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The Riddle House

Updated on June 19, 2013

I have a paranormal wish list, I know as unusual as it may sound it is absolutely true. There are so many places that report activity every year and thankfully there are many places near me that have activity and allow those of us who seek it to observe or investigate. The Riddle House is one of the places that is on my list, I first saw it on one of those ghost hunting shows, I believe it was Ghost Adventures and became enthralled with the activity that happened during their investigation, so as always when something attracts my attention I sink my teeth in and find out everything and anything I can. So for those of you who have to considered visiting the Riddle House or just have it on your wish list, here goes.

The Riddle House was originally built in 1905 in West Palm Beach, Florida as a funeral parlor. Riddle House was originally called the Gatekeepers Cottage as it was built near Woodlawn Cemetery were vandalism of graves was rampant. The house was built to not only provide funeral services for those who had lost their loved ones but also as a place for security guards to keep watch out for nefarious characters wishing to dig up graves to steal whatever baubles had been left on the deceased.

The first known death near the Riddle House occurred within the first few years it was built and is said to have been between a city worker and a cemetery worker resulting in the cemetery workers death, he has been called “Buck” for many years now. It has never been claimed that he is seen in the house only near it or around it; mostly he was seen walking the cemetery grounds as if he was continuing on with his work. In 1920 Karl Riddle became the first city manager and also supervisor of public works, he was given the Gatekeepers Cottage as his home for as long as needed and the name then changed to Riddle House.

It is believed that sometime during the intervening years a man named “Joseph” hung himself in the attic, the reasons were never made clear, some have said it was due to his insurmountable debt while others believe it was a conspiracy and the man was actually murdered by hanging as a cover for someone else’s crimes. Either way the Riddle House no longer welcomed men into the attic soon after the man’s death. The image of a man in a black suit appears often in the attic windows, some claim to have seen a noose around the man’s neck.

Childs bedroom
Childs bedroom

There are not many details located on the house between the 1940’s and when it apparently became a female dorm for students from nearby Palm Beach College in the 1980’s. It is known however that the house was abandoned due to its state of disrepair and it was being decided if the city would demolish it when someone decided to give the home to a descendent of Karl Riddle, his nephew, John. John Riddle then turned around and donated the house to Yesteryear Village, who apparently took the house down in three sections and moved it to its current location in Royal Palm Beach.

The move seemed to increase the activity for several years and it became even more apparent that men were not welcome in the attic when a worker reported that while he was working in the home during its restoration an iron pot lid levitated three feet and then was thrown where it hit him in the head almost knocking him unconscious. The worker would not return to Riddle House. There have also been other incidents with workers inside the home such as pieces of wood being thrown and also striking someone in the head, someone was reportedly pushed down the stairs and tools were moved or thrown across the room. The attic was made off limits to men for many years due to the increase in activity when one entered the area.

Staircase where board fell
Staircase where board fell

It has also been reported that American flags are reported to be moved or simply go missing. During the GA investigation they did bring in a flag and indeed while they were on the upper floor the flag was knocked over. The GA crew also brought with them a short piece of wood which was placed on the stair landing; this got pushed down the stairs at some point in the investigation when they were on the first floor. One of my favorite parts of their investigation was when Aaron (who also happens to be my favorite) was alone in the attic and was asking questions that he appeared to not want to ask, now the other two, Zak and Nick were two floors below in the parlor, a bird cage falls off a table behind Aaron. It scared the hell out of him and the guys in the parlor even heard the crash. It was a spectacular moment caught on tape.

working

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