Sarasota Ghost Tours

Sarasota, Florida: Sarasota has a rich and colorful past. Throughout history, the city has been home to many influential people as well as a hotspot for arts and entertainment. Many people have called the city by the bay home including John Ringling who’s mark can be seen throughout the city. But with all this glimmer, Sarasota also has a much darker side. A side filled with murder and suicide which can be explored with the Sarasota Ghost Tour.

For the past few years, we have wanted to take the ghost tour through Sarasota’s Rosemary District. However I have always been hesitant to go. I have spent 13 years in public safety in Sarasota, working these same streets and visiting these same places in which the tour visits. I’ve worked deep inside the Golden Apple Dinner Theater, Sarasota Opera House, McCown Towers and many more of these haunted places. After countless visits to these places with no experiences, did I really want to pay for a tour of these places. But my wife decided to go with a group of teachers from work and my son and I decided to tag along and see what the tour had to offer.

We met our tour guide Jackie at their office on Boulevard of the Arts to gather our tools (K-2 meters and heat guns) and begin the tour of the Rosemary District. The tour stopped at several stops in the Rosemary District including the old ice house, the old African Methodist Episcopal Church and a private residence on Central Avenue. At each stop, the guide gave use the history of the area and past experiences at each site. This particular tour was enhanced by an unexpected visitor, a female claiming to be the daughter of the late owner of the residence on Central. While her actions seemed to discredit her claims, it was a glimpse of how unpredictable a tour through downtown can be.

In the backyard of the residence, we had a interaction with a spirit at the home. The K-2 meters began to fluctuate and the guide began asking questions in which the entity responded by making the K-2 meter elevate to red. This happened several times during the question session as if they were responding to the questions.

From there, we took a short walk into the Theater District where we heard the stories and haunts of the Golden Apple Dinner Theater, Sarasota Opera House and the Potter’s Field. I’ve walked these streets hundreds of times and never knew that there was a potter’s field right beneath my feet.

It was then time to head back to the Rosemary District for the next stop on our tour. Along the way, we made a stop by the residence of Sarasota’s first doctor and McCown Towers.

After a brief hike north we reached the highlight of the tour, the Rosemary Cemetery. The cemetery is the final resting place for many of Sarasota’s pioneers. Here in the cemetery, Jackie attempted to interact with two children and Mr Stickney but none were wanting to communicate with our group tonight. We spent a good deal of time here listening to the storied of those buried here and trying to interact with them before returning back to our starting point and ending the tour.

The Sarasota Ghost Tour is based on research by the staff along with the book "Ghosts of Sarasota" by Kim Cool. The book, which we purchased, is available at their tour office for anyone who wants to learn more about the stories heard on the tour and many more.

I purposely left out the individual stories we heard on the tour to encourage you to take the tour yourself. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it is still an entertaining look at Sarasota’s history from an angle not regularly shared.

While I was skeptical with going on the tour, I am glad I did. I enjoyed the trip and story telling. As for evidence/experiences, I will let you determine for yourself by the pictures taken during the tour. There were several orbs spotted in many of the photos as well as elevated K-2 readings in numerous spots. Plus there was the question and answer session at the private residence. But it is up you to determine based on my photos whether or not there is paranormal activity occurring within downtown Sarasota or better yet, head out there and experience it for yourself.

Click on the photo above to view my Sarasota Ghost Tour photo gallery.