- December 14, 2025
A visit to the oldest house on the beachside can be a chilling experience
I admit I had chills when I stood at the bottom of the staircase in Lilian Place, the oldest house on the beachside and home to many ghost stories.
Was it a ghost tickling me, or was it just anticipation? After hearing tales of mysterious sounds and sightings, I entered the house. Restored with period furniture, it looked like it did in 1884, and it was like stepping into a ghost story.
Michelle Davidson, of Daytona Beach, who wrote “Florida’s Haunted Hospitality,” was along for the tour, and she said she also had an experience at the bottom of the stairs. She smelled gardenia perfume, and someone told her the most famous ghost, Lucille, was welcoming her to the house.
Davidson wrote the book after staying alone in 36 different historic buildings across the state with reported ghost sightings.
The reason for the visit to Lilian Place was to accompany poets in town for the Florida State Poets Association, coordinated by Mary-Ann Westbrook, of Ormond Beach. On their last day, they toured the house for an inspiration for ghost story writing and a workshop with Davidson.
Were my chills caused by the ghost of author Stephen Crane, who some say still paces the hallway upstairs? Did he notice the pen in my hand, two pens in my pocket and a notebook, and, as a writer, decide to say hello?
It’s documented that Stephen Crane stayed at Lilian Place after his ship sank offshore in 1896. It took days to get to shore in a life boat because of the current, and that experience reportedly inspired his book, “The Open Boat.”
The most famous ghost at the house is Lucille, reported to have introduced herself many years ago by actually speaking to guests. Her identity is the subject of many theories.
About five years ago, I met Pat Bennett, granddaughter of the man who built the house. She owned the house for a while and raised her children there. She has since passed away.
She confessed to me, with a laugh, that her book, “Lilian Place,” started one local legend.
In the book, she has Lucille throwing herself off the widow’s walk, after being spurned by a lover. Bennett said she made that story up for the book, and was amused, when years later, she heard tour guides talk about the story as if true.
She said, however, that she and her children experienced the ghost of Lucille many times. Lucille turns off lights and plays other tricks, and is sometimes seen dressed in white, pouring water into a basin in the upstairs, northeast bedroom. She has also been seen looking out of windows.
Ghosts of children have also been reported by several residents and visitors.
Poet convention called a success
Westbrook, secretary of the state association and president of Tomoka Poets, said about 50 poets from throughout the state gathered for the three days to attend seminars and read their poems.
“It’s very important to read poetry aloud,” she said. “It gives a whole new feeling and you get feedback.”
She said both the local and state groups are increasing in number.
The last event of the convention was the ghost story workshop. After the tour, each poet penned a ghost poem.
In his poem, Joe Cavanaugh, of Ormond Beach, the president of the state association, referred to the ghostly orbs, often photographed by digital photography.
He said the orbs are only seen by “empathetics, poets and digital smart phones.”
Lantern Ghost tours offered for Halloween
Heritage Preservation Trust, which owns Lilian Place, is offering ghost tours 1-9 p.m., Oct. 30-31. The cost is $10. Call 256-4810.
