The May-Stringer House

Posted: 04.15.2025 | Updated: 04.15.2025

Located about an hour north of Tampa in the town of Brooksville sits the stately May-Stringer House. This Victorian Painted Lady might look warm and welcoming, but looks can be deceiving. The mansion is actually known for being extremely haunted by a variety of ghosts, not all of whom are friendly. 

Planning your next trip to Tampa and looking to make it a little spooky? Learn about the Tampa area’s creeps and haunts by booking a ghost tour with Tampa Terrors today!

Who Haunts the May-Stringer House?

Known as the most haunted house in Florida, the May-Stringer House is haunted by 11 ghosts. These spirits range from a young girl who died in the house during the Victorian era to an angry spirit who haunts the attic and despises women. 

Staff have witnessed an endless string of paranormal phenomena over the years, with one tour guide referring to the property as “Grand Central Station for Ghosts.” The May-Stringer House is a top destination for paranormal investigators. It’s no surprise given the building’s dark past and string of untimely deaths. 

History of the May-Stringer House

Before it was the lavish Victorian mansion we know today, the May-Stringer House started out as a simple four-room home. It was built for the May family, consisting of husband John, wife Marena, and their two daughters, Matilda and Annie May. The Mays moved into the house in 1855 and set up a plantation. In just a few years, tragedy would strike and seemingly never stop.

A House of Tragedies

In 1858, John May unexpectedly died of tuberculosis. After the Civil War, Marena married a former Confederate soldier named Frank Saxon. He lived in the May home with Marena’s daughters, and the couple had a child together in 1869. 

They named the girl Jessie Mae, but Marena died in childbirth and never met her youngest daughter. At the age of three, Jessie Mae also died. Her cause of death has been lost to time.

Frank Saxon eventually remarried, but his new wife, Tallulah Hope, refused to live in the May House. She wanted nothing to do with the long list of illnesses and deaths that had plagued the home. Frank Saxon soon sold the house to a local doctor. 

In addition to the recorded deaths at the home, historic preservationists believe that the bodies of 50 enslaved people are buried in unmarked graves somewhere on the property. They have yet to be found, and their stories remain untold. 

New Owners and Near Destruction

Dr. Sheldon Stringer was the next owner of the home. Stringer wanted to run his medical practice out of the house and set about making extensive renovations. 

He would subsequently transform the house from a simple, four-room home to a 14-room, four-story Victorian mansion. Stringer and his family would live there for three generations.

The last Stringer moved out of the May-Stringer House in 1945, and the home was turned into apartments. It was later abandoned and vandalized. 

By the 1970s, a local doctor had purchased the mansion with plans to demolish it and build a modern medical facility. However, the May-Stringer House was saved by the Hernando Historical Museum Association, which purchased it in 1980. It would take 17 years to fully restore the house to its former glory. 

Today, the May-Stringer House is open to the public for tours as well as late-night ghost hunts. Guests are given their own paranormal investigative equipment and have the opportunity to communicate with the eternal residents of the mansion.

Hauntings At The May-Stringer House

Residents, staff, guests, and paranormal investigators have all experienced paranormal phenomena over the past 150 years at the May-Stringer House. When the building was being renovated in the 1980s, staff witnessed shadow figures, orbs of light, and strange mists that hung in the air. 

They also felt cold spots even though they were in Florida with no air conditioning. They also heard footsteps in rooms they knew were empty. Even stranger, some of the footsteps sounded like those of children. 

The hauntings at the May-Stringer House are so famous that they have been investigated by The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) and featured on the show Ghost Hunters. The team and Kindred Spirits also documented bizarre ghostly activity inside the mansion.

This included a trunk that’s kept in the attic and seems to be a trigger object for ghostly activity. Co-host Amy Bruni also communicated with an especially angry spirit that she believed was Frank Saxon.

Jessie Mae

The most active ghost at the May-Stringer House is that of little Jessie Mae Saxon. Since dying in 1872 at the age of three, her spirit has remained tied to the home.

She has been heard calling out for her mother who died in childbirth and crying during the night. Marena’s apparition has also been seen wandering the halls as if searching for the daughter she never got to meet.

Dr. Stringer’s family noticed Jessie Mae’s presence soon after they began expanding the house. They would hear the disembodied sound of a young child laughing and giggling.

With all of this activity, it’s no surprise that paranormal investigators always make a stop in Jessie Mae’s bedroom. The room is filled with dolls that she has been known to interact with.

James

James is the name given to the ghost of a World War I soldier who stayed with the Stringers after the war. James had suffered a tremendous loss after returning home and discovering that his fiancée had married another man. 

Staff believes this is why James is drawn to young women and creates a safe and loving feeling around them. Female staff members are even known to ask James to walk with them when they go into scarier parts of the mansion. Recordings of James’ voice have been captured in the bedroom used by Dr. and Mrs. Stringer. 

Mr. Nasty

As you can guess by the name, Mr. Nasty is a decidedly less friendly ghost than Jessie Mae. The exact identity of Mr. Nasty remains somewhat of a mystery, but he was believed to be a tenant in the house after the Stringers moved out. Mr. Nasty apparently caught his wife having an affair, and he hanged himself in the mansion’s attic. 

Since his death, Mr. Nasty’s negative presence has been sensed in the attic. He is especially hostile towards women. A female tour guide was in the attic and felt her back burning. Upon investigation, there was a long red scratch down her back, which was attributed to Mr. Nasty. His spirit is also known to use foul language during spirit box sessions.

Haunted Tampa

The tragedies that occurred in the May-Stringer House have seemingly bound its past residents to the home. While Mr. Nasty lurks in the attic, the spirits of Marena and Jessie Mae search for one another as the decades pass. However, as long as their ghosts remain active, their stories will continue to live on.

Want to learn more about famous ghosts and hauntings in the Tampa area? Don’t forget to book your ghost tour with Tampa Terrors now! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Florida hauntings.

Sources:

• https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2021/10/21/in-brooksville-may-stringer-house-owns-its-floridas-most-haunted-title/

• https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hernandocounty/may-stringer-haunted-house-brooksville-florida/67-9e90b186-0fb1-4164-a71d-9ea1b0e532c7

• https://tampahistorical.org/items/show/225

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmD2cRieEfk