I drive by the Longwood Village Inn Inn at 300 N. Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Longwood, Florida almost twice daily. I didn’t know it was haunted until it turned up on a web site. I immediately set up an interview with the owner, Lenny Layland, of Investororlando Realty who confirms the office complex is a site of supernatural shenanigans.
The Longwood Village Inn
The three floors and 15,000 square feet of the wood-frame Longwood Village Inn is in good shape and, except for some peeling paint, almost perfectly restored to its 19th century glory.
There are 32 offices and two wings on each floor. It is occupied by financial advisors, a psychic, a masseuse, a hypnotherapist, lawyers, an interior designer. A large porch aprons three sides of the building and the windows are the original glass. Its only concession to modern restoration is a new roof, an elevator, fire escapes, and central air conditioning.
Except for the elevator, the inside lobby is similar to a 1923 photograph. Same sweeping staircases, carpeted now instead of hardwood, same position of chairs where the loveseats now reside. An old switchboard is tucked into the back corner to the right of the office directory where Lenny swears the ghost of George E. Clark, the former owner, plays with Lenny’s magnetic name strip.
Lenny says most, not all, of the disturbances occur on the third floor, at night, and are seen by women. In his right wing office on the second floor, Lenny said, “I haven’t directly seen any ghosts. Been here at night, felt some hair standing up on my arms. My magnetic name tag keeps flying off the directory board.”
History of the Longwood Village Inn
It’s not as though Lenny, who arrived in 2006, was the only owner. The first owner was the founder of Longwood, E.W. Henck. He sold it to a Florida Legislator, C. W. Entzminger. He sold it to the infamous George E. Clark, who died in the back of the building a year later. His brother, Fred, took over.
The building had had a string of identities: Waltham Inn, St. George Hotel, The Orange and Black, The Longwood Hotel. Whenever its name changed, its purposes varied accordingly. The property was a hotel, a casino, a sport bar, an umpire school, a restaurant, a movie set, a school for restaurant operators, a flophouse. It hosted a governor’s convention in 1927. Cornell University owned it for a while in the 1970s. The National Register of Historic Places lists the site.
Supernatural Incidents at the Longwood Village Inn
The WESH TV Travel Channel and the Southern Paranormal Research Society (SPRS) promoted “lockdown” events at the inn with follow up on YouTube videos.
I received an email from Ms. Ann Maisto, former receptionist of the Longwood Village Inn from 2006 to 2010. She said she heard noises on the third floor, smelled cigar smoke, saw orbs and received a painful poke on the hip. Ann gave the following detailed description of a supernatural event she witnessed:
"A glowing light appeared on the wall across from me. The sun had already moved to the other side of the building so it was not a reflection. Two ladies from an office walked into the lobby and asked What is that glow? I said it just appeared. As I looked at it a form it starting taking shape. I thought it was going to be George, the man that died here in the building in 1922 but it wasn't. It was a child with a dutch boy hair cut. I could not distinguish whether it was a girl or boy. Then the form flew off the wall. We all screamed."
A Night at The Longwood Village Inn
When my husband, Bob, and I asked Lenny if we could spend the night, he was amenable. Since the Longwood Village Inn is across the street from a park and a city clock, it was easy to note that it was10:30 p.m. when we arrived. We stepped inside of the inn, we noticed that there was no smell of cigar smoke, only a flowery magnolia-rose scent of disinfectant that grew more pungent as we mounted the steps to the brightly lit third floor. There was a loud rumbling noise.I asked Bob what it was. He replied, “Air conditioner.”
We settled in the office with the most furniture, sitting in swivel chairs at a conference table. Soon, we were deeply bored. Bob amused himself for a while by taking superimposed pictures of himself. Then we toured all three floors, found the break room and contemplated reading its magazines, then decided against it. We ended up in the lobby, lying down on the parallel love seats and looking out the window at Ronald Reagan Blvd. A train roared by, shaking the building. We fell asleep.
When we woke up, the city clock struck two in the morning and we decided to go. The next morning, Lenny Layland texted, “See any ghosts?”
We hadn’t.
Ghostly Scents of the Longwood Village Inn
I had an interview scheduled with the resident psychic, Monni, on Friday. As I sat in the waiting room, I struck up a conversation with Gina, Monni’s assistant.
“Have you seen anything supernatural around here?” I asked.
Of course, she had. “They play with the elevators, play with the lights, play with the music. We don’t bother them, we let them be. Sometimes you smell cigar smoke,” Gina said. “Sometimes flowers.”
“Flowers?” I asked. “Like magnolias?”
“Yeah,” Gina said. “Or roses.”
Why Visit the Longwood Village Inn?
The new Sun-Rail Station is designated for construction across the street from the Inn.Owner Lenny Layland would like you to stop in and see George E. Clark and the other ghosts. To offset the high cost of maintaining the historic property, he is thinking of setting aside a suite for overnight forays to entertain paranormal seekers.
Don't drive by.
Sources
The Early Settlement of Longwood. Images of America: Longwood. Comp. Central Florida Society
for Historical Preservation. Charleston: Arcadia, 2001. 15-18. Print.
Layland, Lenny. "The Longwood Village Inn." Personal interview. 18 July 2011.
Maisto, Ann. "The Longwood Village Inn." Message to the author. 02 Aug. 2011. E-mail.
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