Brevard's Most Haunted Locations
Brevard's Most Haunted Locations
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In the mood for a fright? Pay a visit to these Brevard locations, and you may see ghostly activity firsthand
Sharing scary stories is part of the fun on Halloween. You may not know this, but Brevard County is home to a variety of places that are considered haunted. From these places have arisen a collection with local haunted tales. Some may believe them, while others claim “There is no such thing as ghosts!” Despite the nonbelievers, there have been many people in Brevard County who say they have had ghostly encounters. To get into the mood of Halloween, we are going to talk about some haunted places in Brevard that you might want to pay a visit to. These three places all have a history of people seeing ghosts, experiencing weird occurrences, and more.
The Aladdin Theatre opened on August 18th, 1924 in Cocoa. The Theatre first showed silent movies, and was later known as “the showplace of Indian River Section.” It sits at Cocoa Village, beside many shops, restaurants, and antique stores. After several owners and decades, it was purchased by the City of Cocoa and was renamed The Cocoa Village Playhouse.
The Theatre is one of the largest and most beautiful theatres in Florida. The Theatre's age has lent itself to its fair share of ghost stories. Many believers claim that a ghost aptly named "Joe," a former handyman, haunts the location.
The stage of the Cocoa Village Playhouse
“All of the tech crew at the Playhouse will swear on their lives that the Playhouse is haunted,” said Isaiah Brasher, 11, who does shows at the Playhouse. “My story comes from one of the sound booth techs. He said that during a Sunday matinee, a little girl was sitting in the seats next to his booth and throughout the first part of the show, the girl appeared to be talking to someone in the empty chair next to her. At intermission, her mother asked her what she was doing and the girl replied by saying, 'talking to Joe.'"
With many people going to the Playhouse, whether they are a person coming to see the plays, a performer, or an employee working there, they are bound to see paranormal activities taking place, such as opening doors and hearing strange noises and footsteps within the Playhouse. These experiences can be explained away by wind or the imagination- but who can say whether a ghostly presence truly haunts the historic theatre?
The Henegar Center
The Henegar Center in Melbourne is Brevard’s oldest building and home to Jonathan, a friendly ghost, who is known to move objects and close doors, similarly to the Playhouse's Joe. The Center was originally a school, having opened in the fall of 1920. It was named in honor of Ruth Henegar, who was teacher and principal at the school.
The school closed on June 11, 1975. It was broken down and was renovated into a performing arts center, the Henegar Center. The historic building reopened as the Henegar Center in 1991. It had a 2.5 million dollar renovation and it’s now a live performing arts theatre.
Jonathan, the ghost supposedly haunting the premises of the theatre, is rumored to make noises during performances and move actors' props. While this may seem like typical opening-night chaos for a theatre, actors and audience members alike have claimed that the mischief occurring at the Henegar Centre is anything but natural.
Another local historical landmark that is said to be the home of ghosts is Ashley’s restaurant. Established in 1933 under the name Jack’s Tavern, the restaurant is located in Rockledge at the intersection of train tracks. It is considered one of the most haunted places in the state of Florida.
Supposedly, the origin behind the famous haunting is as spooky as the supernatural occurrences: in 1934, the body of a murdered woman was found on the shores of the Indian River. The woman had been a regular at Jack's Tavern, and her presence is said to haunt the premises. There have been lights flickering, objects that have been moved, silverware and plates falling and breaking in the restaurant. In addition to the ghost of the murdered woman, people also have said that they feel the presence of an older man, who lived upstairs in the restaurant. A common occurrence that some people have felt was being pushed down the stairs by an invisible force.
“Every time I had to walk down the staff stairs, I could hear a voice in my head saying 'You’re going to fall to your death,'" said Sandy Sepehri, who was a server at Ashley’s in 1986. “This frightened me and I quit after two weeks. 34 years later, I returned for dinner with my daughter and her friend who wanted to check out the haunted restaurant, and saw their newspaper clipping about a man who died falling down those same stairs. Some say that he is now a ghost there.”
Ashley's Restaurant
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there is one thing for certain: telling ghost stories is a long-standing tradition and a fun part of Halloween. And if you’re adventurous enough to check out our local haunted folklore, you have a few ghosts to choose from. You can visit Joe, a friendly ghost at Cocoa Village Playhouse, say hello to Jonathan, a backstage ghost that assists the performers at the Henegar Center, or maybe get a helpful hand downstairs at Ashley’s of Rockledge Restaurant. Watch out for that last step!
Shirley is an eighth-grader and joined the Edge team this year because she’s interested in journalism. She is bilingual and speaks Mandarin and is learning to write in that language. She enjoys figure skating, reading, and drawing. She is looking forward to improving her skills as a writer.
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