Annie Lytle Elementary: The Devil’s School

Posted: 06.22.2024 | Updated: 12.05.2024

Annie Lytle Elementary School is known for the urban myths that surround the building. While it was open, the school allegedly had a principal who was a cannibal, a janitor who would boil students alive in the basement, and even saw one of the faculty commit mass murder against the students. The school’s also seen quite a few fires, and the empty building might host weekly Satanic rituals.

Annie Lytle Elementary School was first opened in 1891 and was operational until the 1960s, when it was forced to close due to the construction of a highway interchange. The highway cut the school off from the rest of the city, so it was shut down. The building was left to fall into disrepair and eventually became known as the Devil’s School as horror stories began circulating.

 Today, the Devil’s School is known as one of the most haunted places in Jacksonville. The otherworldly activity in the building is often attributed to what many call “psychic dust,” or the collective imprint of the energetic schoolchildren. Those who enter the Devil’s School will see faint apparitions and shadows of children laughing, playing, and sitting in the classrooms as if looking back in time. 

Before the Devil’s School

The Riverside Park School was built in 1891 as a tiny wooden schoolhouse with just a few rooms. As more people moved into the neighborhood, the school expanded. Shortly after, it was declared a fire hazard and shut down. This was in response to the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901, which burned down much of the city.

The building was rebuilt, but bigger and made of brick. It was the fourth public school building in Jacksonville and was originally called Public School Number 4. It was later renamed Annie Lytle Elementary School in honor of a beloved former teacher and principal. 

The school stayed open until the 1960s, when the expansion of the Interstate Highway System isolated the school from the rest of the neighborhood. The building was then used as a storage facility for Duval County Public Schools up until 1971, after which it was left to rot and decay.

Annie Lytle Elementary became a hang-out for local teenagers looking for mischief. Graffiti artists flocked to the abandoned building to practice their skills. Rumors began swirling about what happened at the school and why it was shut down. In 1995, a fire in the auditorium caused part of the roof to cave in, adding to the urban folklore. Annie Lytle Elementary became the Devil’s School. 

In 2000, Duval County designated Annie Lytle as a historic landmark. A barbed wire fence was erected to keep trespassers out, and volunteers have begun making improvements, like painting over the graffiti and replacing broken windows.

The Devil’s School: Murder and Mayhem

The urban legends and myths surrounding the Devil’s School became its main attraction. The most infamous story was that of the cannibal principal. Legend has it that the principal would call bad students to his office for a “chat,” after which they would never return. Officially, the children were suspended or expelled. Unofficially, some students suspected that the students were being consumed by their evil headmaster. The principal had a closet, which he converted into a meat locker, where the children were hung on spikes until he could eat them. According to some legends, multiple faculty members were involved in the terror, and the principal was the ringleader. 

It’s said that the school’s janitor was evil too. Legends say that the janitor would kidnap unsuspecting students, take them down to the boiler room, and boil them alive. After so many victims, one of the students escaped, causing some of the equipment to malfunction in the ensuing struggle, which led to an explosion. The resulting fire killed multiple students, and the school had to be temporarily shut down. When classes came back in session, the school was haunted by the ghosts of the dead children. Some teachers were so frightened that they quit, unable to cope with the tragedy.

Another story is of another evil principal, but this time, he outright murdered the students. According to the legends, the principal had been going mad from the stress of the job and was tired of constantly dealing with unruly children. One day, he snapped and went completely berserk. He went on a rampage through the school, murdering the children via blunt force trauma, leaving trails of blood in his wake. 

The most recent urban legend is that of the Satanic rituals that took place on school grounds. Some say the rituals began while the school was still open, having been started by faculty members, and continued to use the building for rituals after it was condemned. Others say the rituals began recently, long after the school was shut down. Either way, the inside of the building is covered in graffiti, much of it Satanic in nature. Upside-down crosses and pentagrams can be seen all around the building.

Are the Legends of the Devil’s School True?

It’s safe to say that the urban legends about the Devil’s School are mostly untrue, but every story has a grain of truth. It’s important to note the similarities and overarching themes in the stories about Annie Lytle Elementary. The urban legends can manifest what happened from the perspective of a child’s imagination. 

After the school closed down, the building became a scary place. Drug addicts and vagrants squatted in the building. It was probably a dangerous place to hang out. Violence was allegedly a common occurrence. The vagrants were blamed for the fire in the auditorium, though others still say it was the Satanists. The building’s reputation for violence, drugs, and generally shady activity probably gave rise to its status as a haunted building.  

Learn more about the haunted history of Saint Augustine 

Saint Augustine is the oldest city in America. That means plenty of ghosts! Check out the Castillo De San Marcos, the Spanish fort that put St. Augustine on the map. It’s full of the spirits of dead soldiers from past wars. Watch out for the St. Augustine Monster! No one knows where it came from, but surely there must be more hiding in the depths of the Atlantic. Don’t forget to drive by Spook Hill, where the optical illusion makes it seem like your car rolls uphill. Is it aliens or a portal to another dimension? Only one way to find out!

To discover the most haunted places in St. Augustine in person, book a St. Augustine ghost tour with Old City Ghosts!

Sources:

http://www.weirdus.com/states/florida/abandoned/devils_school_4/index.php