A Haunting at St. Francis, St. Augustine’s Oldest Inn

Lily’s Room photo by: Christa Thompson

“Is the Inn haunted”, I asked, having no idea of the Inn’s paranormal history at this point. “Well, yes. We have a young servant girl that is said to live here, her name is Lily. We have had a lot of investigators stay in her room, Miss Lily’s Room.” My eyes grew wide, always having been fascinated by the paranormal. The legend of the St. Francis Inn invited my curiosity.

 “A mossy veiled stone wall meets a black iron gate where a sturdy grey feline named Zeke commonly stands guard. I had arrived at the oldest city in America, and at the “Oldest Inn”, in St. Augustine. See more of the story about St. Augustine’s Oldest Inn”.

I took a moment to slip away to explore the main house and found my way to the staircase. As I explored stairwells and steps, aged hardwood creaking beneath my feet, I found my way to the end of the hall, to Lily’s Room. The words “always kiss me goodnight” on a wooden board hung above a closet to the left of the room. Having been given the key by the Inn Keeper, I quietly made my entrance. The air was crisp and I could feel a difference in the room. My senses were on guard.

Curious to see if I was alone, I reached for my phone to take a picture of the room. Just as I lined up the frame the phone turned off, I tried to turn it on but it just showed a dead battery icon. This was curious, my phone had a full charge just a few minutes prior when I had taken a picture of the door. I was left astonished, with a dead phone and no image. Was this a paranormal force that stopped me?

I was determined to find out more and I started to research the haunting of the St. Francis Inn. This is what I found.