Moroccan Mystery in America's Oldest City
Rising like a Moorish palace from the shores of Matanzas Bay, the Casablanca Inn stands as one of St. Augustine's most architecturally unique and spiritually active locations. Built in 1914 as a luxury resort hotel, its exotic Moroccan-inspired design features distinctive white stucco walls, arched doorways, and ornate tile work that transport visitors to the souks of Marrakech. Yet beneath this North African facade lies a much older and darker history, as the inn was constructed atop the foundations of Spanish colonial structures dating to the 1600s. The original site served as a military hospital during various conflicts, a private residence for colonial officials, and even a temporary morgue during yellow fever epidemics. These layers of history have created a complex supernatural ecosystem where Spanish colonial spirits coexist with the ghosts of early 20th-century hotel guests. From the lobby's grand Moorish arches to the bayfront rooms where guests report nighttime visitations, the Casablanca Inn offers a unique blend of exotic architecture and authentic paranormal encounters that reflect four centuries of St. Augustine's haunted heritage.
From Spanish Hospital to Moorish Palace
The land beneath the Casablanca Inn has been continuously occupied since the early Spanish colonial period, initially serving as the site of Hospital de San Sebastian, a military infirmary established in the 1600s to treat Spanish soldiers wounded in conflicts with pirates and British raiders. The hospital's crude surgical procedures and high mortality rate left the grounds saturated with suffering and death. During the British period (1763-1783), the site was converted into a residence for military surgeons, though the building's reputation for strange occurrences persisted. The original Spanish structures were demolished in 1913 to make way for Carl Hantelman's vision of an exotic resort hotel that would attract wealthy northern tourists seeking a taste of Moroccan luxury in Florida. Hantelman, a German immigrant and architect, designed the building in the Moorish Revival style popular during the early 20th century, complete with imported Moroccan tiles, ornate metalwork, and distinctive white stucco walls. The hotel opened in 1914 as the Hotel Casablanca, catering to affluent guests who arrived by yacht and private rail car. During World War II, the hotel was converted into military housing for officers stationed at nearby bases, adding another layer to its complex history. The building served various purposes throughout the mid-20th century before being restored as a boutique inn in the 1990s, when renovation workers first documented the intense paranormal activity that plagues the property to this day.
Spirits of Two Worlds
The most prominent spirit at the Casablanca Inn is Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, the head physician at the original Hospital de San Sebastian who died during a yellow fever outbreak in 1672. Guests staying in rooms 10 and 12 consistently report encounters with a tall figure in colonial Spanish dress who appears at their bedside during the night, often checking their pulse or temperature as if conducting medical examinations. Dr. Sanchez's presence is accompanied by the medicinal smell of herbs and the sound of metal instruments clanking in an invisible doctor's bag. His spirit seems particularly concerned with the health of hotel guests, often appearing to those who are ill or injured during their stay. The inn's most tragic spirit is Rebecca Martinez, a young Spanish woman who died in the hospital in 1704 while giving birth to her first child. She manifests as a beautiful woman in a white colonial dress, most often seen in the inn's courtyard garden where she appears to be searching for something among the flowering plants. Rebecca's spirit is accompanied by the faint sound of a baby crying and the scent of orange blossoms from the hospital's former medicinal garden. During the hotel's early 20th-century heyday, the building acquired the ghost of Margaret Hantelman, Carl's wife, who died in room 8 during the hotel's second year of operation. She appears as an elegantly dressed woman from the 1910s, often rearranging flowers in the lobby or adjusting the placement of furniture to match her original decorating scheme. Margaret's spirit is most active during the evening cocktail hour when she would have greeted guests in the hotel's lobby.
Moorish Mysteries and Colonial Phantoms
Paranormal activity at the Casablanca Inn operates on two distinct levels that reflect the building's layered history. The Spanish colonial spirits are most active in the basement areas and lower floors where the original hospital foundations remain, while the early 20th-century ghosts prefer the upper floors and public spaces that comprised the original hotel. Guests consistently report dramatic temperature fluctuations throughout the building, particularly in rooms 8, 10, and 12 where the most active spirits reside. Electronic equipment behaves erratically, with digital cameras producing mysterious orbs and shadow figures, while the building's vintage elevator often operates on its own, stopping at floors where no one has pressed the call button. The inn's Moroccan architectural features seem to amplify paranormal activity, with guests reporting that the ornate arched doorways and decorative tile work serve as portals through which spirits move between rooms. Mirrors throughout the building are particularly active, often reflecting figures in period dress standing behind unsuspecting guests. The inn's bayfront location contributes to its supernatural energy, as guests often report seeing phantom ships in Matanzas Bay and hearing the sounds of Spanish galleons anchoring offshore during the pre-dawn hours. The building's courtyard garden experiences intense spiritual activity, with visitors reporting the overwhelming scent of medicinal herbs that once grew in the hospital's healing garden, and the sound of colonial-era Spanish being spoken among the plants during moonlit nights.
A Night in Moorish St. Augustine
The Casablanca Inn offers guests an unparalleled opportunity to experience authentic paranormal encounters within one of St. Augustine's most architecturally unique buildings. Evening ghost tours explore the inn's complex history and introduce visitors to its resident spirits, though overnight stays provide the most intimate supernatural experiences. Rooms 8, 10, and 12 are specifically designated as the inn's most haunted accommodations, offering guests direct access to the building's most active spirits, though sensitive individuals should be prepared for physical contact from ghostly physicians and nocturnal visits from colonial-era phantoms. The inn's lobby provides an excellent venue for observing Margaret Hantelman's spirit during evening hours, particularly around sunset when she conducted her daily guest greetings. Photography enthusiasts will find the Casablanca Inn exceptionally rewarding, as the building's Moorish architecture and reflective surfaces consistently produce spectacular paranormal evidence including full-body apparitions and unexplained light phenomena. The inn's bayfront location offers additional supernatural opportunities, with guests encouraged to watch Matanzas Bay during pre-dawn hours for sightings of phantom Spanish vessels. The inn provides historical documentation of its ghostly residents and paranormal activity, allowing guests to better understand and potentially communicate with the spirits they encounter. Dining at the inn's restaurant often includes unexpected supernatural seasoning, as the ghost of Dr. Sanchez is known to influence the preparation of herbal teas and medicinal broths that aid guests' health during their stay.
Where Margaret Hantelman still greets eternal guests
Dr. Sanchez continues his midnight medical rounds
Rebecca searches eternally among the healing herbs
