Ghosts of the Past: Unveiling the Haunting History of Casa Monica in St. Augustine, FL

Built as a labor of love and an ode to Moorish style architecture by Franklin W Smith, a native Bostonian,  Civil War era abolitionist and social activist.

Smith decided to build such a magnificent hotel because of the rise in Florida tourism at the end of the 19th century.

This majestic resort with its 138 one of a kind guest rooms has been a landmark in St Augustine since it open on New Year’s Day 1888.

Like many of the grand hotels, the Casa Monica became part of the American Riviera,  a winter playground in Florida for the rich and famous of the time.

Unfortunately after only a year of operation Smith ran into financial troubles and had to sell the hotel to Standard Oil co-founder and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler.

Flagler purchased the entire facility from Smith for $325,000.   Smith was incredibly desperate selling “all fixtures, furnishings, silver, hardware, linen, bedding, parlor hall, dining room and kitchen furnishings and all chattels”.

A dream ending in despair,  and in 1911 Smith died in poverty.

The Depression forced the hotel to close in 1932 and remained vacant until 1968 when it was dedicated as the St Johns County Courthouse and finally restored as a hotel in 1999.

Casa Monica was voted in the 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Most Haunted Hotels.

Guests pass along tales of spectral Revolutionary War soldiers, the smokey silhouettes of US presidents,  the melancholy spirits of tragic would be brides,  unexplained footsteps,  as well as friendly phantom bellhops.

Some guests and staff. believe Franklin W Smith’s spirit still haunts Casa Monica.

From glowing lights on the third floor and mischievous pillow fights in rooms staged for photography,  the hotel decided to bring in a paranormal expert.

A local tour guide accompanied a medium to witness the haunting and on the top floor of the Kessler Suite,  the medium reported seeing a man with big burly sideburns pacing back and forth. She encouraged the tour guide to approach the man who was clearly in despair.   The guide only remembers being completely frozen,  a feeling unlike any other she had felt in ten years of tours and the medium saw a confusing vision of broken tiles crashing outside the window.

Later while researching the history of the hotel, they discovered that not only did the medium describe the physical characteristics of Franklin William Smith,  but they surmise that he would have been heartbroken to know that the hotels original terracotta roof had been replaced.

Perhaps after a life full of hardships Smith is trapped inside the source of his greatest heartbreak.

Guests can discover more haunted history by joining the same tour guide for a complimentary tour.