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Ghost stories from Treasure Coast, Florida have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! The haunted history of Treasure Coast comes to life--even when the main players are dead. Visit the Driftwood Resort and catch a glimpse of past tenants who checked in, but never checked out. Or see a show at the Sunrise Theatre, but expect to be distracted by the specters who call this place home. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained all across America's Midwestern states; just be sure to keep the light on.

In recent years, Florida's playgrounds have produced an abundance of exceptional professional baseball players: Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Luis Gonzales and Tino Martinez, to name only a few. Before 1950, however, only twenty-six Florida boys made it to the pros got their shot in the big leagues.

Players like Tampa's Al Lopez, a Hall of Fame member and baseball's first Hispanic manager, and Pensacola native Russ Scarritt, who set the Boston Red Sox record for most triples in a season his rookie year, blazed a trail that has opened the door for many of today's baseball superstars. Florida's First Big League Baseball Players, by baseball historian and enthusiast Wes Singletary, is a narrative journey into the early days of baseball in Florida before 1950.

When this project was undertaken only eight of the original twenty-six players were still living. Written from hours of interviews and presented in a narrative form that is engaging and informative, this collection allows the reader to journey back to a time when the game was more innocent and the heart of the men playing, a little bigger.

Known as the "Winter Capital of Harness Racing," Pompano Park has provided the only nighttime standardbred harness competition in Florida since its 1964 inaugural season. Prominent Kentucky horseman Frederick Van Lennep and his wife, Frances Dodge Van Lennep, built a $5.5-million track on the property of a failed 1926 thoroughbred track in Pompano Beach. Pompano Park has since hosted leading trainers, drivers, and champion horses, including Hall of Famers Stanley Dancer, Bill Haughton, and Delvin Miller and current leading drivers Bruce Ranger and Wally Hennessey. It also has been a mecca for celebrities who have enjoyed the racing action and entertainment.

Explore the Boulevard of Dreams?from 87th Street, just north of Miami, to 151st Street?El Portal, Miami Shores, Biscayne Park and North Miami?are the intriguing communities bound together by history and by the grand street of Biscayne Boulevard. From the Tequesta tribe to the Boulevard of Dreams?U.S. Highway 1?Seth Bramson leads a photographic tour of this beloved area of Miami-Dade County, and the remarkable growth of four influential South Florida communities. An insightful and nostalgic look at prominent neighborhoods and residents, beaches and vibrant thoroughfares, this history of Biscayne Country is sure to delight residents and tourists alike.

Huge Moments in Florida History

When Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed in Florida in 1513, the world was changed forever. Florida has been an influential center for many important historic events, including clashes of European empires, Indian wars, civil rights struggles and the Cold War–era space race to the moon. Other remarkable, lesser-known historic episodes include the Matanzas Massacre, the Land Boom and Bust of the 1920s and several major election issues. These incidents not only shaped the state, they also influenced the development and helped structure the identity of the entire nation. Author Randy Jaye leads readers through an exciting journey spanning more than five hundred years of Florida’s history.

Author Larry Humes traces the events and characters that put Venice on the proverbial map. Venice is certainly not among the oldest cities in Florida. The fact that it even survived its rocky beginning is nothing short of remarkable. But it was luck and persistence that transformed the little City on the Gulf into one of Florida’s most sought-after destinations. Venice wouldn’t be what it is today without the Kentucky military school that saved the town from bankruptcy and the construction of an army air base that helped America win World War II while increasing the local population tenfold. And don’t forget the “Greatest Show on Earth,” which called Venice home for more than three decades.

Author Caren Schnur Neile offers a whole new way to explore Florida.

Dexter, Key Largo, The Yearling—all famous works of popular culture created by masters in their fields. What’s more, all three take place in Florida. This plunge into Florida-based TV, movies and fiction from the nineteenth century to the present both entertains and educates about the Sunshine State and the stories themselves. Did you know who producers originally wanted to star in Bad Boys or which product saw skyrocketing sales thanks to Miami Vice?

Florida enthusiasts will also find a good, long list of enticing shows and books to enjoy, from old favorites like Their Eyes Were Watching God, Scarface and The Golden Girls to newer masterpieces like The Florida Project and Moonlight.

Take a spine-tingling plunge into Florida's pirate-filled past! 

Meet Florida's spooky pirates!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know that the city of St. Augustine is positively packed with ghostly pirates? Or that on Gasparilla Island, you might just spot a headless buccaneer and his "spirited" steed galloping down the beach? Can you believe a three-hundred-year-old ghost ship and its cursed crew still haunts the waterways of the Florida Everglades? Shiver me timbers!

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Florida forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on! 

Adapted from Ghosts and Legends of Florida's Pirates by Heather Leigh, PhD

It was a common story in the 1980s: downtowns were dying.

Stuart was right there with the ill-fated. Businesses had largely abandoned Stuart’s historic buildings, leaving the streets deserted. The St. Lucie River, which should have been an asset, was more of a liability, befouled with pollution, some of it from the city’s sewer system. The southernmost leg of Interstate 95 hadn't been completed yet, meaning US 1, the town’s main thoroughfare, was clogged with traffic that had no intention of stopping in this dirty backwater. Indeed, downtown was in such bad shape that Martin County government was thinking of relocating its courthouse. But the city had one thing going for it: a core group of citizens who fought back to restore downtown into an award-winning showpiece. Author Blake Fontenay shares the story of Stuart’s revitalization.

Bursting with delightful colors and bright illustrations, Local Baby: Florida engages babies’ attention and encourages families to explore what makes their state so great.

Collect seashells in St. Pete Beach and go fishing in Destin. Dive into St. Augustine's history and launch into the Kennedy Space Center's future! Kiteboard, pick oranges, and see the gators and manatees along the coast. Explore Florida with this joyfully grabbable and wonderfully local board book that is sure to bring generations together.

This baby memory book allows families to record all the milestones of a uniquely Florida childhood! The lively illustrated pages provide spaces for photos and notes for baby's first twelve months in this one-of-a-kind state, with pages for the first and second birthday too. Parents then can set down the dates and details for baby's first orange juice, baseball game, theme park, and much more!

Prohibition is recognized as the most unpopular law in US history. It was so unpopular at the time that some Floridians weren't all too keen on obeying it. Learn how it was instigated by small town Protestants who believed that newer immigrants living in big cities were immoral because of their emphatic use of alcohol. Prohibition bred corruption, defiance of the law, and hypocrisy as illegal bootlegging, moonshining and rum running replaced legitimate taxpaying industries. Florida actually voted state-wide Prohibition into law before the dreaded 18th amendment and was the only state to elect a governor from the Prohibition Party. Florida's Bill McCoy "The Real McCoy" founded Rum Row and became an international celebrity as he made a mockery of the U.S. Coast Guard's inability to squelch his innovative rum running operations. Al Capone, the infamous gangster, vacationed in Florida while his henchmen perpetrated the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Many virtually unknown stories of tragic killings in Florida during Prohibition are also recounted.

Since 1913, Tampa has provided the background for some of the Major League Baseball's most iconic spring moments led, of course, by the longest home run of Babe Ruth's career. Tampa was the scene of the Grapefruit League's first no-hitter and the only spring time All-star Game. It was the first gathering place of the Big Red Machine and the Core Four. Well over 125 Hall of Famers honed their craft among the city's three major league ballparks: Plant Field, Al Lopez Field and Steinbrenner Field. All of it resulted from a diverse city's love of the game that began with baseball-crazed cigar factory workers before the turn of the 20th century .

Ghost stories from Florida's Haunted Lighthouses have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky shores of Florida!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know St. Augustine is home to the most haunted lighthouse in all of Florida? Or that ghostly pirates stalk the lighthouse on Garden Key in search of buried treasure? Can you believe that when the sun sets at Carysfort Reef Light, the dead... come alive?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Florida's Haunted Lighthouses, and have you sleeping with the light on! 

Adapted from Haunted Florida Lighthouses by Heather Leigh, PhD