It seems that the house once lived in by the notorious Kate “Ma” Barker is up for sale for a cool million. To be honest, I thought a house whose final occupant was as notorious as Barker was would fetch more, but alas it is not so. The house is located in rural Ocklawaha, Florida, 62 miles northwest of Orlando. Bullet holes can still be seen as in the photos of the accompanying article.
Tag Archives: Florida
Maze!
For those of you who are looking for the lighter side of Halloween, I can tell you from experience that corn mazes are fun. There’s one about an hour north of where I live that a friend and I went to last year. They had a quiz that guided you through the maze. If you got the answer right, your turn was correct. If it was wrong, you got lost. 
There was also a lil cown train that rode around for the kidlets as well as a play area for them. Best of all was the pumpkin guns that you could pay to shoot off. They were fun too!! 
I decided to dig up another list of 10 corn mazes around the country for your enjoyment:
- Great Vermont Corn Maze
- Cajun Country Corn
- Sever’s Corn Maze (Minnesota)
- Richardson Adventure Farm (Illinois)
- The Maize at the Pumpkin Patch (Oregon)
- Denver Botanic Gardens (Colorado)
- Tolmachoff Corn Maze (Arizona)
- The Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch at Oakes Farm (Tennessee)
- Pumpkin Patch at Lakes Park (Florida)
- Stocker Farms (Washington)
10 Haunted Houses for Your Enjoyment
If you’re the adventurous sort and are interested in finding a good (man-made) haunted house to visit this year, we offer the following list of haunted houses. Please note that these were randomly chosen from searching online.
1. Cutting Edge (Ft. Worth, TX) 2009 World Record Holder for being the biggest haunted house
2. The Niles Haunted House Scream Park (near Michigan/Indiana border off US 31)
3. Netherworld Haunted House (Norcross, GA)
4. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses (Ulster Park, NY)
5. Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride (Gradyville, PA)
6. 13th Gate (Baton Rouge, LA)
7. Twisted Woods (Myakka, FL)
8. Basement of the Dead – (Aurora, IL) Voted #1 haunted house in the Chicago area in 2008
9. Chambers of Fear (Surprise, AZ)
10. Reign of Terror Haunted House (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Sunland Mental Hospital: Tallahassee, FL
Sunland Mental Hospital: Tallahassee, FL
The complex that came to be known as Sunland (or Sunnyland to locals) Mental Hospital was originally the W.T. Edwards Tuberculosis Hospital when it opened in 1952. The five story building was constructed with large banks of windows that were equipped with cranks so they could be opened easily to allow the fresh healing breezes to penetrate the patients’ rooms. Doctors tried numerous ineffectual cures for tuberculosis, many of which caused the suffering patients further misery before their inevitable demises. Eventually, after countless deaths had occurred at the facility, a vaccine was discovered to combat the killer and the hospital was needed no longer. The building’s next incarnation was as the infamous Sunland Mental Hospital.
Weird Florida: Macabre Madman of Key West
Elena in Life
Elena Milagro de Hoyos was a beautiful young Cuban-American woman living in Key West when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1931. Her mother brought her to the U.S. Marine Hospital for treatment, and as fate would have it, unwittingly introduced a madman into her daughter’s life…and death.
