Stranahan House

The Stranahan House is a haunted home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built in 1901 by a man named Frank Stranahan, it is the oldest surviving house in the area.

Frank Stranahan was Forth Lauderdale’s first postmaster as well as a banker and businessman. During the Great Depression, his bank failed, leaving him and his family penniless. Frank became depressed and he eventually committed suicide. They say he strapped a large iron gate to his ankle and then threw himself into the nearby river, where he drowned.

Many people say that Stranahan’s ghost emerged from the watery depths and returned to his home. At the hour of his death, his wife, Ivy, stopped all the clocks in the Stranahan House as it was a custom in the 1900s. Ivy spent the rest of her life on the upper floors while renting the first floor to outsiders for use as a restaurant.

Ever since his tragic death, there have been reports of strange apparitions and ghostly noises inside the old Stranahan House. Angry banging sounds have been heard on the walls of the building. One homeless man reported being chased away from the home by an unseen but angry spirit that only broke off the pursuit once the vagrant had left the property.

The ghost of Ivy Stranahan, who died in an upstairs bedroom in 1971, is also reported to appear accompanied by the strong scent of an old perfume. In the bedroom where Ivy died, the beds show an imprint as if someone had sat down on the bed. This occurs even though the bedroom is off limits for most of the day.

The uneasy ghost of her father, Augustus Cromartie, who died in that same bedroom years before, is reported to make his presence known on occasion. Other ghostly residents include Ivy’s brother and sister and the apparition of an Indian servant girl seen outside the rear of the building.

The third floor attic space is the site of much activity. Employees who sometimes have to go to the attic have reported the presence of a spirit in the area and sometimes the cold touch of a hand upon their back.

While Stranahan House does not have a bloody history, it still has had numerous paranormal occurrences. Days after the house became a museum, the clock in the parlor began to tick on its own. Some say Frank and Ivy have never left their Fort Lauderdale home.