Historic St. Francis Inn ghostlore bewitches paranormal investigator

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – RC Davis is a paranormal investigator -- his latest case brings him to the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, which some would argue is the most haunted.

“This particular room, Lily’s room, is supposed to be the most haunted place in the inn,” said Davis.

Lily's room is supposed to be the most haunted place in the St. Francis Inn. (WJXT)

He spent two nights at the historic St. Francis Inn. It dates back to 1791 and is also the source of many ghosts stories that have all come from the third floor. Joe Finnegan, the current innkeeper, has owned the place for 30 years.

“A lot of our guests will relay the experiences that they’ve had, and I always believe them,” said Finnegan.

The experiences are with Lily. One from a longtime contractor who now refuses to work on the third floor alone.

“He saw a housekeeper working in the bedroom also an African-American housekeeper and when he finished the work, he was doing he went down to the front desk and said I just saw a housekeeper I’ve never seen before did you hire a new housekeeper? The manager said, ‘No, we don’t have a new housekeeper. We don’t have any African-American housekeepers,’” said Finnegan.

There is no historical documentation available about Lily but plenty of stories. She was supposedly a slave who worked in this house. The story explained she had a love affair with the owner’s nephew but when his uncle found out he said they couldn’t be together. The legend is she took her life in this house and so did he. People believe she never left.

Davis requested Lily’s room just like hundreds of people before him hoping to have a ghostly encounter. He said during his stay he heard something odd.

“I know I got an EVP and electronic voice phenomena. The one I got this time I was still talking and then it came over my voice,” said Davis.

St. Augustine is full of ghost stories and haunting history. (WJXT)

Charles Tingley with the St. Augustine Historical Society has done so much research that he said all of the ghost stories he’s heard don’t add up.

“I have seen nothing myself maybe that’s the best definition, but so many of the ghost stories in town there’s not a kernel of truth,” said Tingley. “The names are not accurate they are references to events that didn’t happen it’s fiction.”

Despite the skepticism, a lot of people will keep looking and listening for something disconnected from this world in historic St. Augustine.

Davis just recently got his website up and running. If you want to see some of his investigations go to Davisparanormal.com


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Anchor on The Morning Show team and reporter specializing on health issues.