WESTCHASE, Fla. — There's a coffin in a bathroom.
A ouija board on a wall.
Creepy clowns watch you sleep.
And an unsettling portrait by the front door just might be possessed.
Welcome to the Phantom History House, a brand-new "creepy but comfortable, eerie yet elegant" bed-and-breakfast experience in the town of Westchase in Hillsborough County.
Owned and operated by playfully clever innkeepers Steve Blanchard and Tim Hinton, this exquisitely detailed lodging offers four themed rooms, each with an otherworldly bathroom as well: the Cemetery Room, the Portrait Room, the Ouija Room and the Castle Room, the latter featuring remote control candles.
Room rates start at $175 per night and include continental breakfast and free ghost stories from the hosts.
"We like to think that we are Modern Victorian with a little bit of Gothic sprinkled in," Blanchard, who also hosts a paranormal podcast, said.
Hinton, who's more of a Disney guy than a ghostbuster, said, "It's sort of like walking into a haunted movie, but upscale and elegant."
As well as manning day jobs, Blanchard and Hinton have worked overtime to make sure the Phantom History House experience is both immersive and upscale, the spooky thrills keeping pace with the amenities.
For more adventurous guests, the hosts often bring in psychic mediums and tarot card readers. Although if someone just wants a cool room for the night, they're fine with that too.
"And if you want to tell us that ghost story from when you were a little kid," Blanchard said, "we would love to hear it."
