Mystery Location No. 143: March 10, 2019

I believe this is what some call the Hibbard House at 272 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida. The house was built in the mid-1880's and was purchased by Curtis Hibbard, as a winter home, either while it was being built or shortly after. It changed hands several time. One of the owners rented rooms and one of the famous boarders was Marjorie Kennan Rawlings, who wrote Cross Creek and The Yearling.

In the 1950's, the house was bought by Martin and Helen Firestone and turned into The Magnolia Inn. They ran the inn for years and then in the 1960's, Martin died. Helen asked a neighbor what would be the best way to take your life if you didn't want to live anymore and he told her by connecting a hose to the car and turning on the engine, and that's what she did. I didn't know the exact date, but since September 19, 1964, was yesterday's clue, I assume that's the date that it happened. Helen Firestone died of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is abbreviated as CO.

St. George killed the dragon, so he is a dragon-slaver.

The house is now for sale. The price is $1,399,000.

I've been in the house and it's huge inside, with at least 6 bedrooms on the 2nd floor and around that many on the 3rd. After Helen Firestone committed suicide, a lot of strange things were reported by the people who bought the house after Helen Firestone's death, and her actual ghost has been seen by a couple of people. Kids walking home alone from school on St. George Street would cross to the other side of the street when they passed the house. Back when there were a lot of trees in the yard, it looked a lot spookier than it does now.

St. Augustine is one of the most haunted cities in the country, so you could say there's "a ghost on every corner."