Creepy/weird and or interesting towns in Florida

Matlacha FL

Gulfport FL also seems fun and quaint

Belle Glade, FL was mentioned in another thread as having some record.

What about along the coast around Panama Beach and Laguna City?

Micanopy FL looks beautiful. Lots of antique stores and the Herlong Mansion which is now a B&B is said to be haunted.

This is pretty kitschy.

Celebration FL looks creepy and stepfordish

The weirdest, creepiest place in a state that practically invented the genre.

Gulfport is chock full of gay people. It might be worth a visit just for that. Just remember that it is at the southernmost tip of Pinellas County, and the St. Pete/Clearwater/Largo area (the majority of Pinellas) is very crowded with wicked traffic. Gulfport is not a little town in the middle of nowhere like (say) Micanopy.

So if you're going through St. Pete anyway, there are many neighborhoods that are hidden gems. One of my favorites is Roser Park. Another is the area they call "the Pink Streets." And don't miss the Old Northeast and the Vinoy Hotel area, my old stomping grounds.

If you're going to be in Pinellas County, don't miss Tarpon Springs. It's one of the few ethnic enclaves in Florida that's not Hispanic or Haitian. It was founded by Greek sponge divers and there are still people there who only speak Greek. Be sure to see the Shrine to St, Michael. It is a very peaceful chapel in the heart of Tarpon, and you'll enjoy going there even if you're an atheist (as I am). And take a sponge diver boat ride. I know they're touristy, but it's still fun.

Oooo R8 ,we may very well have stomped the same grounds ! I remember when the Vinoy was an abandoned ruin. Did you ever go to the Pelican Pub ? It was a straight bar but very accepting,I partied my ass off in there 1000 times.Celebration is filled with Stepford people. Its pretty,but hideously expensive and the people are creepy. I think Micanopy is where thhey filmed Doc Hollywood. A charming town full of very southern folks. Madison Fl is a charming little place as well.

Port Orange is a typical Florida retiree town. Why on earth would you go see it?

Oh didn’t see your link in the OP.

Nothing special about Port Orange to make the trip worth it. Daytona Beach though I would recommend for a dose of seedy Floridiana.

Watch COPS. Shot and/or still shoots in Florida a lot.

Oh, I forgot Floral City. Artsy little "downtown" area. I almost moved there but I couldn't find anything in my (admittedly small) price range.

And R9? I only lived in St. Pete from '97-2012. The Vinoy was definitely not a ruin when I lived there!

I live in St. Pete and love it. From the first time I came here, in 2014, I found it unpretentious and beguiling. The downtown area is gentrifying rapidly, but the arty presence us still strong. And the presence of so many beautiful live oak trees is enchanting.

Flagler Beach on the East Coast is like Old Florida; they refuse to have any high rises.

And, check out Cassadaga on the East Coast, a town with a large number of psychics. I’ e been meaning to go there for some time.

R14 you should have seen St. Pete in the late 70s and early 80s. It was a time warp. You saw little old ladies in hats and gloves,old gents in seersucker suits,the crumbling grandeur of those big old hotels. I just loved it.There was an air of genteel decaying that enchanted me.One of my favorite apartments ever was in St. Pete,off 5th ave. It was a converted one story carriage house (okay,garage!) that the owners brother had covered with architectural salvage .Leaded glass windows,carved wood paneling,stained glass patio doors all in an enclosed back yard. I LOVED that apartment,even with its tiny shower that you had to step out of so you could step back in to wash the other side. Even with the hole in the kitchen that poured water when it rained,even with the drunks walking up the alley at 3 am raising hell 10 feet from my bedroom.

Before the "artsy" scene revived it,downtown had gotten awash with homeless people and half abandoned.The old folks died off and there werent any new ones replacing them so all the shops and restaurants and department stores closed . They tore down several of those giant old hotels,wich is where many older folks on fixed incomes lived . I was last there in 2004 and I almost wept when I saw how bad it was.

Lakeland has the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world at Florida Southern College.

Anyone have stories about the Brandon, Seffner, Apollo Beach area?

If you are going to Micanopy, check out Cross Creek just down the road. It is the home of Marjorie Kinnen Rawlings who wrote 'The Yearling'. The home is now protected by the state park, so it look just like she was still living there. A typical cracker shack and yard of that period.

Here's something I forgot about Mt. Dora.

I second the recommendations of Micanopy and Mt. Dora. Two of my favorite small Florida towns.

R7 is spot on listing Vernon FL here. That place is a hands down classic in Florida weirdness. I’ll link the documentary film about the townspeople in a separate post. The dismemberment backstory is a valuable preview if you choose to watch the movie, so I included a link. Morris intended to document the dismemberment cases and title the film Nub City. Local folks forcibly convinced him not to do as he originally planned...

Here’s the documentary, called Vernon Florida.

There is a documentary about two young photographer friends documenting Miami and the way the population/lifestyle/housing changed from sleepy nobody town to recreation and retirement town for old Jewish folks from NYC, to the influx of Cuban and Haitian people in the late 80s to now. Also featured in the story was the real estate turnover that went from small boarding house & hotel accommodations to huge hotels on the beach like a city skyline. One of the photographers was pretty closeted and we know how that turns out. Aside from that, I enjoyed the history and the images they created and archived.

^^^On Netflix