The Lust House which I call the Lake Ola House because the property was actually the site of the Lake Ola Lodge has a long history some of it tragic. Anyhow the history goes as this...back in 1883 a man by the name of Bourland built the Bourland House here. This was to be Tangerine's first hotel. There is a little road today that cuts back into an empty area some of it wooded. Most of that area contains little or no houses. However one of the oldest houses on this tract of land is the one you see in the photos below.

Anyhow...the name was changed to the Acme Hotel which was operated by Reddick then it was bought by William H. Earl of Worcester MA who in 1884 named it the Wauchusetts House. You can kind of see a development to the street names in the area as the settlers named the streets after them or combined things like Earl-Wood... for example.

In 1888 the hotel burned down with three other homes that began in the Bennett's Barn eventually it was rebuilt. I heard a few people died in that fire not sure but back in the day nobody had a fire department and often people would be to afraid to evacuated during a fire therefore they would stay and perish along with the flames.

The hotel was a place where various groups such as the Saturday Afternoon Leisure Club and Literary Society could meet. From atop of the hotel Lake Ola was very easy to see just as the house we investigated I am sure had a nice view of it at one time too. Now the house remains overgrown but the history that surrounds it will always be present.

Anyhow the property and hotel that was rebuilt was purchased by a Dr. Benedict Lust in 1913 and a year later opened a Sanitarium called Jungborn Of Tangerine. It also was called the Qui-Si Sana meaning "To Be Young Again". In 1927 it was known as a Naturpath Sanitarium and considered to be one of Florida's leading health resorts.

Dr. Lust was from Germany and was loyal to his country during WWII. On the property he had a house with a tall tree where he had installed a radio transmitter and he used it to communicate with German Submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. The Feds caught wind of this and put a stop to it. Strangely right after that the entire Sanitarium burned down. Conspiracy? I will not make accusations but I can theorize or speculate that our own government burned it down to the ground as a safety measure or form of punishment towards Dr. Lust. I heard that some people did die in the fire.

Which now leads us to the question of do the spirits haunt this house and the Earlwood House Property because they died by a tragic accident or factually are the restless because they were murdered. You see in my opinion I do not think either house is haunted I think its this entire square block which has only a few houses built on it two of them which our team investigated.

I know that nobody has lived in this house for years people move in and move out fairly quickly. Now the house is in such poor shape it probably never will inhabit living guest again. I also know the owner told me they see sometimes lights on upstairs and sometimes a few other strange things. If I am correct the owner of the Earlwood House told me she seen something once in the backyard of this house.

In my opinion its a beautiful old historic home it feels strange inside like something is lurking.....watching...and waiting. It may have not been at its peak during our investigation but I do feel that this house is just as much in connection with the Earlwood House nearby and that the ghost that haunt this may just haunt the other houses on this property due to is nature of what this property once was.

Lastly upon doing further research back in 1878 a Raymond J. Wright came to Tangerine from Michigan searching for a healthy climate. He purchased a 100 acres on the northside of Lake Ola and taking 10 of those acres for a grove. Holland Williams helped him plant in the region. Actually he was one of the first ones to plant groves here. His son W.G. Wright drew maps of the region...and the town. But it says at the corner of the intersect where the Lake Ola House stands was a house built in 1884 known as the "Seven Chimneys" or anotherwards the Wright House.

 Could this be the same house? Afterall the Lake Ola House has alot of later 1800s architecture. Nonetheless I have been told it was across the street perhaps we did not see it cause it was torn down or perhaps this house was the home of Wright an Orange Grove planter its hard to say. Even if its not the same house it technically would have been across the street from the Wright House thus making this one of the oldest houses to remain in the area. It seems the 4 most important corners of Tangerine all contained or have contained at one time structures which were relevant to the history of Tangerine. 

© By

Lord Rick