Each state in our country comes with its own unique set of stories and urban legends. Since we are coming to that spooky time of year, I just wanted to share a few of Florida's with you. I think the last one is the creepiest:
1. FLORIDA SKUNK APE - Some place have Bigfoot, Florida has the skunk Ape. In 1959, three Boy Scouts came out of the Ocala National Forest saying their camp was attacked by a big hairy monster having the face of a human and the body of an ape. Since then there have been hundreds of sightings. One in particular was from a trucker who claimed he was pulled from his truck by a hairy creature that smelled awful. He said he was carried a few yards and kicked himself free. He then ran to his truck and scared it away by blasting his air horn. Two anonymous photos of the creature snooping around in a backyard sent to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office kept the legend alive. The photo below was taken by Dave Shealy in 1998 and published in the Smithsonian magazine.In 1959, three boy scouts emerged in a panic from or a skunk. It’s this skunk-like stink that gives the skunk ape its name, although old timers in rural areas often refer to it as a “swamp monkey.” My theory, if this thing reall exists, is that when the creature is upset it gives off musk. This is not just a slight scent, wit
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| 5 CREEPIEST FLORIDA URBAN LEGENDS - SKUNK APE |
boy scouts emerged in a panic from the Ocala National Forest with a wild tale of having been routed from their camp by a
2. FAIRFIELD OAK- Legend says back in the 1800's in Ormond Beach a majestic oak tree was on property owned by Norman Harwood. He killed himself under the oak tree by committing suicide. Years later James Ormond II bought the land and built a plantation on it he named Damietta. A few years later Ormond was also found dead under the same tree, a suicide as well. People say when you go under the tree you feel intense sadness and have suicidal thoughts. Sometimes you can see a ghostly figure under the tree also. The tree sits in the Bulow Creek State Park.
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| 5 CREEPIEST FLORIDA URBAN LEGENDS - FAIRFIELD O |
3. SPOOK HILL - Centuries ago, a legend states a native American chief fought in a battle with an enormous alligator to protect his village. It ended with their deaths and a giant sinkhole formed on the spot. Pioneers later started calling the spot Spook Hill because their horses were laboring too hard riding downhill. In later years, a merchant parked his truck on the hill and was terrified to see his truck going backwards up the hill on its own. He blamed it on "Spooks" and that's how the hill got its name. Today many people come from all over. They park their cars on the white marked line, put their car in neutral, and see them roll up the hill backwards. The hill is actually an optical illusion, called a gravity hill. The area makes them appear to roll uphill when they are actually rolling downhill. Spook Hill is located on the east side of N. Wales Dr./5th St, about 1/4 mile south of Burns Ave./Hwy. 17, Lake Wales.
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| 5 CREEPIEST FLORIDA URBAN LEGENDS - SPOOK HILL |
4. DEVILS CHAIR - There sits a red brick bench in a cemetery that is on the borders of the towns Cassadaga and Lake Helen. They call it the Devil's Chair. The devils is said to speak to anyone who sits in the chair. Also if you sit in the chair around midnight, you supposedly cannot move from it for a whole minute, like it has a hold of you. Some people say if you leave an unopened can of beer on the bench overnight, when you return the can is empty with the can never have been opened. The town of Cassadaga is a strange little Florida town. It was founded in the 19th century by a medium from Iowa named George Colby. He is buried in the same cemetery. The town has become a haven for spiritualists and those who say they can speak with the dead. The Devil's Chair is located at the Lake Helen Cassadaga cemetery in the Thatcher plot, at Kicklighter Rd. and Root St., Lake Helen.
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| 5 CREEPIEST FLORIDA URBAN LEGENDS - DEVILS CHAIR |
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