Ponce de Leon Hotel
The building that is now a college used to be the Ponce de Leon Hotel, run by Henry Flagler and his mentally unstable wife. After their daughter died, Mrs. Flagler hanged herself on the fourth floor of the hotel. The building, which is also the girls dormitory is plagued by many strange events. Girls on the third floor constantly hear ballroom music above them, although the 4th floor is sealed off. One girl reportedly went into hysterics because her bed began to shake wildly, though no one was in the room with her. Though they need the space, administrators will not allow students to room on the fourth floor.
The fourth floor is just the ballroom. There are no additional rooms that could be used as dorm rooms. The ballroom was used for Flagler College’s radio station and school newspaper before it shut off to the use of students because of fire concerns. It is now used for storage.
Comment by Jane | 10.30.2005 | 6:32 pm
Don’t know where you got your information, But Flager’s second wife, Ida Alice Shrouds was committed to a mental institution and from everything I’ve read died many, many years later while still committed.
Comment by Jack | 11.8.2005 | 7:37 pm
Yeah, it wasn’t Flagler’s wife that killed herself on the fourth floor, it was his mistress, who Flagler had hidden away from Ida Alice. The ghost of Ida Alice supposedly haunts the third floor dormitories in the east wing, in what used to be her private room before she was committed. There is also supposedly a third ghost, the lady in blue, who haunts the stairs to what is now the dining hall. The legend has it that she fell down the stairs and both she and her unborn child died. The fourth floor is off limits because the floor is unstable, and the old ballroom is now used for storage.
Comment by Beth | 11.8.2005 | 10:38 pm
I am a Flagler student and although I have never lived in Ponce Hall, I used to visit my friend in her room on the 3rd floor, and I saw and experienced some very strange things. I once was facing the bathroom mirror, with my back to the room. I leaned down to plug in a hairdryer and then stood back up, and in the mirror I saw somone cross the room behind me. She was young-ish, wearing a white or light-colored dress and had long brown hair, pulled half-back. I didn’t see her for long enough to determine whether she was wearing 19th century or 20th century clothes or what have you, but I do know that I was in the room alone and the door was locked.
Later, the friend who lived in the room and I were sitting on her bed having a conversation, and her phone started to ring. Her caller-ID said that it was me who was calling her. I thought I must have left my phone somewhere and someone was calling the last number I dialed to tell her that they had found my phone, and then I remembered that I had plugged it into charge in the bathroom. I went over to it, and it was still sitting by the sink, untouched, but had somehow called her phone on it’s own. After that, I was afraid to stay in that room anymore.
Comment by Summer | 11.28.2005 | 4:36 pm
Freaky!?!?!~well i think id be to afraid to ever go to a place like this! i think it would be awesome but at the same time it would give me chills!
Comment by mistybear | 12.2.2005 | 9:09 pm
ru yall sure dat gurl sneaked in her boyfriend or sumfin?!?!?(LoL)
Comment by Yall dnt need 2 kno | 01.22.2006 | 7:42 pm
I want to go onto the 4th floor no matter what. Who will help me “get up on this” so to speak?????????
Also, bring some cutie college girls as it seems I work well with them on “my team”.
Comment by Stephen | 04.25.2006 | 9:27 pm
Sorry Stephen, but no males are allowed in the dorms except those who work for the school. Also, I’ve been up there and it doesn’t look to easy to get into. I am a student at Flagler and have never had anything happen to me. My sister has had some strange voices in her room and her friend has had someone blow in her ear (when alone) and had things go missing later to turn up in odd places (shampoo in the fridge).
Comment by Jane | 05.3.2006 | 3:22 pm
Well, has anyone noticed the two large owls roosting outside the fourth floor window during the day ? Pretty strange
Comment by mike | 05.10.2006 | 3:10 pm
ive been there its true!
i saw him!! and once i went to st.augistine with our school and we caught so many ghosts on the camra!!!!
Comment by b-dog | 05.31.2006 | 9:38 pm
This sounds interesting. Most of the stories on this site are stupid, but this is one of the only places that no one debunks. Thanks to all for the information on this place.
Comment by Joseph Clark | 06.1.2006 | 6:57 pm
I THIUNK ITS POSSIBLY WE ONT NOW 4 SURE IF THERE IS REALLY GHOST WE COULD BE JUST IMAGINEING IT CUSE I READ IN A BOOK ONCE THAT ONLY PEPOLE WHOM BELIVE IN GHOST ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN SEE THEM SO DONT BE SO JUNDEMENTAL ABOUT IT
Comment by shannyn | 06.16.2006 | 10:24 am
I attended Flagler in 1996, and although I am not a skeptic when it comes to the supernatural, I, nor my friends, never experienced anything completely out of the ordinary that couldn’t be rationally explained. Of all of the stories I heard, most of the strange occurances took place on 3rd West. And to agree with the person above, there are no rooms on the 4th floor - only the ballroom that is closed off. You can see in through cracks in the door, and yes, it is creepy, as would be any ballroom that was built at the turn of the century that has been closed up for decades can be expected to be creepy!! The stability of the floor, and the fact that there’s no legal, safe exit (fire codes), it has been closed off. Flagler is a beautiful place, and is a great spark to the imagination of anyone wishing to “see” something.
Comment by Kristie | 06.21.2006 | 9:50 pm
Hey all, Im a student at flagler too. im also a ghost tour guide. you all are right. it was the mistress who hung herself. i had a friend on 3rd floor east and her room was haunted but not by ida or the mistress. its a little boy who we think is named james. hes about 3 or 4 and hes really mischievous (sp???) he will take their belongings and hide them and when hes in a bad mood he will slam doors. supposedly you can sometimes hear a ball bouncing in the hallway or a tricycle and you look out and no one is there.
Comment by Rebecca | 08.5.2006 | 7:27 pm
anyone been 2 disneyland yet
Comment by angel | 08.8.2006 | 4:02 pm
wat the heck “angel”
u r wierd!!! and i am not fat!
Comment by bai | 08.12.2006 | 10:44 am
wat the heck bai i didnt say u were
Comment by angel | 08.15.2006 | 1:49 pm
angel you said y r americans fat!
Comment by LOL | 08.15.2006 | 8:22 pm
Wow, this is kinda strange. I’m definately one who believes in ghosts…but ummm I didn’t till I saw one. It was very creepy. She was passing thru my bedroom into the next and then again in my closet. that was many years ago…Anyways, back to Flagler.I’m definately interested in lookin into this. Umm….Is there a way a person can go check out the college? Without bein a student there?? Someone get back to me on that. I’m really interested in checkin that stuff out….thanx guys.
Comment by Carmyn | 08.15.2006 | 11:46 pm
when?
Comment by angel | 08.16.2006 | 5:10 am
in a story in like michigan or somtine! u did angel ok
Comment by y do u want 2 no? | 08.19.2006 | 5:02 pm
wat u on bout
Comment by angel | 08.22.2006 | 6:30 am
Someone who thinks about something so much like revenge or their house being haunted, can actually astroproject and make things happen.
Comment by nae nae | 08.22.2006 | 1:37 pm
wat u on bout? angel u really need to calm down and get better comebacks!
Comment by corn! | 08.22.2006 | 5:43 pm
I am an older woman with grown children, My husband and I went to St. Austine, for a winter vacation. We took a tour of the Flagler Museum. We took the stairs up to the 2nd or 3rd floor,and all of a sudden I felt very strange. I told my husband I had to get off of this floor! I ran down the stairs to the next floor, then I felt better. I have never felt so scared in my life! The only other time I felt like that was when I had a dream that my brother had died, and the next day I got a call from my father telling me my brother had died that night! It was a accident.
Comment by mimi | 08.23.2006 | 3:09 pm
I think that is really scary!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Lindsey | 08.26.2006 | 11:26 am
yes this gost storie is verry true just go 4 your self to st.augustine the most oldest place in america !!! plenty of stories there… and while ur there go on a gost tour and check out the collage while ur on a gost tour … cause beleave me its funn…
SPOOKY
Comment by lindsey miller | 09.6.2006 | 7:36 am
Hi, I went to St. Augistine this August (2006) with my husband. We are both sensitives. It was on a Sunday so they wern’t giving the tour. Someone told us that the Ripley’s museum (1st ever) was haunted, so we paid our admission and entered. As we were going up the stairs to the second floor we both got some strange feelings. Then we went into the side rooms and every thing was fine until we went, seperately, into the main room (where the big ferris wheel is). We both were told, psychicly to “GET OUT!” “THIS IS MY HOME, GET OUT”. We were also told more. We both fled the room and compared notes down stairs. We told the lady at the ticket booth and she calmly said “oh, that would be Ruth”. It seems two ladies died in a fire there. She also stated that there was much more activity on the third floor. We opted out and went and sat on the porch to regroup. While there I was again told to leave and got an overwhelming feeling of greif and began to sob. We left and with each step away from the house the feelings became less intense untill they were gone. I wish we had more time in St. Augistine because I know there are many more haunted places there. We live in California and are retired so it is not likely we will return. It was my first haunting. I am so happy to find this site so I could share my experience and read of others. Jeani
Comment by Jeani | 09.7.2006 | 11:39 am
This is a correction to my email address.
Jeani
Comment by Jeani | 09.8.2006 | 7:48 pm
uuuuhhhhh dats sooo kooooolllllll i wanna go there pluss since i could c ghosts unlike some people dat will be kool
Comment by glenda | 09.10.2006 | 9:26 pm
there r gohts in ma house ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh n yeah im serius
Comment by glenda | 09.10.2006 | 9:27 pm
I am from Miami. I visited St. Augustine last April. I was dissapointed because I did not experience anything mysterious or ghostly. I believe in ghosts, even though I’ve yet to come across one. I’m sure if I do come across one though, I’d be freaked out of my mind lol. But it would still be quite an experience…
Comment by Lourdes | 10.4.2006 | 9:23 am
Having lived in and around the St. Auggustine area, I feel slighted at never experiencing anything “haunting” on any of my trips to the city. I go on the Ghost tours every year and only once got spooked, and it was a homeless man who kept following our group, I guess he wanted a free tour of his new “home”.LOL
Comment by Brandi | 10.4.2006 | 2:25 pm
My 30 year old mobile home may not seem a likely place for ghosts but it’s haunted! My daughter and I have both seen,heard, and felt wierd things happen to us. My husband is a total skeptic. I think some people are just better tuned to whatever frequency the supernatural takes place on. That may explain why a lot of people have had experiences and a lot haven’t. I would be interested in knowing the percentages if anyone has any idea? I don’t think “sensitives” are necessarily psychic. I know I’m not. Beyond the odd dream coming true once or twice in my life lol. I think everyone has experienced some form of deja vu. My daughter and I have heard voices when we are trying to sleep at night. She has seen an old man standing over her bed. I have seen him too! Not so much in the last year but when I first moved in years ago I would catch him out of the corner of my eye always wearing the same red flannel shirt. My husband says he bought the home from a widow who wanted to move back up north with her family. He knew the widow’s husband while he was alive and said my description of a tall wiry man with broad shoulders fits what he looked like. One day I was standing in the dining room heading to our then “computer room” when out of the corner of my eye I see a tall man in a red shirt heading toward our bedroom. There is only one way in or out of our bedroom so I followed him inside, thinking it was my husband who is also tall and wears a similiar flannel shirt. (Don’t all southerners? LOL)
Anyway I walked back into the bedroom thinking I would catch my husband in there and talk to him, imagine my surprise when I found our room empty! I was so scared I thought someone had broken into our house and called my husband. He came from out of the living room and when I asked him said he had not been back in our bedroom for over an hour. I told him what I saw and he went back into our room/bathroom with a baseball bat checking the windows and such. I really thought we had an intruder! Not a ghost LOL. But my husband found nothing. That was my first encounter with the ghost. Since then I have heard voices say things like ” She is listening. Get out! It’s none of your business! We live here! and once when I was ill I heard a concerned; “Are you sick?” As well as the occasional moans, sighs and groans when no one is around. I do have a cat and a dog that like to chase each other all around the house so I try to make sure I know where they are at night so I can pick out the odd noises I hear and single them out from the noises my pets make. They usually have two spots they stay in. My dog sleeps behind the bathroom door because its cooler in there, I will hear him when he pushes the door open and again when he flops down behind the door, and my cat always sleeps curled up to me. I have also heard definite sounds that only a human could make such as: briskly walking down a room, when all 3 of us were in bed asleep. My daughter’s room is right next to ours and I can hear her bed creak and squeek whenever she gets in or out of it. So I know some of these sounds aren’t being made by my family! Our television has come on by itself, along with the sound which is controlled by a seperate remote control! My husband blames the animals and says they undoubtedly stepped on a controller…….but both? And our tv cable is a seperate button on the remote as well because its satelite! What do you guys think? My pets have learned how to hit 3 different buttons to turn on the tv/cable/ and sound? lol Granted this is really a rare occurance but when it happens its really spooky to wake up at 3am and hear voices coming from the living room and wander into an empty room to turn everything off again, while having the feeling your being watched by unseen eyes. I live in Florida in a rural area about 1 1/2 hours from St. Augustine and though I have never had an experience while strolling through old town, my own home has never let me down! LOL I hope you enjoyed my real ghost story and the next time you go to sleep, listen for the voices. They are best heard when we are in a restful state, somewhere between awake and asleep.
Comment by alishia | 10.17.2006 | 10:17 am
i cant belive that.man its scary huh?
Comment by gorge | 10.17.2006 | 11:50 am
Hey, give me some webcam pics or pics of the ghosts you’ve seen…very interesting. I lived in a house in casey, Illinois…a victorian house. for 3 years we were harrassed, until we brought in 2 people…one a paranormal investigator, the second “The warrens”..if you haven never heard of them, investigate..it’ll scare the **** out of you. There were 3 presences…the first very evil…the second a poltergeist…and we never did figure out the 3rd. We put out rosaries, and it would quit for awhile. Eventually after being woken up night after night by levitating covers, strange bats and spiders above the bed that disappeared, flying and levitating objects, getting locked out and even with the key in the lock, couldn’t get back in… pounding on the doors and walls like someone was trying to beat the door down…we moved. I love to hear true stories, so share yours too. This house sits on 301 North Central Avenue in Casey Illinois…if you’re near or on a mission…It’s 3 story white, with a widow’s walk…you can’t miss it, it’s literally right across the street from a funeral home.
Comment by Rachelle | 10.28.2006 | 1:53 pm
That’s funny, I thought this was about Ponce de Leon/Flagler College and not about places in Illinois, Disneyland, or random places. Could we please move this discussion back to the topic at hand?
Comment by Jane | 11.5.2006 | 5:58 pm
this story is actually true. My family and i r going 2 st. augisine tomorrow 4 thanxgivin and i will continue 2 look 4 him……again i have already seen him
Comment by noyb | 11.21.2006 | 9:11 pm
(thanxgivin 2006)
Comment by noyb | 11.21.2006 | 9:11 pm
Hi. I am a Junior in high school and am doing a research project on the ghosts of St. Augustine. I stumbled upon this site, and am now wondering how I can get information on the college itself. I have recently begun a college search, and hope to find one that suits me soon. I am really interested in Flagler, and need more iformation. If you can help please leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you.
~Amanda
Comment by Amanda | 12.10.2006 | 9:35 pm
every story i have read this is probably one of the most scariest ever.i will always remember that im a ghost.hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by amanda | 12.13.2006 | 7:30 pm
Does anyone know how to spell properly anymore? Or have good communication skills gone out the window along with disciplining your childen?
Comment by thank goodness I can spell | 12.14.2006 | 12:45 pm
angel and bai conversation…LOL! angel you do seem kinda weired…but thats kool cuz i aint american.
um, i dont realy hav any comments on this story so..yeah
though it would be good if people got pics of these places and had then shown on here to see.
Comment by tracy lee | 12.19.2006 | 3:22 pm
I live in St. Augustine and have lived here my entire life there are soo many haunted stories about this town it’s not even funny but I have only experienced one ghostly encounter here and that was at the lighthouse. But I have heard a lot of stories from people I know and they have all said that the 3rd floor in the west and east wing are the creepiest that all kinds of freaky supernatural things have happened to them such as doors slamming shut randomly while trying to sleep and whispers all the time of little children. I haven’t visited the college on a tour in a really long time not sense I was a little child but do plan on going back sometime to see if I experience anything. Guys if you want to experience a haunted city St. Augustine is the place to go theres the College, Lighthouse, Old Jail, Fort, Ripleys believe it or not, and pretty much all of St. George Street. Everyone should really visit this place and experience the presance of a ghost
hope you guys come, and have fun.
Comment by Amanda | 12.22.2006 | 5:43 am
well the 4th floor is nothing because my famiy has been there since that thing happen my grandma grandma’s grandmas grandmas grandmas times 10 more mom told a different story that the wife was killed because someone was hanged her.And there was something going one on the 4th floor before the wife died and the wife died when ballroom music when she died.and a couple of years after she died people saw her and her child on the 4th floor and the 2nd floor and at midnight somrtimes you see here outside of the building
Comment by Cassidy | 12.22.2006 | 8:35 pm
I AM SCARED THEY CALL ME WEIRDO!
Comment by Stacey | 12.25.2006 | 8:28 pm
i dont think its right that they cant go on the 4th floor.in that case why have it a skool? i mean i would go up there anyway to see whats really goin on or is someone playing a game on you?
Comment by Ashley | 01.4.2007 | 9:48 am
Emmah god,I live RIGHT by the ponce de leon hotel.Its scary.At midnight you can hear screams from their about 500 ft away.
And faces and stuff apear by the window.
Comment by Amanda & Elmo | 01.10.2007 | 3:18 pm
Well its wierd duh. :\
Comment by Amanda & Elmo you a sped | 01.10.2007 | 3:22 pm
I found pictures of the hotel.The faces are in it.Spooooooooky.
Comment by Amanda & Elmo 4 eva | 01.10.2007 | 3:23 pm
Amanda.Not me the other Amanda.You said you was a ghost?Dang,u iz CHILDISH.
Comment by Amanda & Elmo 4 eva | 01.10.2007 | 3:28 pm
You **** heads probably didnt even go to the college. I used to go there and my mirror fell down and broke into peices. The next morning I woke up and and it was fixed. Though that night My mirror broke and when I woke up it was not fixed. So when I visited the fourth floor the next day there was a ghost right in front of my eyes. She said that she was sorry for breaking my mirror. She was trying to get to her husband. So I went to a different colege the very next day. oh yah I forgot to mention that if you believe in ghosts then you will find the ballroom. But if you dont then you will just see dust and you will probably e decapitated. bye Bye
Comment by tracy | 01.16.2007 | 12:54 am
Um, Tracy? Are you saying that if you believe in ghost, you will find the ballroom but if you don’t, then it’s just dust and the ghost might cut your head off? I’ve been at Flagler for three and a half years and have never seen a ghost, but have had some weird things happen (mainly on lobby).
Comment by Jane | 01.16.2007 | 11:16 pm
Hey, I’m currently a student at Flagler and I’ve ventured to the door on the 4th floor. Its really creepy and you can look threw the key hole and see an old wobbly spiral staircaise that goes up to the ball room. I know a few people who ahave been up there and they say its reallly creepy. Everything is COMPLETLEY original up there. Their are giant sliding stain glass doors that use to be opened up to let the breeze in. My friends and I are very interested in the secrets of flagler, so we’ve been exploring. First off, in the mens bathroom on Lobby, as you walk in their is a secret door in the wooden paneling that could have been opened up until this past summer. Now, their are jsut a few screws in it, but it drops down underneath the school into a very tight tunnel like corridor. Also, the sunken door in the main breezeway opens up into a storage room, but in the back of the room is the entrance to the underground tunnel to the Lightner! Be careful though, theirs a hidden camera! The mirror does exist, and its been dead-bolted for many years. Some Lobby rooms have secret doors in the closets that open up in to tight passage ways. Anyways, thats just a snippit, and its great to be a Flagler student!
Comment by surfinsim | 01.25.2007 | 12:27 am
Hey jane, if you did not see anything in the fourth floor and you want to see something on the fourth floor then it must mean that you only believe a little in ghosts. Still some things can happen to people for no reason but you will find really scary stuff if you believe in ghosts. Hey you sound like a reasonable person. I would like to hear more comments by you. And also, If you have any more questions, you can just ask me and I will answer you. Well, see ya!
Comment by tracy | 02.3.2007 | 10:21 pm
hey iv sin gost’s at the stables i keep my horse at. some one was hung in my horses stable and that is no lie and u see people walk around the yard wen your the only 1 at the stables i ent botherd tho i lyk gosts (Y)
Comment by abby | 02.4.2007 | 6:08 pm
o yeh and ther is a big black stalion that died ther….i see him all the time and i rly rly rly ent jokin
Comment by abby | 02.4.2007 | 6:14 pm
o yeh and iv saw my grandad who died about 4 years ago god bless yooh grandad my 4rts r always with u :’(
Comment by abby | 02.4.2007 | 6:19 pm
Tracy, I’m still slightly confused. Are you saying you’ll only see ghosts if you believe in them? And that if you go to the ballroom you WILL see ghost? I know plenty of people who believe in ghost and have gone up there and have seen nothing.
Comment by Jane | 02.5.2007 | 3:17 pm
i live down the street from flager and i have seen light on in the 4th floor and hear from friend that go to school at flager that one of flager wife didn’t die there that it was a maid who hang herself after seeing a ghost in the room she was cleaning of a wife that flager killed. and one of his wife did go crazy after he lock her in a room with alot of mirrors with one window that the sun would shine through. that would make me crazy.
Comment by jade | 02.25.2007 | 11:24 pm
Is the light you’re seeing on the 4th floor off to one side? The stairs run up the left side (if you’re looking from the courtyeard side) and there’s a light there.
Comment by Jane | 02.26.2007 | 5:08 pm
The information that has been written prior to this posting is completly incorrect. It is historically incorrect. The fourth floor was not a ballroom. It was the solarium. No one ever killed themselves. Henry Flagler’s second wife, Ida Alice, was committed as incurably insane, but she was unable to have children. She died of natural causes in 1930 while still in the institution. Flagler’s first wife died prior to constuction of the hotel. No mistress was ever involved. As students of Flagler College it is a disgrace that you are so ignorant. Many of you cannot even use proper grammar.
The only death validated through documentaion is that of a waiter who was shot by a night watchman. The night watchman later died after falling down an elevator shaft.
If anything, you should all be taking the steps, if you know what I mean.
Comment by Rich | 03.4.2007 | 3:41 am
Rich, in the three and a half years I’ve been at Flagler, it was always called the ballroom.
Comment by Jane | 03.4.2007 | 3:21 pm
Jane, traditionally, many students refer to the space as the ballroom. But tradition does not make an incorrect reference correct. hope that helps.
Comment by Rich | 03.5.2007 | 9:32 pm
I’ve heard school officals call it the ballroom too. It may just be a misconception that has been passed down.
Comment by Jane | 03.6.2007 | 5:34 pm
Glad I went to UF- seems that they do not teach very good grammar at your school- maybe you are all learning shorthand-
Comment by Eric | 06.28.2007 | 2:08 am
Interestting stories by some of you- the rest need to learn to spell and the use of proper grammar.
Comment by Eric | 06.28.2007 | 2:11 am
I recently went to a soccer camp hosted at Flagler College. Teammates of mine had a strange encounter on the way back from the laundry room. She had looked up at the Ponce De Leon Hall and seen a curtain open, but shut very quickly. I have also heard the story how Henry Flagger’s soul is stuck in a tile in the main lobby. Supposedly at the viewing of his body in the main lobby in Ponce De Leon Hall after his death, the main gates were shut. (the guards had always left them open at night) So when Flagler’s spirit tried to escape, it bounced back into the tile. There are files for every tile imported to the hotel, and no file shows any existence for this tile. I’ve seen the tile firsthand, and it does appear to be Henry Flaggler’s face.
A counceler, and former Flagler student told me of a story about a friend of hers. She was working in her dorm room (on the third floor, Ponce De Leon Hall) when a little boy’s face appeared on her screen, she turned around and no one appeared to be there. She turned back around and saw the face again. When she turned around this time, she saw a blue bouncy ball bounce out of the window. This goes with the story of a little boy, who was said to have 3 or 4 fingers, that had stayed at the hotel. He always played with a blue bouncy ball until one day it bounced out of the window, and with his attempt to save it, he died.
I have also heard the story of Flagler’s mistress hanging herself in a third story room. The room has been boarded up since, until this year where they opened it and made it into a dorm room due to lack of space.
Comment by Andrea | 06.29.2007 | 10:45 pm
why can’t kids use the fourth floor if its just a ballroom and they are not used as ballrooms? it makes no sense to me! i would sneak up to the fourth floor and see what was going on up there and i wouldn’t be such a pansy about it! =] =] =] =] =] =] =] =] =] =]
Comment by iso | 07.26.2007 | 1:06 pm
Iso, the floor of the ballroom isn’t in good shape and there are no fire exit. They use it as storage now and it’s locked all the time.
Comment by Jane | 08.6.2007 | 8:11 pm
im down to go here and go on the 4TH floor so if we all can get enought people together we can all go whos down?
Comment by Diana | 08.17.2007 | 4:18 am
Diana, you can’t get to the 4th floor without a student letting you in and then only females can go in.
Comment by Jane | 08.19.2007 | 8:44 pm
Andrea,
The school never opened the mistress’ room as a dorm. Yes, they DO need the space, but they never remodeled it with the rest of the dorms. When asked why (since it isn’t haunted, according to administration) they respond with various reasons such as it was too expensive (which makes no sense), or there was a whole in the floor, which I know is also untrue.
I dont know if anyone mentioned this, but supposedly no one can hang anything on the wall in the dorm next to the mistress. She considers it part of “her room.” Whenever anyone does, it falls.
Comment by Flagler Student | 09.7.2007 | 7:58 pm
*hole in the floor, not “whole”
Comment by Flagler Student | 09.7.2007 | 7:58 pm
the story is true. my sister claims and has evidence that she has seen a 65 or 70 yr old woman walking and sometimes running down the hall with a rope in her hand……. but it was not flaglers wife it was his mistress who was so attracted to his daughter she spent lots of time w/ her and then killed herself when she died of a sickness.. my sisters said that you can ask any other girl who has stayed in the third floor that glass would break ,the beds would shake, the doors always opened and slammed shut and that women would wake up w/ scars and bruisises on thier face.. and the ballroom is open in the daytime 12:00pm-5:30pm for special uses only
Comment by tim | 09.16.2007 | 5:58 pm
I’m hearing all these ghost stories about the college and rumor has it yes there has been a women seen hanging from the ceiling on the staircase! I have never experienced this but rumors I have heard from people around the st.augustine area! I have heard true ghost sightings from family members near the flager and st. augustine area.That area of Florida is most known for it’s spooks.I look forward in visiting the place at night soon because it sounds like a creepy but beautiful adventure to know that beings from the after life roam this beautiful city! It’s unexplained what they want or what there looking for. Maybe they just love St. Augustine so much they thought they would stay even after life and enjoy the beautiful city!Most people say they don’t see these kinda sightings because the ghost feel they have no need to appear for them! Ghost are mostly attracted by people who have experinced near death situations, children,humble spirits, and maybe a look alike or just a certain presence!It’s true ghost don’t appear for everyone! So yes most of these people are telling the truth some of them have seen them and some of them have not!As I look over at the city riding I just get excited and the look of the city tells it’s ghost stories itself.Some of you people are full of **** with the stories though you might wanna leave the tequila alone! Remember too Ghost don’t always appear it’s a sometime experience! But remember if you see one they were humans just like you and me and they just don’t know theyv’e passed yet or they just wanna enjoy the beauty of the city!
Comment by Amanda | 09.27.2007 | 9:41 pm
It seems a lot of people are interested in our school!
I guess I will begin with the most popular topic for postings and give my account on the Fourth Floor Mystery. I was able to take a tour of the fourth floor with an American Masterpieces class during the summer term of 2006. The floor is NOT unstable, as the administration claims, but instead serves as storage for a wide array of furniture. The designated storage area extends well into the middle of the floor, which quickly discredited the claim that “the floor is too unstable to allow people upstairs.” From an economic standpoint the dead space on the fourth floor is such an unnecessary waste; the school formals could be held there instead of renting out the Lightner. As any current Flagler student knows, we are also in need of additional classroom space. The fourth floor could easily be converted to accommodate those needs.
I can’t say much on the other stories because I really don’t have enough facts. I am thinking particularly of Flagler’s supposed mistress being held in a room adorned with mirrors on the third floor until she finally went insane and committed suicide. That room, as of this semester, is now a dorm room with two girls living in it. To my knowledge they have not had any problems yet, though they are visited regularly by curious neighbors who know the story.
Those of us that have spent multiple years living in the dorms have our own stories, but who is to say anything is absolutely real? Without solid facts I make it a general rule not to pass on my experiences. After a while you start questioning your own vision and hearing; in order to truly believe the things we have experienced you would have had to have been there too.
Comment by Flagler Senior | 10.4.2007 | 4:32 pm
I know for fact (I know the girl) that a girl was so scared from seeing what she believed to be a ghost(s) haunting her that she left one of the dormitories in the fall/winter of 2001. She went to the fourth floor with friends and reported hearing banging noises and the door buckling as if something was trying to get out of the room; Her bed shook violently; an old picture of 2 men appeared in her sock drawer after she had a dream about one man killing the other; objects in her room levitated and were knocked to the floor; her closet doors shook violently; and according to her, a passage in her room appeared to reveal a ghostly woman. If I recall correctly, the passage was confirmed by other witnesses. If anyone has heard of these events (again, occuring in fall 2001), please post any additional information or acknowledge that you’ve heard of this. If anyone roomed with the girl or knew her, please tell. I know she returned home after the hauntings without completing her freshmen semester.
Comment by Jack | 10.9.2007 | 11:35 am
I live there and go to college there…
one night me and my roomate, stayed up and just were talking, then we heard footsteps but it was just us in that room.
Then the next night, i got sick,
my roomate and here boyfriend went out, so i was home alone…
i felt cold and weird, but then in my bed there was a lump in my bed, i went to take off my cover and there was nothing there.. it scared the **** outta me…
Comment by Martha | 10.25.2007 | 11:49 am
I grew up in Vietnam and heard more ghost stories than you can imagine. It was during the war and the history of my country is 20 times older than that of the USA. Adults used to tell us the ghosts come out at night to scare kids of not being in the street after dark.
Why do ghosts only show up at night around nobody or someone that stayed up see. Where are the ghosts at the wedding, party, football games, etc… I’ve vistited over 40 houses or places that people said that they have seen ghosts and NEVER saw them. So is it me or your daydreams with maybe a late night drinking and smoking…There are NO SUCH things so please move on with life and live. ghost is just you wish you can live on earth here forever.
Comment by Quynh | 10.29.2007 | 2:17 pm
I don’t know if the hotel/dorm is haunted for sure, but it is creepy. A couple of friends and I went to visit a friend who played women’s basketball at Flagler back in late December 1995 since she had a game that evening. There was no one on campus except for athletes competing in winter sports, so we were able to sneak into the women’s dorm (Ponce de Leon hotel) and stay with her on the 3rd floor. That place reminded me of the hotel in ‘The Shining’ with its wide, pale blue hallways and wide open entrance. She had never been to the 4th floor but had heard lots of stories about the place. She had never seen anything, but mentioned that pictures would fall off the wall from time to time and said she would hear noises on the ceiling sometimes.
That morning, we were walking around just checking the place out when we saw that the outside door to the janitor’s room was cracked open. Knowing we shouldn’t, we went inside and saw an elevator in the back of the room. We got onto the elevator and saw that there was a button for the 4th floor, so we pressed it. It took forever for this old elevator to reach the top and when the doors opened, we saw a metal spiral staircase that led up to one of the two towers about 15′ away. The entrance to the stairwell was blocked by a padlocked iron gate. The couple I was there with got off the elevator right away and took off to the right where they went through a doorway where the staircase is, and on into what I believe was a ballroom or dining hall. Before my friend and I got off the elevator, we heard a loud banging noise that sounded like it was coming from the top of the tower. It scared us so we quickly followed our friends into the ballroom.
There wasn’t much there except a bunch of formal-looking chairs stacked up. We continued across the room until we reached a very narrow hallway. This hallway was so narrow that I had to walk sideways just to fit down it. We turned the corner to find several rooms (maybe 4 or 5). We joked that Mrs Flagler (or whoever it was) must have hung herself in one of these rooms. When we left, we went down the staircase that was through the doorway and to the right of the elevator. We decided we would come back at night after the game (although I wasn’t crazy about the idea).
When we came back that night, we took the staircase because the door to the room with the elevator was locked. When we got to the top of the staircase that we had come down from earlier, the two doors at the top were locked, which blocked us from the tower and elevator on the right and the ballroom on the left. It was extremely dark at the top of the stairs too since there were no lights up there, just the faint light from the floor below. Since the door was locked, we went back and got a butter knife to try to get in to the room with the tower. We wanted to get in there because that is where we had heard the banging noise earlier. We were able to see through a keyhole in the door, but couldn’t manage to get the door open. We were about to give up and I remember getting the strong feeling that someone was behind me (I was thinking it may have been a security guard) so I turned around. Just then, the door popped open a crack, so we walked in. To get up the spiral staircase was going to require us to climb over the railing since there was a gate blocking the normal entrance. I decided not to climb over though as there was a drop 4 floors down if we fell. They left me to hold the knife while the three of them climed up to the tower. Once they were up there I got a strong chill up my spine and really felt like my hair was standing up. This caused me to drop the knife. Just then they hurried back down from the tower. I asked what they saw and they said there was nothing up there but a bunch of metal pipes on the ground. This freaked us out because something had to cause those pipes to make that banging noise we had heard earlier. We decided to end our exploring there. We did spend the night in the dorm that night, but I didn’t sleep well. It was overall just a creepy experience.
Comment by Ryan | 10.29.2007 | 4:57 pm
ghosts are real when the dolphins win a game
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Comment by gay fag | 11.1.2007 | 8:43 am
it’s funny how everyone has a different story, but has anyone ever actually tried to contact the spirits? they are not so bad in fact the college is not the only huanted place downtown. it’s a very lively or well unlively place to be lol. either way it’s a fun place to hunt what can not always be seen. st. augie has proven to be a wonderful place to play.
Comment by Soda DeMonch | 11.14.2007 | 1:20 am
Oh my goodness! I’m moving to St. Augustine in two months to go to Flagler College, now I’m all freaked out!
Comment by christina | 11.23.2007 | 11:43 pm
I find this to be a false statement. People get so worked up and force themselves to believe what they wish was true, but its not. As far as the paranormal readings, its all in science. Think about it.
God Bless.
Comment by lauren | 12.26.2007 | 10:07 pm
im going there on a class feild trip in 2 days! i cant wait i want to go on the 4th floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
Comment by sam | 03.24.2008 | 6:56 pm
I’ve been to St. Augustine before but I’ve never heard of this story. I was more interested in the lighthouse which is also supposed to be haunted. I discovered that because my dad has a thing for the show “ghost hunters” which had an episode on the hauntings there. They caught a few things on camera too. It’s almost scary.
Comment by Reign | 04.4.2008 | 8:06 pm