Haunted I-4
11-3-09
Haunted I-4
A stretch of I-4 East located just before the interstate hits the Lake Monroe area is said to be haunted. The history of the haunts extends quite some time. Originally, the land that the roadway is built on was once a homestead. The family that farmed it, 2 children, a mother and father, died of yellow fever and were buried on the property. Time passed and the plot of land was eventually sold to a farmer who rediscovered the graves. He respectfully cleaned up the area and never planted it. Under his watchful eye, the graves were plowed around and protected.
Time passed, the farmer aged and died. His widow sold the land to the state of Florida who was making a new interstate to connect east and west Florida. Walt Disney World was coming and, in the haste to construct the road and with no one to content the act, the graves were paved over.
Since that time, several things have happened. 1) People claim that electrical issues happen only on that stretch of I-4. Truckers report hearing ghostly calls for help on their CB radios as well. 2) Manifestations of ghost lights and, once, a blue spectre of a man in pioneer dress, are reported. Most importantly, 3) this area is said to have more accidents per capita than any other stretch of highway. Multiple fatalities have also happened here. More recently, in 2007 a news crew featured an image of an apparition in the area.
Since I have several trips to Orlando coming up, and since I can't talk the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg into doing more investigations of the area, I plan to track each trip I make into the area for any paranormal activity.
11-3-09
Trip to Barry University. Uneventful. Plan to bring equipment with me next time!
11-26-10: Trip to Universal Studios. Nothing unusual (though no equipment).
This article came out about the deadliest highways to drive on. TWO were in Florida. I - 95 is number 1, and I-4 is number 3!
Most deadly Interstate highways:
1. I-95, Florida
2. I-76, New Jersey
3. I-4, Florida
4. I-15, California
5. I-10, California
1/4/2015
The Weather Channel (local: Bright House 63) is running a marathon of "American Superstition". There is one episode on Haunted I-4 (i-4 Dead Zone). Here is a summary of the information:
The idea is that Sanford, Florida, attracts hurricanes (more than usual) in part because of the disturbed graves of the interstate. They also describe higher than average car accidents,and, of course, the ghostly activity of the area.
History: The area was once deserted and swampy. A man named Sanford bought the land in the area, and it was named for him. He brought in Catholic churches; a small group of German immigrants (about 4 families) came to settle there. A yellow fever epidemic came through the state in the 1800's; a family was killed, quickly buried, and the settlers tried to leave the area (around the year 1887). The graves of the father, mother, and 2 children were put into a field. In 1905 the land was sold and the new owner (Hawkins) fenced off the graves. It is called "The Field of the Dead".
There was a young boy (Arty) who decided to play in the graveyard; though he was warned not to, the boy did it anyway. Later that day, he was walking back from an errand at the local store. A car hit him and killed him; his body was terribly mangled. Rumors started that it was due to his playing in the Field of the Dead. This story transformed into local folklore.
Later, when Florida uses imminent domain to buy up the property in order to build the highway, their graves were not moved. Though they were warned about the grave, Florida constructed the road right over the Field of the Dead, located at the base of the St. John's Bridge area. The day that they broke ground over the graves, a hurricane did a sudden turn and headed right for Sanford. The storm (hurricane Donna) hit Orlando, Sanford, and the Field of the Dead.
Reported encounters:
July 1996: A theme park employee who left work late traveled through the corridor on his way to the beach. He saw a flash in front of the car and saw a ghostly figure of a child, followed by that of a woman with her arms stretched out. He slammed on the brakes and thought that he had hit a child, but when he pulled over and, of course, there was nothing there. He looked around and there was no one there in the area at all. Though he had driven through the area numerous times before without any incident, this made him a believer.
And now, in 2017, I-4 is listed as THE MOST dangerous roadway in America: http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/i-4-most-dangerous-road-nation-study-says
