Frequently Asked Questions:
– Did we used to do ghost tours? Yes, for many years
– Do we currently host ghost tours? No
– Will we start up ghost tours again in the future? No
Why?
Though there have been people to pass away over the years on our property, these deaths are just a very small part of a wonderful history to learn. Below, we have chosen to give you a list of the people who passed away on our property and how this came to happen:
Ivy Stranahan
Ivy lived in the Stranahan House for all of her adult life, and passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 30th, 1971 at the age of 90 while listening to one of her favorite sermons. She had been ill for several months, though not serious enough to be bedridden.
Frank Stranahan
On May 22 ,1929, after an afternoon visit to the beach, the Stranahans returned to their house on the river. As Ivy put the car away, Frank jumped into the New River in front of his home. He was pulled from the water, but efforts to revive him failed. He was 63 at the time. His funeral was held on the grounds of his home, with every citizen, schoolchild, and worker in attendance. The city and county offices all closed so all could attend. He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery.
Augustus Cromartie
Ivy’s father Augustus and many of Ivy’s siblings moved to Fort Lauderdale after the death of Ivy’s mother Sarah. Augustus moved into Stranahan House and passed away in 1932 at the age of 80.
Albert Cromartie
One of Ivy’s younger brothers, Albert fell ill with tuberculosis and passed away in the house at the age of 27.
Pink Cromartie
Ivy’s younger sister Pink passed away in the house in 1926. Multiple stories and rumors surround her death, but few have been substantiated. Her death certificate states that her official cause of death was pneumonia. She was 41 years old.
Young Seminole Girl
There have been rumors that a little girl from the Seminole tribe became very ill and went to the House for help, but passed away inside the House before anything could be done to save her.
During the 40 years of the museum being opened, there have been stories about hauntings but nothing has ever been proven.
Myths to debunk:
Banging on windows, doors, or walls or ghosts yelling at guests and staff – hearsay with no audio proof, also the house sits on the river which gets strong winds that can jostle parts of the house and make noises.
Apparitions of Frank either walking around or redoing his suicide and orbs of light in the house – hearsay with no visual proof
Ivy giving “warm feelings” to people on property, Augustus and Albert making rooms warmer or colder – the house has almost all its original windows and doors so there are many temperature variations and drafts due to these structural items
Throwing things and/or knocking things over – as mentioned above, there are drafts throughout the property that might move objects, and no current staff members have ever witnessed unexplained movements by inanimate objects
Candy being stolen by ghosts – no candy has ever been found in the house or attic. One time many years ago a candy wrapper was found in the house, but there are many visitors and field trips that come through on an annual basis that can explain left behind garbage
Please understand we love having people on our property but over the years people seem to be disappointed while doing these ghost tours. That said, we wanted to be forthright in this webpage. Moving forward, Stranahan House staff will not respond to requests for ghost tours, sleeping in the house overnight, or any similar request.