Ghost Stories, Beer, Food Creates Halloween Fun In Winter Haven

WINTER HAVEN, FL — Ghost stories mixed with a cocktail at a spot frequented by Publix founder George Jenkins, who died in 1996, is one of the spooky but fun places you'll see on the newly launched Winter Haven Beer, Spirits and Ghost Walking Tour.

Saturday evening, the first haunted group tour hosted by Amada Anderson, founder of Winter Haven Tours, began from the parking garage at Third Street Northwest and Avenue A Northwest downtown. The group walked to the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce building, and Anderson shared the architecture idea and history of the building.

Notice the names on sponsored bricks in the building's breezeway? There's a scary story related to one of those bricks that you'll have to hear on the tour.

As the group walked to the next stop, Derry Down, Anderson's iPad displayed a black and white photo of Gram Parsons, a famous 1960s musician who sang with The Byrds and musically inspired some legends such as The Eagles. The Derry Down was purchased by Winter Haven businessman Bob Parsons in 1964 with the purpose of being an entertainment venue for teenagers and a place for his stepson, Gram Parsons, to practice his music. Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose at 26 in 1973, according to Anderson.

"In the 1960s so many people were doing drugs," Anderson said, "so he was actually doing heroin, but he had told his road manager and his roadies 'that if anything ever happens to me, I don't want to be buried, I want to be cremated'."

Before his parents could retrieve Parsons' body after he died, it was kidnapped by the roadies and the band leader. His family didn't know he wanted to be cremated, so they had planned to bury the musician at the family plot in Georgia. A police chase ensued when his body was being taken away by his roadies in California.

"'They had it all ready to go with a gasoline tank and everything, and then they had to slam on the brakes because the cops were surrounding them," Anderson said. "The body flew out the vehicle and into Joshua Tree Park. The roadies quickly jumped out and doused it and threw a match on it. And so he did get cremated, but not in a very dignified way."

The group stood outside the building listening for the sound of guitar strings being plucked as some locals have claimed they've heard ghostly things from the building. However, the ghosts were being quiet, but one did make an appearance.

"There's a man that was standing at the window looking out," Ting Rappa, a psychic medium from Orlando, said as they walked to the next stop. "He was on the right-hand side."

Back in Gram Parsons' days, the right side housed the stage, and because of that are electrical switches there.

"Spirits are attracted to the electrical charge," Rappa said. "That's where they can manifest." Neither Anderson nor Rappa have ever been inside the building.

The first Publix building that now is home to Tempo 1930, a blues bar/restaurant, was the group's first food and drink stop. Some ordered from the cocktail menu, while others ordered wine.

As the group enjoyed truffle fries and meatballs, Anderson shared her experience of finding out Jenkins sometimes makes himself known to the staff there.

For more information about the full tour, visit Winter Haven Food Tours.