeve cuffed at the wrist.  He wore dark or black trousers that fit snuggly near the knee.  He paced several times before disappearing into the sitting room.

Not long after, too stunned and excited to sleep, a second man appeared, this gentleman merely walked through as if on his way out.  Much different from the first, this one was older, short and stout, dressed in brown with a tri-cornered hat - more in the style of the colonial times.

For several months we kept this incident to ourselves, after all only one witnessed the apparitions.  The video cams did not capture the activity, there were no still shots as supporting evidence.

In October of that year a program on the Discovery Channel hosted a group from American Institute of Parapsychology at Gainesville City College, conducting an investigation at the St. Francis of course had our attention.  A sleep/dream segment. of the program was filmed in Lily's Room.  As the equipment registered activity,  they woke the subject she described a tall, Spanish looking man in a white shirt, dark trousers and tall, leather boots. 

Even without formal documentation, we felt this was a validation of the first apparition seen, although the second gentleman's attire was not ever described as a previous sighting. 

Submitted Photos and Experiences from St. Augustine:

The Spanish Military Hospital-  GHG

St. Augustine Photographs - GHG

Submitted The Castillo de San Marcos

Submitted - Energy Streaks

Submitted - "Light Streamers" at Huguenot Cemetery

Submitted - St. Frances Inn Experience