Every town has its own legends and lore, today we are highlighting the legends of Tampa Bay. Whether it is a pirate who may or may not have existed, but lives on in an annual festival, small green men who chase you, giant sharks, ghosts, lab-created bugs, and a voodoo priestess who controls the weather they are all legendary in Tampa Bay.
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Tampa Bay’s Legend: Jose Gaspar
While there is “no credible historical proof” of his existence that has not stopped Tampa Bay from celebrating their most famous Buccaneer (pre-Tom Brady) Jose Gaspar at the Gasparilla festival.
As with any good legend there are a few versions, but here are the consistent “facts”:
- Jose was born in 1756 in Spain.
- He was a part of the Spanish Navy before flying his Jolly Roger flag as a pirate.
- He and his Floridablanca crew terrorized Florida’s Gulf Coast.
- The Floridablanca sank after a battle with the USS Enterprise in Charlotte Harbor. Legend has it that as the ship was sinking Gaspar tied an anchor to his waist and leaped to his death. Surviving members were executed with a few escaping. Escapees included Juan Gomez. Juan’s account of Gaspar fuels the legends without any historical proof.
Who was Juan Gomez?
Juan often told stories of piracy to his customers as he worked as a hunting guide near Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands in the early 1900s. However, the stories often changed. Most consistently, Mr Gomez would claim to be “more than 100 years old” and a former cabin boy of Gaspar’s. Gomez places Gaspar’s legend during the second Spanish colonial rule (around 1821).
The Mini Lights of St. Pete
In a popular park in St Pete, you will find people lounging and enjoying the wildlife during the daytime. But after dark in Roser Park, the Mini Lights are said to appear when you say, “Mini lights, mini lights, come out tonight” three times in a row. (All these stories are three times – all of them)
While there are a few variations to what “mini lights” are and why they exist, some of the earliest accounts credit them to a local witch. Some say she had servants described as little green men to carry out her bidding. The stories have changed the men into green balls of light over the years. Legend has it, that if you beckon them with the phrase three times, they will change you down, beat you, and bring you to Minnie.
The Vitale Brothers released a horror movie about the legend. (Mini Lights the Movie)
Is Tampa Bay Protected from a Direct Hurricane Hit by Ancient Burial Mounds or a VooDoo Queen?
While Florida has its fair share of hurricanes, Tampa Bay has always seemed to avoid a direct strike. The area gets storms (Lightning Capital of North America) and even some dissipated former hurricanes, but not direct strikes. Why? Some say it is due to the VooDoo Priestess that calls St. Pete home. Like any good legend, her’s begins with heartbreak. As a voodoo priestess who was able to control the weather, she left her former home (some discrepancies on where that was) when her heart was broken. She settled in the Tampa Bay area and kept her home free of devastating hurricanes.
Others claim the area is protected by the Tocobaga Indian Mounds. The mounds were constructed before the 1500s and were communal burial mounds. You can still see the largest remaining mound in Safety Harbor’s Phillipe Park.
While the reasons may be debatable, Tampa Bay has not had a direct strike from a hurricane (category 3 or higher) in more than 100 years. The last was the 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane.
Ghosts of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Built in 1954, the Sunshine Skyway bridge spans the mouth of Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg and Bradenton. Unfortunately, the bridge has long been a site for suicide jumpers. As well as, a collapse in 1980 resulting in the death of 36 people after it was struck by a Freightliner. The deaths have led to reports of a beautiful blonde hitchhiker on the bridge. Drivers who stop to offer a ride find her crying as they approach the middle of the bridge. However, when they turn to ask her what is wrong, the woman disappears.
Giant Sharks
Maybe this is what the Skyway Bridge woman sees. A monster of a hammerhead shark is said to lurk the waters under the bridge. Dubbed “Old Hitler” by local anglers, the shark is said to be 20-25 feet long with a “head as wide as a pickup truck.”
While hammerheads are known to grow to 20 feet long with an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years, this monster would be a possibility. Local scientists at the Center for Shark Research have doubts about “Old Hitler”, but quickly add the reality is Florida has a lot of very large hammerhead sharks. Old Hitler would be just another one.
Not exactly the news you were hoping for? Florida has beautiful springs if you want to stay out of the sea. But the springs have gators so…
Never Mess with Nature
Any Floridian or visitor to Florida will warn you about Love Bug Season. While they live year-round in Florida, the females come out in swarms to mate between April and May and again in August and September. They are a variation of the March fly and are dreaded by everyone.
Attracted to heat, Love Bugs are known to be near highways. They can damage your car paint, and engine and even disturb your vision while driving due to their large swarms. Sounds like a bad science fiction movie, doesn’t it?
The legend comes in that researchers at the University of Florida were looking for a way to combat the Florida mosquito problem. They developed a female bug to attract male mosquitos from actual mosquito reproduction. As with any good lab gone wrong legend, two escaped and rapidly reproduced. While there is no proof this happened, people love to quote it in their anger at the little monster love bugs.
While there are more legends of Tampa Bay, these are the most popular ones. What do you think? Does the Voodoo Priestess protect Tampa Bay from direct hurricane strikes? Did Jose Gaspar pillage the Gulf? Were love bugs a science experiment gone bad?