St. Augustine, Florida · An inn with its own ghost lore

St. Francis Inn: Haunted History, Lily’s Room & Where to Stay

A room named for a ghost, a courtyard behind old walls, and an evening walk through the Old City: St. Francis Inn makes the place you sleep part of the trip.

For travellers drawn to small historic inns, this is one of St. Augustine’s most direct connections between accommodation and local legend. You can look up the room at the centre of the stories, compare a stay with a ghost-tour package, and return to the same building after the evening’s storytelling. The appeal is personal in scale: choosing a particular room matters here.

Researched September 2026. Reported hauntings are folklore and guest accounts; a reservation does not guarantee a paranormal experience. Booking links open the named provider’s website. Read our affiliate disclosure.

Lily’s Room and the stories that linger

St. Francis Inn’s best-known ghost has a name and a room associated with her. Lily’s legend mixes a tragic relationship with much smaller reported disturbances: a hand on a stair rail, covers moving during the night, and belongings left somewhere their owner did not expect.

Lily and the forbidden relationship

In the version published by Ghosts & Gravestones, Lily was a young enslaved woman working at the inn in the nineteenth century. She and the owner’s nephew fell in love. When his uncle discovered the relationship, he sent Lily away and forbade further contact. The nephew subsequently died by suicide; the story connects his death with the attic area now associated with Lily’s Room.

The same telling identifies the woman in white reported around the inn as Lily, still looking for her lost lover. It is a haunting legend, not a verified biography. Accounts differ in their details, and the published retelling does not provide records establishing Lily’s identity or the relationship. Enslavement is part of the story’s setting and the imbalance of power behind it, rather than simply a romantic obstacle.

A woman in white, a hand on the stair rail

The inn’s own 2022 haunted-inn article places many reported sightings around Lily’s third-floor room. It describes a woman in white in the hallways and a hand appearing on the back staircase’s railing. Whispering and moaning are also part of the property’s account.

Other reports are tactile: an unexpected cold touch or bedcovers being pulled away during the night. The inn portrays the presence as playful and friendly. That description belongs to the hosts’ interpretation of the stories; it does not establish a cause for any particular sound, movement or sensation.

The television and the emptied purse

Two episodes in the inn’s haunted-history collection involve everyday objects. A housekeeper reportedly left a television playing MTV while she fetched sheets, then returned to find it switched off. In another account, a guest heard a loud thud and discovered the contents of her purse scattered across the floor, with nothing missing.

The same collection describes contrasting incidents involving cosmetics bags: one unexpectedly filled with water, and another remaining dry beneath an open window despite rain soaking the surrounding area. These are reported recollections, without a demonstrated paranormal explanation.

What investigators said happened overnight

The inn also shares investigator Marlene Blanchard’s account for Left Field Paranormal Studies & Investigations. She reported recording equipment stopping, a watch stopping, phone-battery trouble and unexplained knocking. Her account includes seeing two male figures in period clothing moving towards the sitting room at about 2:15 a.m. These claims come through the inn’s published collection; they are not findings independently verified here.

Why the smaller encounters matter to the legend

The stories extend beyond a single apparition. Some concern a bedroom, others a staircase, a hallway or the routines of cleaning and settling in for the night. Taken together, they explain why Lily has become associated with the experience of staying at the inn, rather than only with a dramatic tale told on a tour.

A useful question for an innkeeper is which accounts come from recent guests and which have been repeated for years. If you notice something unusual yourself, record the room, time and what you actually saw or heard before deciding what caused it. That gives your experience a clearer place alongside the older stories.

The history behind the inn

The property’s own history traces the building to a lot granted to Gaspar Garcia in 1791, during Florida’s Second Spanish period. It began as a home. Later owners included the Dummett family, whose name still appears in the property’s story. Its street-facing walls and sheltered courtyard make more sense when seen as parts of an old house shaped by its time. Read the inn’s history.

That distinction is useful when planning a visit: the age of the building and the history of its hospitality are different threads. Give yourself a little daylight time to look at the exterior and the arrangement of the property before hearing its night-time legends. Architecture supplies something you can actually see, even when the ghost stories remain open to interpretation.

The house changed around the people who lived here

The inn traces its hospitality story through Anna Marie Dummett, who turned the family home into a lodging establishment in 1845. Later owner John L. Wilson enlarged the building with its third floor and mansard roof. The name St. Francis Inn arrived in 1948. Those changes help explain why a property with an eighteenth-century origin has the appearance of a house that grew over several generations. The inn’s historical account follows those different owners and names.

The University of North Florida’s architectural archive identifies the inn as a contributing building in the St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District. That gives the streetscape a significance beyond its ghost-tour reputation. Look at the way the upper rooms, balcony and street-facing walls fit together: the building itself offers a starting point for understanding the place before anyone tells you about Lily.

It also makes an interesting question for your hosts: which parts of the inn would an earlier resident recognise? Learning how a house became accommodation can give the staircases and communal rooms a much more personal meaning during an overnight stay.

Choose the room as carefully as the story

Lily’s Room: for the strongest connection to the lore

The current Lily’s Room listing describes a third-floor room sleeping two, with a queen bed, clawfoot tub, refrigerator, stained glass and a hammered-tin ceiling. That makes it a specific accommodation choice with a distinctive bathroom and upper-floor setting.

Ask about the exact route to the room, stairs and bathroom access before committing. A clawfoot tub may suit someone who wants a long soak, while another traveller may need an easier shower arrangement. Confirm the room by name on the reservation; a general booking at the inn does not mean you have reserved Lily’s Room.

The Courtyard Room: a different kind of stay

The Courtyard Room is listed on the ground floor with a queen bed, courtyard access and permission for pets under the inn’s conditions. It offers another way to stay in the historic property when a top-floor room is not your preference.

Ground floor alone does not establish wheelchair accessibility. Ask about entrance thresholds, door widths, bathroom layout and the route from parking. The inn’s room collection also includes suites and other individually arranged rooms, so compare the particular accommodation rather than assuming every room has the same facilities.

Main inn, adjoining buildings or an apartment-style stay?

The property map and floor plans are especially useful here. They show accommodation across the Main Inn, Wilson House, a cottage and Garden Hideaway. The separately located 1894 House offers two apartment-style suites with kitchens, living rooms, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Booking under the St. Francis name can therefore mean quite different surroundings.

For a trip centred on Lily’s story, start with the Main Inn and the named room you want. For friends travelling together, the space and sleeping arrangements of an apartment or cottage may be the more useful comparison. Check whether everyone would share one accommodation or occupy individually booked rooms, and whether meals and social activities require a walk between buildings.

Use the plan to follow an ordinary day: arrival with luggage, the route to breakfast, a return after your tour and the final trip to the car. Seeing that sequence on a map often makes the right room clearer than choosing from a photograph alone.

What do the paranormal packages include?

The inn advertises two different approaches on its packages page. Both are additions to accommodation, so keep the room charge separate when comparing the total.

The page still includes an old 2024 exclusion under the investigation package. Treat it as a reason to confirm current operation directly before payment. Neither package description should be read as unrestricted access to the inn’s bedrooms or as a promise of evidence.

For a first visit, choose the format you actually enjoy: storytelling and a walk, or time spent on an investigation-style activity. Avoid booking a second tour that duplicates an inclusion you already paid for.

Life at the inn between ghost stories

The guest amenities page describes a stay with its own daily rhythm: breakfast, a late-afternoon social hour and homemade desserts in the evening. There is also a temperature-controlled pool and, weather permitting, evening s’mores around the courtyard fire pit. These shared spaces give you somewhere to spend the quieter hours around a tour.

If meeting other travellers appeals to you, leave one afternoon open for the social hour. It can be a natural point to compare sightseeing plans or hear which parts of the city other guests enjoyed. If you prefer privacy, build in time to take breakfast back to your room or settle somewhere with a book. The inn’s published breakfast arrangements allow for different ways of enjoying the morning.

Guests with dietary requirements should contact the inn ahead of arrival; its amenities information asks for advance requests. Also consider your first morning’s schedule before reserving an early excursion. Part of the value of choosing a bed and breakfast is having time to enjoy the breakfast.

Breakfast, parking and the details that affect your stay

The inn lists breakfast, an evening social hour, desserts, a swimming pool and private guest parking among its included amenities. The parking lot is across St. George Street from the entrance. It also lists daytime admission to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum; confirm the ticket arrangements with the innkeeper. Check the current amenities.

Those inclusions can change the value of a room rate. When comparing hotels, add breakfast and parking to the other property’s total before deciding which stay costs less. If you expect to miss breakfast for an early departure, take that into account too. A daytime attraction ticket should not be assumed to cover a separately ticketed evening ghost experience.

The lodging policies currently list check-in after 4 p.m. and check-out by 11 a.m. They distinguish a Best Available Rate from a more flexible Rest Easy Rate. The cancellation consequences differ substantially, and the flexible option carries an extra charge; read the terms shown for your chosen rate before paying.

Keep the booking confirmation where you can retrieve it easily. If arrival time, pets, dietary requirements or access needs matter to your visit, settle those details directly with the property. For a small inn, choosing an unsuitable room can matter more than a modest difference in price.

Make it a haunted St. Augustine getaway

A relaxed two-night plan gives you room to enjoy the inn without turning every hour into a reservation. Arrive, get familiar with the surrounding streets and choose one evening activity. Leave the second day open for a historic attraction, a meal and time back at your accommodation.

For a separate storytelling walk, Ghosts of the Old City is an all-ages outdoor option listed at 90 minutes. It is a different product from the inn’s advertised A Ghostly Encounter package. Compare the provider name and inclusions before booking.

Our St. Augustine tour comparison also covers Ghosts & Gravestones and after-dark lighthouse experiences. Check walking, stairs, building entry and transport separately for each. The complete St. Augustine guide brings those choices together with historic places and a three-day itinerary.

A daytime visit that adds context to the stay

The nearby Oldest House Museum Complex offers a useful companion to an evening of legends. At 14 St. Francis Street, the St. Augustine Historical Society runs guided visits to the González–Álvarez House, with gardens and additional museum spaces included in admission. It is a separate attraction with its own opening hours and admission arrangements.

Visit with a question in mind: how did residents use these old domestic spaces? A house museum can make the arrangement of rooms, the relationship between street and courtyard, and the practical details of daily life more interesting when you return to the inn. Ask the guide about changes over time and which features belong to which period.

A simple way to spend the second day

Begin with breakfast at the inn, then make the house museum your main daytime booking. Leave the afternoon flexible for a meal, a browse through the city or time by the pool. That gives the day a clear focus while keeping some of the stay for the accommodation you chose.

For the evening, decide whether your priority is another guided experience or a slower night at the inn. If your first tour already covered the central streets, compare the route before buying another similar walk. A different format may add more to the trip. Leave enough time for dinner and the tour’s actual meeting point, then enjoy returning to a place whose history you now know a little better.

Questions before you book

Can you request the room associated with Lily?

Yes: Lily’s Room has its own listing. Check its availability and confirm that exact room, rather than relying on a general request for a haunted stay.

Is this a personally tested hotel review?

This guide is based on published hotel information, cited history and attributed folklore. It does not assign a review score or claim a first-hand overnight experience.

Should you choose St. Francis Inn or Casa Monica?

Choose St. Francis Inn if a small historic property, a named room and a package tied to the inn are central to your trip. Compare Casa Monica Resort & Spa if you prefer a larger hotel with a broader resort setting. Price the actual rooms and extras for the same dates.