Dave Lapham - Ghosthunting Florida

After having published Ghosts of St. Augustine (Pineapple Press, 1997) and Ancient City Hauntings (Pineapple Press, 2004), I thought I was finished with ghosts for a while, but they werent finished with me. Out of the blue, I was given an opportunity to write Ghosthunting Florida, covering the whole state. I immediately jumped at the chance, and now my ghosts and I are back in business.

My interest in ghosts and the inexplicable events we all encounter during our lives has been casual but persistent. I am as sensitive to the paranormal as a bull gator, but I have had many, many experiences that have mystified me and that I cannot explain. And I have so many questions. What are ghosts really? And exactly, physically, where is the other side, or Heaven, or whatever you may call it? And why do some ghosts stick around and others dont? And clothes! Those who see ghosts, apparitions, almost always see them dressed in period clothes. Clothes are inanimate, so how can they be transported to the afterlife?

And why doesnt everyone believe in ghosts? There are volumes of research that make it pretty clear to me that the death of the physical body is not the end, and yet so many still deny the existence of an afterlife. Deborah Blum in her excellent book, Ghost Hunters (Penguin Books, 2006), examines the studies conducted by William James, brother of author Henry James, and a group of highly respected scientists during the nineteenth century. Their studies were meant to bring understanding of life after death and to bridge the gulf between science and faith, to make psychic research a legitimate branch of science. Still, there are skeptics.

Ghosthunting Florida , along with the other books in the Americas Haunted Road Trip series, seeks to answer some of these questions and to sway skeptics with accurate, objective observations and experiences, and then let the reader draw their own conclusions. Whether youre a paranormal investigator, an amateur ghosthunter, or just someone who enjoys a good ghost story, you will like this book and find it useful. In addition to the stories, which I have arranged by region, I have included a ghosthunting travel guide, Visiting Haunted Places, which provides detailed information about visiting the sites written about in this book and a list of resources.

For those who might wish to do their own ghost hunting, here are some guidelines and rules of etiquette:

1. Conduct all your investigations with an open mind and dont be fooled by the evidence. No one has yet proven scientifically beyond a doubt that ghosts actually exist. You probably wont be the one to do it, so be non-judgmental and open about what you experience and observe. And be skeptical of the evidence you gather by examining all possible explanations.
2. Interview witnesses separately, so that they dont influence each other with their testimony.
3. Document all your activities. When professional and serious paranormal investigators visit sites, they are often loaded with infrared cameras, EMF meters, and all manner of highly sensitive equipment. If you have that sort of equipment, by all means use it. I dont, but I like to carry a pen and notebook, a tape recorder, and a camera. It is helpful if each member of your party carries the same equipment also. The tape recorder is good for recording interviews, and you might catch unidentifiable sounds or voices from a site.