From creaky old buildings covered in vines to boarded-up churches and cemeteries, there are more than a few Florida ghost towns to explore. Sure, plenty of these abandoned towns aren’t actually occupied by spirits, but at the very least, they’re certainly home to creepy-crawlies.
Considering how popular the state’s beach scene is today, Florida might not be the first place that comes to mind for ghost towns. But in the 1800s and early 1900s, towns all across the state were often centered on major farms and sawmills — many of them cropped up as railways and orange groves allowed people to travel and have steady work, but weather catastrophes (hurricanes and freezes) brought these bustling towns to a screeching halt and residents cleared out. Now all that remains in many of these ghost towns and abandoned estates are the shells of homes, overgrown graveyards, and the haunted tales from folks who visited and experienced the heebie-jeebies.
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