JOHN RINGLING HOUSE

By Liz Reed

Over dinner in 1911, John bought the property from Ralph Caples. John stated, “Sell me the property.” Ralph did. John wrote a check on the spot and the Ringlings became part of Florida’s history.

John was a soft-spoken and reserved gentleman, who preferred finely tailored suits, fine cigars, and his own private label bourbon. At the beginning of Ringling Brothers Circus, the five brothers ran it together, each performing in the circus. John was the comedian.

The Ca’ d’Zan, meaning “House of John,” is located on The Ringling campus and was built for the love of his life, Mable. Mable was a wonderful, gentle woman who loved her winter home on Sarasota Bay. Unfortunately, Mable died in 1929 in their home in New York. The following year John married Emily Haag Buck and realized that he had made a big mistake. The newspapers called the disastrous marriage a “Three Ring Circus.” John filed for divorce in 1933, then halted the proceedings. He refiled in 1934 and the divorce was finalized in 1936. It was said to be the most expensive in the history of Florida in those days.

John is known to be present and is seen off and on. At one point, he appeared to a worker and told him to “Get out of his house.” The worker quit that day. There are wet footprints that show up on the tile floor and, no matter what is done they don’t go away until they want to. A worker who saw someone in the attic left and will not return to the property to this day.

Mable, John’s first wife, is seen and felt in the sunroom.  She is seen going from the cemetery area to the house. She’s also been seen by security, getting out of her bathtub.

The Ringling’s dog, Tell, is also seen on the property running around the front yard.

The house is climate controlled, yet the Tap Room has a chilly feeling to it, and you can sometimes see your breath. There seems to be a lot of spirits in that room, probably enjoying John’s private stock of whiskey and a good cigar.

There’s also the priest that wanders the property. He would come out to bless the circus trains before they left. If you ever see a man in black with the brightest blue eyes, please nod your head to the priest and, if he nods back, you will know that he knows you can see him.  He then disappears into thin air.

This happened to a group of us on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. He appeared in the trees and looked at us, nodded his head, then walked past me and disappeared into the middle of a crowd walking towards me. No one in the crowd noticed him at all, which was strange since he walked right through the crowd of people.

There is also a volunteer that still comes to help who you also may see wandering the property.   

Over John’s, Mabel’s, and John’s sister Ida’s graves are some benches. On the bench closest to the graves, a woman entered the property early in the morning and shot herself in the head. She was found by an employee making rounds first thing that morning. People sometimes complain about having a headache or a sharp pain while sitting on the bench, not knowing the story.

John’s second wife, Emily, is also there on the grounds. John and Emily didn’t get along very well, and it is said that she caused his stroke. When John died, December 3, 1936, the same year he finally divorced Emily, he left Emily one dollar in his will, which left Emily very upset.

She is heard in what was her bedroom. She was not allowed to use Mable’s old bedroom, which was next to John’s. She had to use the bedroom down the hall. She was a very angry woman and is still angry in death.

Now John is felt throughout the house, making sure that everyone enjoys his house. People have felt a huge presence behind them, and no one is there. John was a big man (6’5”) with a personality to match, so he would have a grand presence! At times, the scent of cigar smoke is detected, and no one is smoking. That’s just John letting you know he’s around. Mable, the true lady of the house, will lead you through her house with John following behind.

We were lucky enough to be there talking to Ron McCarty, the curator of John’s house for 38 years, and caught two EVPs of John. When I was asking Ron about what part of John’s body was affected by the stroke he had, we heard “arm” before Ron could answer, which Ron said was correct. In the second recording, Ron was telling us about the rose garden out front that they had put in for Mable and we caught a voice saying, “something is beautiful outside.” Activity is known to go on all the time. Just ask an employee and they will tell you their story. Some have even heard a woman reading poetry.

This part of my story is now able to be told as we made a promise to Ron McCarty that we would not publish anything about it until after he retired as he snuck us in after the annual Christmas party that was held there. Ron retired in August of 2018. We want to thank Ron for allowing us to do this investigation and for all his love and service he gave to John and Mable’s home throughout his many years of being curator there. We really enjoyed the private tour since we got into areas that the public never gets to see.

I jokingly told Ron that we would come back one day to find that his spirit would be wandering around since he was there longer than John and Mable.

We’ve had several things happen to us while on the property. We were at Ca’ d’Zan on the night of December 2nd, Charles’ birthday, which is also the day John died years later, and we stayed after midnight into the day that Charles died, December 3rd. Charles’ former residence, where he died, is now known as College Hall at New College, which is adjacent to The Ringling campus.

We had a very interesting night. Upon entering the house, we immediately felt the presence of someone working in the kitchen area. Ron told us ghost stories and history while we walked around with equipment. Our K2s agreed with everything Ron was saying! 

In John’s Tap Room, we encountered several spirits. We mainly concentrated on John and Charles, as it seems they enjoyed this room and John’s private stock of whiskey and cigars. After midnight, Charles left us and from there John took us on his own tour, which I think amazed Ron as much as it did us. 

John led us through the house, and we finally ended up in the top bedroom in the tower area. This is where John told us he went after Charles died. It was a very sad moment for all. You could feel his sadness in the room.

The family did not want Ida, John’s estranged sister who passed away in 1950, buried next to John and Mable, but Ida’s son went to court and won the battle to have his mom buried with John. A lot of people don’t know that all three were kept in storage until they came to be buried on the Ca’ d’Zan property. In 1987, John and Mable were brought to Florida. John had intended for his and Mable’s remains to be put to rest in a crypt at the open end of the art museum’s grand court, under the statue of David. This plan was abandoned and the remains of all three are interred on the grounds near the house behind the Secret Garden.

John and Charles had the biggest competition on who could outdo whom, even in death. One could view the death competition and who “won” in two different ways. One could say that Charles won in the end since he is buried with his family in a beautiful, ornate mausoleum in Manasota Cemetery in Bradenton. However, John and his wife and sister are interred in a beautiful, peaceful setting, full of nature, and near the house that he loved. If his original plan had been carried out, he, Mable, and Ida would have rested in a grander setting with Michelangelo’s David as their headstone, but he may prefer his current resting place. This might be an excellent question to ask him when you visit Ca’ d’Zan’s grounds.

Ca’ d’Zan and its surrounding grounds have an almost eerie silence to them, in spite of all of the activity there, both from the living and the dead. It is not a threatening silence; it’s very peaceful, relaxing, and meditative, which is perfect for noticing spirit activity around you. You will leave with a feeling of great contentment.

In their living days, John was an entertainer who truly loved an audience and Mable was an excellent, gracious hostess. Both were determined to ensure that their guests had a lovely, lively time in their glamorous house. The Ringlings continue to welcome guests even in death.