HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 1920 Masonic lodge that survived the Depression as a hotel — Room 8's 'Aviary Room' carries persistent guest reports of two child apparitions and a self-moving lamp.
400 E Nelson Ave, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Room rates from $105/night (Junior Suite) to $165/night (Presidential Family Suite); on-site restaurant Café Nola open to guests
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story building; stairs to upper floor rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1920 · Masonic Lodge No. 170 (1920) · DeFuniak Springs Historic District · Chautauqua heritage town
DeFuniak Springs developed around an almost perfectly circular lake in Florida's panhandle, growing in the late 19th century as a regional railroad hub and the winter home of the New York Chautauqua Assembly. The town's Victorian-era streetscape, concentrated along Nelson Avenue, is preserved in the DeFuniak Springs Historic District.
Masonic Lodge No. 170 erected the current two-story commercial building at 400 E. Nelson Avenue in 1920. The design was typical of fraternal lodge construction of the era: retail or commercial tenants on the ground floor generating income, with the lodge's meeting hall and ceremonial spaces on the upper floor. The arrangement was practical — lodges needed revenue, and main-street commercial space was reliable.
The Depression ended the arrangement. The lodge lost the building through financial failure sometime in the 1930s, after which ownership passed through private hands, including a local attorney. Eventually the building was converted to use as a bed and breakfast hotel. It has operated in that capacity for decades, drawing visitors to the town's Chautauqua heritage, the historic district, and the unusual circular lake.
The hotel's on-site restaurant, Café Nola, operates in the 1920s architectural shell of the original lodge's ground floor, serving New Orleans-influenced cuisine. The building's exterior and interior retain much of their original character, contributing to its status in the DeFuniak Springs Historic District.
Sources
The hotel's paranormal reputation centers almost entirely on Room 8, called the Aviary Room, on the second floor. Reports come from both housekeeping staff during daytime cleaning and from overnight guests, and the accounts are consistent enough to have made the hotel a fixture on Florida Panhandle dark tourism lists.
Guests describe seeing two children in the room — described as small and young — and a lamp found in a position different from where it was left. Some accounts include a sensation of weight on the end of the bed. The children have not been identified in any source; their connection to the building's Masonic Lodge history or the hotel's Depression-era period is unknown. No historical record of deaths in the building has surfaced in local documentation.
The hauntings in Room 8 are treated as a selling point rather than a deterrent. The hotel books the Aviary Room as a standard accommodation, and guests seeking the paranormal experience specifically request it. Staff accounts have circulated in the DeFuniak Springs area for years without official investigation or third-party verification.
The rest of the hotel is described as unremarkable from a paranormal standpoint; the activity appears localized to Room 8.
Book Room 8, the Aviary Room on the second floor, for firsthand access to the hotel's most active paranormal reports. Guests and housekeeping staff have described two child apparitions, a lamp found moved from its original location, and an intense sense of occupancy in an otherwise empty room. Standard hotel amenities included.
The hotel's ground-floor restaurant serves New Orleans-inspired cuisine in a 1920s-themed setting. Open to non-guests.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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