Mrs. Flagler's Ghost

From: Daniel Boxwell (bboxsterp@aol.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: Flagler College -St. Augustine, Fla.
Source: Form Submission

In 1975 I was a summer school student at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla.

Upon returning to the main building from one of my summer jobs (at the Lightner Museum across the street) I was walking through the rotunda area near the breeze-way entrance. It was about 4:30 pm and I was going to shower before my night-time job at the Puerta Verde restaurant. As I came up the stairs I caught a glimpse of a figure at the top of the stairs that lead to the cafeteria entrance. It was a pregnant woman dressed entirely in a black dress with a hat, veil and an unopened umbrella that she held like a cane.

I asked if I could help her as no-one was allowed in the building during the summer. (Tourists like to sneak in to see the building which was built by Henry Flagler in the late 1800's.) She didn't say a word but turned and walked toward the cafeteria entrance. I waited for her to reappear because I knew that Gene the security guard always had the doors locked. When she didn't come back out I walked up the stairs and looked for her. The two large wooden sliding doors were shut and locked. Figuring the only way she could have gotten out was thru the coat-room on the side I walked thru to see if I could catch up with her. She was nowhere to be seen so I figured I would let Gene take care of her when she came back to the rotunda area-=the only way out of the building.

As I passed the mail-room I stopped to tell Gene about her. and gave him a short description, then continued back to my dorm room to shower for my evening job. On my way out of the building Gene was still sitting in the mail-room and he motioned for me to come in. He asked me about the woman I saw and I gave him a better description. He then told me that he had seen that woman in the building many times and had never been able to catch up with her. She was continually walking into locked rooms and then appearing at the other end of the hall or outside the room after he had unlocked the door.

The rumors were that she was the wife of Henry Flagler who died giving birth to their daughter. Her effigy is carved into the pillars in the rotunda area near where she is frequently seen-then disappears.