Lightner Museum

Henry Flagler built the Hotel Alcazar in 1888 as a companion to the Ponce de Leon across the street. It once had the world's largest indoor swimming pool — that space is now a cafe and antique shops inside the Lightner Museum.

The Lightner Museum occupies the former Hotel Alcazar, commissioned by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler in 1887 to accommodate wealthy tourists traveling south on his Florida East Coast Railway. Designed in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style by architects Carrere and Hastings, the hotel featured one of its era's most impressive amenities: the largest indoor swimming pool in the world.

A little girl reportedly drowned in that pool. The drained basin now houses a cafe and antique shops, but visitors who stand in the center, close their eyes, and concentrate claim to hear splashing--phantom sounds of swimming from more than a century ago.

When the Great Depression struck, the hotel closed, sitting empty for over a decade until Otto Lightner purchased it for his vast collection of decorative and fine arts. The museum now houses an eccentric assortment including a child mummy, taxidermy animals, dolls, and exquisite Tiffany glass.

But the ghosts of the Flagler era linger. A night security guard reported hearing the sounds of a Great Gatsby-worthy gala--music, laughter, clinking glasses--echoing through the empty building. Figures of Flagler's mistress and second wife have been spotted wandering the halls.

The Turkish Bath and Steam Room area on the upper floors creates particularly unsettling experiences. Visitors describe a sudden chill and the feeling that something unseen is watching them in those former spa quarters.

Some believe Henry Flagler himself haunts the building. When he died in 1913, his body was displayed in the hotel lobby. Many visitors sense his presence, suggesting the railroad magnate refuses to leave behind the empire he built.

Museum staff remain tight-lipped about the claims, quickly shutting down inquiries about ghosts--which some believe is its own form of confirmation.