Ripley's Believe It or Not! - Real Haunts in St. Augustine FL

This Ripley's Believe It or Not! is housed inside an 1880s castle that was originally built by Standard Oil partner William G. Warden. It was later a hotel, owned by author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (“The Yearling”) and her husband Norton Baskin, before it became the chain museum. Some believe the place is haunted because of the many strange collectibles that are kept here, but the history of the castle also adds to the hauntings. Local legend says that Ruth Hopkins Pickering and Betty Neville Richeson, who perished in a 1944 fire here, were actually murdered first; their bodies were then burned by their assailant to cover his tracks. Ripley’s Ghost Train Adventure tells of the sightings of both ghosts, seen peering out the windows of their rooms. Mr. Ripley passed away in 1949 and visited the hotel frequently before it became one of his museums.

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