Putnam Hotel

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Reports say this hotel is no longer in operation, and was sold in 2013. Two ghosts are said to reside here. According to lore, a hotel guest once killed his wife and then committed suicide on the premises. Witnesses say sadness emanates throughout the building, and a shadowy figure has been seen in the hallway or heard walking or whistling. The sixth floor was said to be very active, although it was off-limits to guests and used only for storage.

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Geographic Information

Address:
225 West New York Avenue
Deland, FL
United States

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GPS:
29.028643, -81.30646289999999
County:
Volusia County, Florida
Nearest Towns:
DeLand, FL (0.2 mi.)
De Land Southwest, FL (1.5 mi.)
North DeLand, FL (1.5 mi.)
West DeLand, FL (1.8 mi.)
Lake Helen, FL (5.5 mi.)
Orange City, FL (5.5 mi.)
De Leon Springs, FL (6.8 mi.)
Lake Mack-Forest Hills, FL (7.4 mi.)
Deltona, FL (9.2 mi.)
Pine Lakes, FL (9.6 mi.)
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Comments (35)

  1. I once lived in an apartment in the Hotel Putnam. and yes I did hear very strange noises and sounds late at night .. and a woman’s voice screaming that she needed help. This was in 1998 so I am not sure what activity is abundant there now.

    • Meghan Schultz Gates  |  
      Reply ↓

      I lived on the 3rd floor.. can’t remember the room number.. but you would see ppl walking down the hall but when you ran to catch up with the person there was nobody there.. i have been on the 6th floor.. along with every other floor and the roof.. and they all feel really creepy.. i have heard the screens from my room and I remember that the whole time I was there I always felt sick.

    • The building has been bought and sold a few times since people stopped living there. The Saloon I believe was still active for a little while but it was forced to close a few years ago too. As far as I am aware it is condemned or unfortunately should be. one of the rooms or floors caught fire in late 2018, and it hasn’t been fixed yet. But the smoke residue only comes out from a few windows on the corner. Before it caught fire, I remember seeing very faint lights every now and then in one of the top floors. I’ve always wanted to go see it but it’s a no trespassing area.

  2. It is very haunted. I used to deliver pizza for Dominos from June 2009 to April 2010. I don’t remember the date of the delivery, but when I went there I was greeted by the front counter person. They said to me “Be careful when going upstairs.” Be the way I was, I brushed it off. I got to the 3rd floor and delivered the pizza. When I went back to the elavator, it was gone. Just a wall in its place. I started walking up and down the hallway looking for the elevator. While looking for this “missing” elevator, I heard a Childs voice laughing, like she was playing. Suddenly when I rounded the corner after looking for the elevator numerous times, it was there. I went running out of the hotel and got in my car. I looked up to the window on the 3rd floor, where I was, and saw a small child holding a stuffed teddy bear and she was waving at me. After getting back to work, they thought I had gotten hurt. I thought I was gone for 20 mins and in reality I was gone for 2 hours. They tried to call,me and text me and nothing went through.
    Overall, if you go here, BE CAREFUL!

  3. Well I lived on the fifth floor back in 1992. I could climb out my bathroom window and get up to the sixth floor it was all open and used for storage. I liked it up there view of the city was awesome but the 3rd floor I never wanted to go there it freaked me out. The elevator would stop there for no reason. I liked living there but spooky for sure. Lots of history I hope they restore its grandeur.

  5. In the early 80s I worked in the restaurant there. My sister lived on the second or third floor. After a break one night I was going down the stairs from her room and I saw the apparition of an arm on the railing ahead of me. I was only 16 so nobody believed me when I got back to work..

  7. From Daytona Beach News Journal article July 11th 2013 (with edits):

    A New York City real estate broker has purchased a 90-year-old downtown DeLand landmark that once served as a retreat for wealthy Northerners and plans to return it to its former glory. He estimated the necessary renovations to the building might take around 12 to 18 months.

    Billed as “fireproof,” the hotel opened in 1923 and was built to replace the Putnam Inn, which burned down two years earlier.

    The previous owner, Jayne Rocco, received the 57-unit building in a divorce settlement in 2009 and tried to improve it. But residents were evicted in 2011 and she fell behind on mortgage payments last year. She could not be reached for comment.

    Her husband, Jerry Rocco, had purchased the property in 1974. The couple sold it to RM Realty Investments in 2005 for $2.72 million, before the Roccos took it back through foreclosure in 2009. Later that year, Jayne Rocco received the hotel through their divorce settlement.

    2013 purchase price $902,779.

  8. I worked and live there in 2000 -2004. It was very creppy had to go up to the six floor once I heard voice and footsteps. I looked and nobody was there the nite club was even worst my boss told me that u didn’twant to be in here alone. I was cleaning one time in there and felt someone tap me on my shoulder. Third and ffourth floor nope won’t go to them. I was just creepy u felt like u were being watched. The bar on the other side was creppy also. Heared someone crying in the mens room and no was there. The condo on the side of the hotel were very creppy. Saw a face in the widow of an apartment over there.

  9. I have lived at the Hotel Putnam many times in my life, Along with my family. I had always had a strange feeling about the place. I just found it creepy In general. One night, In September 2010, as I woke from my sleep, I couldn’t move. I felt like something was holding me completely in place. Almost like they were stradling me. I had my eyes open but I couldn’t move and I could hardly breath, I paniced and tried to scream but I couldn’t open my mouth. I couldn’t see anything on top of me, but for a few seconds, I saw a silhouette of a grown male standing ahead of me. Once he vanished, I could move and speak again. I burst Into tears and my mother rushed in to see what was wrong.

      • I lived here in like 2003 to 2004 I believe.. On the 5th floor..there used to be 2 clubs downstairs.. Me and my roommate was at club one night..when we got up and was about to go upstairs..as we headed to back of club where the door was leading to hotel elevator.. I suddenly felt really bad and dizzy I passed out…when I woke security and my roommate had took us to the one bedroom we stay in..when I came to I was perfectly fine..I just felt really drained and tired..my head hurts where I hit on floor..it was crazy especially when I don’t drink at all..

  10. It’s a shame that the City of Deland didn’t recognize this old Hotel is valuable and take purchase, either temporarily or permanent. It can be listed as a historic property in the State of Florida! Now once again Foreign investors come in and but it up. Don’t cry in your beer when all of the State of Florida is Foreign owned!

  11. i lived and worked there in 2012 and 2013 when the new owners took over and i can assure you that place is very haunted there is a man that died there and he likes to grab your butt i was a housekeeper then head of house keeping there were 3 deaths while i worked there and i cleaned all three rooms the 3rd floor and the 4th floor are really bad with spirits and shadows the 6th floor is the worst but i loved it room 416 has 2 kids that like to move you things around and change the tv while watching it. its great

  12. I lived in the Putnam Hotel close to a year in 1991. I started out in room 416 I was there for a week in that room. In room 416 my jewelry would go missing, I would find it in the weirdest of places sometimes I would find my necklaces in the hall. When the week was over I relocated to and apt, I was put in room 413 this is where the real fun stuff happened. The main closet had my clothes and trunk in it. One day I was looking for something in my trunk and I noticed crayon scribbles and drawings on the wall. I was bewildered about these markings I had crayons but they were in the trunk that was locked. So I scrubbed the marks off the wall thinking that would be the end of them. To my astonishment it was not the last time the marks would show up. So once again I scrubbed the walls of the closet no marks the next day marks so I learned that this was a losing battle so I kept scrubbing the walls clean. Then one night I was in bed getting ready to fall asleep after trying to get comfy. I finally got comfy and looked around the room thinking about stuff I had to do the next day and that is when it happened. I was touched!!! I felt this very warm sensation on my face as if someone was cupping my cheek like I was a child. The sensation lasted about a minute and then stopped. After it stopped I notice the curtains moving as if someone brushed them while walking. The radiator behind the curtains was not on because it was summer so no need for heat. The windows were painted shut so no breeze. This startled me so I got out of bed and ran to a friends apt to tell him what had just happened he decided to check out my apt before I came back to it he said everything was fine the only thing he did mention was the walls in the closet had crayon marks all over them. That is what happened to me when I lived at the Putnam Hotel. I have since learned not to be scared just let it happen and be grateful you were chosen to have this type of experience.

  13. Wow I’m so mind blown by a of these encounters. Last year I live in Deland on North boundary, my fiancé at the time and I would go on walks around town and we would always walk by this place. I would take pictures of it and we would talk about how creepy and haunted it looked. I now live back in south Florida and regret not checking it out more. I will definately have to go back!!!!!

  14. I too would join you guys in checking it out; I just don’t know if anyone could get permission to be allowed to go inside right now before it’s worked on to re open it! I have visited Deland twice and the very first time I walked by it, I felt that sick feeling someone described; my legs felt very weird.. like a heavy feeling and just the need to cough; once I walked a certain distance away and leaned over for a minute, I felt better; one could definitely argue a sense of dread or death could possibly emulate from that building. When you’re near it or look at it, you feel creeped out and soon feel the need to look away.

  15. I and friends went to see a band in the 80s. Pl who worked there said,don’t go to the top 6th floor,never saying why. I went on the elevator tho go to a friends room and was brought up to 6th floor even tho i didn’t press 6. It opened up and i didn’t realize i was on 6th until i got out..i walked a bit,noone was around, i opened 2rooms, it looked just like a movie, dark with moonlight coming thru sheers,old old things piled up, And still no pl…i immediately went frantically looking for the elevators..as i was in the long, dark, old creepy hall, i suddenly heard my name beinbg called in a mans creepy voice very slowly, i ran to keep trying to find elevators, it was gone, my name again was called ..i frantically was going round and round over and over and cldnt find the elevator…finally elevator appeared with a person in it who was stuck and forced up there too. We finally got down i think by others pressing button for it…my friends said i was gone hours….i tell this to my daughters, as lesson in life about demons who roam earth and can appeare as people whom have died..call on Jesus, back then i didn’t know much about spirits, but it was the beginning of research…

  16. I would have to experience it to believe these stories. I went several times when it was JR’s.I never experienced anything except a buzz from the alcohol.

  17. Me and my best friend stayed at the Putnam in, she was a house keeper there and that place was creepy! I tried to stay gone as much as possible. The room under ours , we were sitting in the living room one night and I remember looking over at her and asking do you smell that?? It had been like that a few days and she said yeah I smell it everyday it was on the 3rd floor…come to find out the man who had been living under us was dead in his bathtub for days…we would see people walk into rooms that we knew were vacant. One night when I was coming home, I always used The stairs…the elevator always took you where you didn’t want to go….most of the time 6th floor…I was walking up the stairs when I heard the door slam behind me. I looked back and saw no one.. A few sec later I year a man laughing but a creepy laugh..I was almost to The top of the 2nd floor when he came running after me… I ran out the 1st set of doors I came to and there was no one behind me. I was walk in home one night and seen someone standing on the balcony on the 6th floor I went to the front desk to let them know and when they went to check..there was no one there. I seen a woman in green sitting in the lobby like she was waiting for a ride…dressed like going to church
    ..I told my friend about her, only because she looked at me strange followed me with her eyes to the stairwell door and when I told y friend about her she said you must be see in things. We both asked the deal clerk the next day and he said laughing you met Mrs. Jackson she used to live here on the 3 rd floor says it was cheaper then a nursing home but lord she’s been dead 6 months now….we hadn’t lived there 6 months…after we moved I never went back.

  18. I just went there recently. A lot of homeless live there, I didn’t see any people but I did see where they slept and lived in. The whole building radiated a feeling of dread. This is my first exploring experience and I didn’t realize the feeling a place could give you until this. I went up to the 6th floor and that’s when it all got bad. We could’ve sworn we heard footsteps and people talking. The person I was with heard the same things. I had a panic attack and we got out as quickly as possible. The hallways seemed to be changing and never ending, doorways and entrances being in different places than before. When I got home I looked this place up and the reports about the sixth floor seem to be 100% correct. I don’t recommend coming here, even just reading about this place makes me sick to my stomach. The whole feeling from this place was Terrible and I couldn’t calm down until we were outside. DO NOT GO ALONE FOR YOUR OWN SAFTEY.

  19. I lived there in 2005-2006.. I first started off in room 301. I had so many issues with people knocking on the door at all hours of the night looking a woman. When I would get the door they would call me by someone else’s name. I would respond with, “No” and I would close the door and go back to bed. I couldn’t deal with all of that anymore so I moved to another apartment, 408..Lord Have Mercy.. That is where EVERYTHING started. I had magnets on my fridge and they ended up all falling off for no reason or they would be in different parts of the apartment. My salt and pepper shaker would always fall off the stove and land on the floor IN FRONT of the stove. How the bedroom was set up is you had a piece of the wall that would come out from the wall and the window was not the right side of that. There was the outside light post that would shine somewhat into the room at night. I would always hear keys rattling as if someone was trying to find a key or try and find where to put the key. I would always check outside the door of the apartment and nothing was there. The worse part was, when I told the maid to leave the sheets out the door and I’ll change them..that was it. The mattress was COVERED in dried up blood.. When you moved the mattress and looked underneath, it was even worse.. I called downstairs and they came with a brand new mattress.. I remember going to bed one night and I see a dark figure walk from the bathroom, stop in the hallway, shake keys and made a left into the kitchen. Another time, which was the last for me.. I was yet again, sleeping (which was very weird everything happened when I was sleeping) I woke up and had the feeling that someone was watching me. I felt very sick to my stomach and uneasy. I noticed the part in the room where the wall would come out and the window being off to the right, at night that part was always lit up because the light was shining inside the room from the pole. That night the corner was dark as ever. I notice was looked to be a figure coming towards me and I was still on my back in bed.. I looked up and seen him on top of me.. I could not move, I tried to lift my arm up to punch or hit the wall.. I felt like I had so much weight on top of me.. I could not scream I could not do a single thing.. The next morning is when I had all my stuff packed ready to move out.. Never have I experienced any of that since.. That place is No Joke.. So much had happened there and I will never step foot in that place again..

  20. Sebastian Popeson  |  
    Reply ↓

    I just went in yesterday, was pretty spooky. Thought I could see a someone pacing back in forth when i looked from a window to another window on a different floor. In order to get in you must bring a ladder. There are fore escapes in the back and they are covered in grease, so be careful. Once you get in, homeless people have been known to live in there and a lot of them do drugs. Be careful of hypodemic needles and syringes, and bring a camera: everything in there is broken and looks cool!

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