St. Augustine Ghost Story

This summer I realized a long time dream by staying at the historic Casablanca Inn in St. Augustine, Florida. I’ve visited many times and gone on the ghost tour where they tell the story of the owner, a savvy businesswoman who made money off both the Federal Agents who stayed at the Inn, and the smugglers (rum runners).

The Casablanca Inn overlooks Matanzas Bay and she could go up on the widow’s walk and signal the smugglers with a lantern when it wasn’t safe to come into town. The story is, people still see this light at night. Cool, right?

We stayed in the gorgeous San Marco Suite. It had a comfy sleep number bed and tons of pillows. Decorated with antiques, I felt like I’d gone back in time.

The last night of our stay, we took a photo of the Casablanca all lit up at night. Later, when we returned to our suite, I scrolled through the photos and made a startling discovery. I distinctly remember waiting until no one was in front of me before taking the picture of the Casablanca. I remember, because my daughter was impatient to get going. Well, there are some people in this picture I don’t remember being there or seeing at all.

I must have had a look on my face because my daughter asked me what was wrong. I questioned if she remembered anyone standing in front of us when we took the picture. She told me no, you made me wait until everyone got out of the way. I handed her my phone so she could look. All the blood drained out of her face and we both got tears in our eyes. All the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end.

We enlarged the picture and you can clearly see a woman standing there. Upon further investigation, it’s not one woman, but two! Crazy. I know they were not there when I took the picture. I would have remembered seeing them. See for yourself below:

And it didn’t end there. At that point, I strongly felt someone was watching me from the other room, sitting on the bed. I snapped some photos, but saw nothing odd. I finally said, “If you’re here, let me see you”. And the most amazing thing happened. A ball of light formed right where I thought she was sitting, hovered, and then flew through the wall into the bathroom. I was stunned, every nerve tingling. I’d had an intelligent, visual response from a ghost!

I got up and went into the bathroom to find all the drawers in the vanity hanging open. Neither my daughter, nor I, had opened them the entire time we’d been there. What an exit!

During my lifetime I’ve had a lot of spooky experiences, but this was special. The whole time I stayed there, I knew there was a lady in the room. But she felt welcoming and protective. I slept like a baby in that place and I never sleep well away from home. I don’t know who she was, but I got the name, Liliana. I don’t know if she was the same lady in the picture out front, or someone different. But I’m grateful she let me “see” her.