THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The former Black Tulip restaurant in historic Cocoa Village is a prominent stop on local ghost tours due to a tragic past. Before permanently closing its doors, staff and visitors reported eerie phenomena heavily tied to the building’s upper levels. The unsettling activity is frequently linked to a former sous chef who tragically died by suicide on the premises.
I can’t remember the original owner’s name, except that it was Don. He and his wife purchase the property and it was known previously as Myrt’s Cafe – also a favorite spot for locals and travelers alike. When Don and his wife bought Myrt’s they were told that the property had ALSO been the Cocoa City jail at one point in time. While renovating, the couple (who were both psychically sensitive) began to see, hear and smell things. Some very “disturbing things”- like cries for help, the smell of fire and the smell of burning hair/possibly flesh (smelled like roast pork). Upon speaking to some locals, they were told that when the place was the old jail, it had caught on fire and inmates had been killed because they were incarcerated in their cells and the jailer had left.