Miami's haunted history

BY EMILIA KOHNSTAMM, STAFF WRITER

OUT OF THE LIMITLESS range of human emotions, fear is one of the most powerful and quickly recognizable feelings. At the immediate notice that something is off, the brain sends millions of signals throughout the body. Blood pressure increases, the heart starts racing and breathing quickens. The instantaneous adrenaline rush that comes with fear can be pleasurable and is even sought out by some. Others do not necessarily feel the same way.

“The scariest movie I’ve ever watched is ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ where the wolf was death,” freshman Athanasios Grillas said. “All in all, I hate scary things.”

Miami, known for its lively past of parties and cultural diversity, discretely holds some of the richest haunted history in the United States. From a range of mafa bosses to art collectors, Miami natives often stay around past their lifetimes.

The following locations are renowned for the feelings they foster in visitors and residents: fear, apprehension and anxiety, to name a few. With beautifully maintained locations honing their rich pasts, these landmarks are perfect for a spooky season visit.

It is important to recognize, however, that along with these emotions comes a lesson on the deep history of Miami and an immersion into the memories of so many and the residual energy of lives lived before the present.

Transporting guests to the past, these three houses have well preserved their histories, evidently including their old dwellers.

Deering Estate

Resting along the mangrove-filled southwestern edge of Biscayne Bay is Deering Estate, a monumental marker of Florida’s history. The land has been inhabited for thousands of years, originally by Tequesta natives, who thrived along the coast before the Spanish colonial era.

Excavators and archeologists who have explored the grounds have discovered bones of megafauna, tribal burial mounds and other archaeological artifacts on the premises.

After Charles Deering, a wealthy Maine businessman, bought a local cottage-turned-inn on the property, he renovated it to be the perfect home for him and his family. The Deering Estate website explains that after the purchase, Deering added on The Carriage House, a boat-turning basin that was built to house his prized Barbee and Mar-y-cel, as well as a three-story limestone house.

In the basement, Deering designed a wine cellar that is only accessible by a secret passageway and hidden behind a thick metal door, looking for a creative manner to hide his liquor during the prohibition era.

Deering, who greatly appreciated art, flled the home with paintings by El Greco, Diego Velasquez and Rembrandt. After his death in 1927, the home remained in the hands of the Deering family.

According to a 1999 article by the Sun Sentinel, in 1992, Hurricane Andrew decimated the property, causing extensive damage and requiring six years’ worth of restoration. Over 70% of the cottage had to be rebuilt.

Today, the estate is considered to be one of the most haunted places in South Florida, with many employees and visitors claiming to have experienced paranormal activity.

“The Richmond Cottage has a heavy energy because that is the oldest property here. In the upstairs, the second floor, you can feel that there’s something there. It’s always a little darker,” museum educator and employee Tori Scott said. “There’s also the children’s room; that’s a hotspot. Some visitors come and can’t go to the second floor at all.”

The second floor of the Richmond Cottage definitely draws the most attention. A little boy has been seen by psychics, guests and workers, and it is unknown whether he is a grandchild or son of Deering or someone else entirely.

“Once, they had an event in the Richmond Cottage, and they had the top floor marked off, and somebody wanted to go upstairs,” employee David Horna said. “They said, ‘I’m sorry, it’s closed,’ and the guest says, ‘Well there’s a boy upstairs pushing a wheelchair.’”

Scott explained that several investigations have been done and psychics have been brought in to identify spirits and energies within the houses. People willing to experience these ghosts or energies in the houses themselves should visit one of the ghost tours held every Thursday night during September and October, just in time for a Halloween fright.

Villa Paula

In the 1920s, as Miami underwent an influx of inspired developers and new residents, Domingo Milord, a Cuban consulate member, and his wife, a well-known Cuban opera singer, moved into Villa Paula. The Cuban-inspired neoclassical mansion, held up by bright white stucco walls, stood out in comparison to the other residential houses in what was then known as Lemon City, today’s Little Haiti.

The mansion, however, may contain more than just a bountiful history. As claimed by rumors, Paula Milord, the namesake of the building, may have never really “left”.

According to the Miami New Times, the Milords seemed to live an entirely content life in their home until 1932, when Paula passed away unexpectedly due to complications relating to a leg amputation. Many later residents and visitors claim that Paula is still living on the grounds of the Villa, residing in her home past her lease.

Speculations as to where she physically lies are still circulating, with some claiming that her body rests in the garden, in the mysterious box marked with Paula’s name and overgrown by thick roots and ivy.

For years, people have searched for clear records of where Paula was buried, but the results have been rather inconclusive. It is unclear whether she is back home in Cuba, alongside her husband’s grave, in another public cemetery in Miami or if perhaps she truly does still remain right behind her beloved home. Either way, it is almost certain that her spirit continues to roam her same halls since her death in 1960.

Others take a less literal approach to the theory that Paula is still within the villa. These guests, residents and even psychic mediums claim to have seen at least five spirits or ghosts on the grounds, including a one-legged woman. While inside, many have had their senses invaded by the thick smell of Cuban coffee and the eerie noise of piano playing, one of Paula’s favorite activities. Today, the house is used as an art gallery and is described as a haven of artistic expression, which one can only assume would have made Paula, a well-known art lover, very happy.

Biltmore Hotel

Poking out through the tops of bright green branches, the Biltmore Hotel stands proudly in the center of Coral Gables and has been an integral part of the city since its construction in 1926.

It took almost 1,000 men and six years to finish the hotel. It was designed and built by George Merrick, a real estate developer who built up the entire city of Coral Gables in the 1920s. At the time, the hotel boasted the largest pool in the world, its crystal blue waters and elegant standout architecture bringing in tourists from around the globe.

As stated by the Mob Museum, soon after the opening of the building, Thomas “Fatty” Walsh, a New York mobster involved with narcotics and an associate of Al Capone, was staying on the 13th floor of the hotel. The suite had two floors, several bedrooms, a small staircase and a magnificent fireplace. On March 7, 1929, in the morning, Walsh was shot dead in front of the fireplace by another mobster.

As World War II rolled around, the building was converted into a military hospital. Thousands of soldiers lay, wounded and groaning on cots in the sticky heat, in a room that had previously held glittering ballroom dances. Countless died on the property.

After the war ended, it became a veteran hospital and the medical campus of the University of Miami. It closed indefinitely in 1968 and was left untouched, which is when the rumors of ghosts on the property began to arise. In an interview with WLRN, Bettsy Skipp, a Coral Gables native, explained that teens who would break into the abandoned hotel would return with goosebump-covered skin and bone-chilling stories of inexplicable sounds and observations.

In 1987, after four years of renovations, the Biltmore was restored to its original glory. Whilst today the hotel offers several new amenities, that otherworldly feeling that so many experienced

“I’ve felt uneasy at the Biltmore when I was in the ballroom,” sophomore Orly Schoolman-Wood said. “The high ceilings, old architecture and dark lighting were very creepy and made me feel apprehensive.”

Anyone interested in learning more should attend one of the tours run by Dade Heritage Trust and hotel staff, on which eerie ghost tales are told while touring the locations in which they occurred.