Dusty Smith - Haunted DeLand and the Ghosts of West Volusia County

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2008 by Dusty Smith

All rights reserved

First published 2008

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.368.5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, Doris (Doris Dusty)

Haunted Deland : the ghosts of West Volusia County / Dusty Smith.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-526-1

1. Ghosts--Florida--De Land. 2. Haunted places--Florida--De Land. I. Title.

BF1472.U6S595 2008

133.10975921--dc22

2008028568

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 author or The History Press. The author 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.

For the hard work and dedication of all of the members of the West Volusia Historical Society, Bill Dreggors, Harry W. Wise, Opal Lee, the City of DeLand, the staff of the Cassadaga Hotel and the people of the towns of DeLand, Cassadaga and Lake Helen for making the information available to make this book a possibility.

Without people like you, our history would fade away into the black void and our children wouldnt know where they come from. It is very important for all of us to continue to preserve history in any way we can so as not to forget what we have done, so we can learn from our mistakes and make this world a better place for our childrens children to exist in. I applaud and thank each and every one of you for your tireless and thankless efforts, no matter how large or small.

Contents

Acknowledgements

I would like to dedicate this work to the following people:

To my son Kyle: Kyle has been my inspiration for many years, at times my muse and always my hero. I am more proud of him than words can state. He is a good human being, with a kind heart, a brilliant mind and more compassion and empathy for others than anyone else I know. He has helped me over the years with my research, my cemetery preservation efforts, my strange collections, my ghost tours, my writing, my attempts to learn to use computers and other technical gadgets, any and all new projects that come my way and by always being there when I need a friend. He is now a wonderful young man that has left the nest and has broken my heart by doing so. However, I understand his need to be on his own, and I am very proud of him for making the right decisions in his now-adult life. I miss him being at home every night but appreciate him stopping by once a week to eat dinner and watch a movie with his crazy mom while he does his laundry. I love you Kyle and I am proud to be your mother.

To my good friend Harry W. Wise aka Wise the Wizard: Harry came into my life through a mutual friend and has never left. We enjoy long phone calls together and eating out at Hamptons restaurant when we can. He has taught me about stage magic and old movies and I have taught him about cemetery preservation and Living Dead Dolls. Harry is a brilliant man who at one time was a very famous stage magician, performing a ghost show all over the United States. He is now retired and misses being center stageI empathize with him. He has been a great friend and a good confidant and he always makes me laugh. Thank you Harry for your contributions to this world and to this book.

To Tom Begley: May you rest in peace until we meet again in the next life. Stick around a little longer next time please.

To Doug Kelley: Thank you for being a great friend, awesome fellow researcher and wonderful and patient Webmaster.

To all of the following people: Kathleen the Elder VanHozza, Steve Williams, Bill Sharpe, Troy Taylor, Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Patrick and Pamela Burns, Bill Bean, the Wyricks, Deborah Collard, Dr. Ed Craft, Karen Harvey, Dave Juliano, Dave Schrader, Dr. William Roll, Hans Holzer, Bill Metz, Don Graham, Dan Asfar, Jeff Belanger, Steve Gonsalves, the Ghost Chics, Dr. Alan Brown, Brad Steiger, Jeffrey Breslauer, Tiffany Johnson, Keith Age, Joey Ward, Denise Rolf, John J. Oliver, Tim Yancey, Bob Hunnicut, Michael and Marti Parry, Reese Christian, Bill Chappel, Midnight Syndicate, Elvira and the rest of the paranormal, horror and cemetery communities who have given me the motivation to continue in these fields. You are all my friends and I appreciate everything you have done for and with me over the years.

To Frank Perrick: Thank you for spending the day with me and driving me all over creation to get some of the photos for this book. You are a true friend and I will always love you just the way you aredont ever change for anyone except you!

Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world find the subject of ghosts fascinating. I have been conducting paranormal investigations and ghost hunting for nearly fifteen years now, and I meet many people from all walks of life that all have their own personal stories to tell. Most remember something strange from when they were a child, some still live in a home that has odd occurrences and still others have such a passion for this subject that they never seem to get enough of it.

With the resurgence in the field of the paranormal, many of these people seek out as much information on the subjects as they can find. With the many television shows, conferences, groups, ghost tours and books available these days, it has become an industry unto itself. What some people may not realize about this field is that there is a great deal of history involved in creating a ghost. Our history forms who we are as living people as well as holds the spirits of the dead to given locations. A great example is Gettysburg.

Since so many people lost their lives in a very short time and under great emotional pressure during the battles fought at Gettysburg, those facts make it one of the most haunted locations in the United States. But there are so many other places in the country that also hold emotional energy from times goneenergy that keeps spirits active today. There didnt have to be a battle, war, plague, famine or other major tragedy, although those types of things do help in the creation of a haunting. Looking into the background of a given location can sometimes give us clues as to why a haunting may be taking place.

While history was not a favorite subject of mine growing up, it has become an integral part of my adult life. Many of the private cases that the Daytona Beach Paranormal Research Group, Inc. has worked on over the past thirteen years can be directly linked to events that have taken place on the land hundreds and sometimes thousands of years ago. People think that this work is a lot of funand dont get me wrong, it can bebut most of what ghost hunters and paranormal investigators do is boring!

First things first. The difference between a ghost hunter and a paranormal investigator is that ghost hunters search for ghosts in areas known to be haunted, while paranormal investigators study locations where paranormal activity has been reported. Those two things may sound the same, but believe me, they are very different. A good example would be that a ghost hunter goes into an old building for which there have been numerous reports of apparitions and colds spots over the years. They set up their equipment, take photos, record audio and after a couple of hours go over the documentation they acquired. A paranormal investigator receives a call from a family member that claims to have heard strange noises in the middle of the night and experienced cold spots and object movement. The paranormal investigator interviews the witnesses, maps the location, does a historical background check of the area, sets up equipment similar to that of the ghost hunter and tries to find manmade or naturally occurring reasons for the purported activity before stating that the location is haunted. Any evidence collected during their several hours spent on site is gone over with a fine-toothed comb and later presented to the client to show the reasons whyor why notthe area is actually haunted.