Even seasoned ghost tracker Atena Komar pronounced it ``severely haunted.''
Deering scored a 58 on LPI's point scale, which assigns a value to digital recordings, photographs and eyewitness accounts in determining whether a space has spirits. Any figure 30 and above suggests haunted. LPI had never recorded higher than a 29.
``Any ghost hunting group may have one in all of their collection in all of their years of doing it,'' said Kelley, artist by day, ghost hunter by night.
``We had two.''
The 444-acre Deering Estate once was the domain of Paleo-Indians, North America's earliest human inhabitants, who lived more than 12,000 years ago.
Charles Deering built the two main houses -- the 1896 Richmond Cottage, the last surviving structure of the town of Cutler, and the 1922 Stone House -- as his retreat. He died there in 1927.
His heirs owned the home until 1985, when Miami-Dade and the state of Florida jointly purchased it and turned it into a historic site.
Over the years, staffers spoke of hearing noises and witnessing odd occurrences, such as elevators moving on their own.
Miami Herald
When I first moved to Miami over a decade ago I actually lived within a half dozen blocks from the old estate though I never took an opportunity to visit it or knew anything about its rich and sordid history.
I must say words like “Severely haunted” from a seasoned and respected ghost hunter sends chills up and down my spine and tempts my curiosity. It might be fun to visit there this Halloween and see what kind of attention the paranormal community is giving this sudden opportunity to fully investigate and explore a storied slice of Miami’s history.
