Patrick S. Mesmer - Ghosts of the Treasure Coast

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2017 by Patrick S. Mesmer and Patricia Mesmer

All rights reserved

First published 2017

e-book edition 2017

ISBN 978.1.43966.230.4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940921

print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.698.3

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the authors or The History Press. The authors and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

PREFACE

In early 2016, I was approached by The History Press with a proposal to write about the ghost stories and legends of my beloved Martin County, Florida. I was definitely interested, mostly due to the fact that my first two books were loosely based on the same topics. I proposed to the publisher that we take the subject matter of this book one step further to include the entire area known as the Treasure Coast. It is one of the fastest-growing places in the country and was recently featured in the national news for significant discoveries of Spanish treasure along its shoreline. My wife, Tricia, and I have studied the folklore of this area for many years, and we were elated at the opportunity to share what we have learned. As you read further, you will be joining us as we explore the hauntings, apparitions and chilling stories that have emerged from the Treasure Coasts rich history. Thank you for accompanying us on our journey!

What is the definition of a haunted place? Do you believe that spirits can linger in an area or building long after life has left their mortal bodies? In todays hectic, material world, we tend to take many things for granted. With the constant bombardment of media images and split-second gratification, we tend to be skeptical of anything that we cannot see or touch. One thing that we often lose sight of is that we live in an old worldone that we are a very small part of. If we appreciate that there might be more going on than we realize, it may serve to open up a whole new appreciation of our lives and the impact we have on the world around us. We believe that hauntings are directly tied to the history of a place. In order to understand why there are restless spirits in a particular area, one has to learn what tragic events took place there to cause them to linger. This is why the best ghost hunters are avid students of history.

When I was a youngster, the subject of historyas taught in schoolwas viewed by most students as incredibly boring and stilted. It seemed to be one event occurring after another on a multitude of dates that always came to an obvious, well-known conclusion. To put this in perspective, take the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in the year 2001. Just imagine students one hundred years from now seeing 9/11 as a footnote in a book and hearing the event recounted in a flat, analytical way by a boring professor. In reality, nothing could match the horror and confusion of that day. Also, the subject of history in general has almost always been slanted toward European influence, often leaving out the important contributions of countless ethnic groups and races. The truth is that history has always been fluid and unpredictable. Throughout the ages, almost all civilizations have produced mountains of brilliant folklore that have been handed down verbally through generations, usually told around a blazing fire. To us, this is the good stuffthe human element, so to speak.

What is the paranormal? Are there such things as ghosts? Do certain lost spirits linger after the physical body ceases to exist?

It seems that people have been fascinated by questions like these for centuries. In order to find answers, one needs to have an open mind. Almost every society throughout history has had a system of beliefs that revolve around faith in things that cannot be seen. Today, millions of people flock to churches to pay tribute to invisible deities in which they have unquestioning faith. All over the world, wars are fought over various beliefs in the afterlife.

Many theories abound concerning the study of paranormal activity. One popular idea is that there is another plane of existence among us that we cannot see, one that hums with the energy of life. All day long, we have millions of thoughts that are represented as bits of information. When we die, all of these tiny fragments of thought go into the higher plane, traveling at light speed. Every so often, we get small bits of this information that come to us randomlyor possibly intentionallyfrom some determined spirit that might be trying to communicate with us. Hence the popularity of the spirit box or EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) recorders that pick up these messages.

The coauthors of this collection, Patrick and Tricia Mesmer, have been interested in the paranormal for a long time. Tricias obsession with the controversial subject began when she was very young and encountered a spirit of her own. Having lost her father, a U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor, at a very young age, she began to question the finality of death. In her room, she had a plastic record player that was a staple of a teenagers world at that time. After one particular night of listening to her favorite tunes, she decided to ask out loud if her father had crossed over. She picked the stylus up off the record she had been listening to and set it down. She then walked across the room to sit on her bed. Breaking the silence, she asked the question out loud. To her utter amazement, the stylus raised itself into the air, as if lifted by an invisible hand, and gently set itself down on the record. As the song played, Tricia realized that she was scared but also very excited. To her, all of her beliefs had been confirmed in one instant. She unplugged the record player and sat back on her bed, staring at it. To her shock and amazement, the entire sequence repeated itself, this time without electricity. The song played for a few seconds and then stopped. Tricia concluded that her loving father had indeed contacted her through the songs that she loved. Ever since that experience, she has never looked back. This began a lifelong search for answers to age-old questions that continues to this day.

Patricks interests lean more toward history. He is the author of several books on various aspects of Florida history and is a sought-after speaker in the area. He is also a weekend volunteer at Gilberts Bar House of Refuge, one of the locations discussed in this book. He has a passion for history and believes in the power of a good story that is well told. He believes that it is very important to always keep an open mind. In todays world, it is wrongfully arrogant to completely discount something simply because you cant grasp it in your hand or see it with your own eyes. He looks at it this way: if you were to show someone from the Revolutionary or Civil War era a radio or a television set, how would he or she react? Chances are, after they awakened from passing out after the initial shock and fear, they would probably swear that it was a box possessed by some evil spirit. Knowledge changes every day at blinding speed, and we are constantly learning more about what the human mind is capable of. Lets face it: life is much more interesting that way, isnt it?