'Ghost' Tours will uncover Sebring's spooky side

Members of the Highlands Little Theatre will present Ghost Tours on Halloween weekend, taking people on one-mile walking tours around downtown Sebring, with several haunted stops for ghostly tales.

Anybody who has visited St. Augustine, Charleston, S.C., or Plymouth, Mass., where they have walked those ghost tours, knows it's for entertainment purposes.

But it's also a little bit of history, explained Vanessa Logsdon, the theater's executive director.

There will be two tours nightly on Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, Oct. 30, starting out from the Dr. Thakkar Pavilion behind the theater. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

"We have room for more people," she said Thursday. "We will have varied routes. The 7 p.m. tour will not be the same route as the 7:15 p.m. tour and the stories and homes may not be the same."

So people can come back the next night and have a different experience, she said.

"The plan here is that we will send a group, of about 20 people, with a guide," Logsdon said. "The guide will be one of our performers."

Periodically, the performers will stop in front of a building and tell a ghost story, preferably related to the building they're standing in front of.

The exact route has not been completely set, but she said each guide should tell about six ghost stories, not including the ones involving the theater itself. "There are quite a few ghost stories related to the theater," she said.

For example, there have been stories of objects flying across the room in Anthony's Lounge when only one person was there. The lounge is named after Anthony DeAngelo, who died of a heart attack during a dress rehearsal at the theater, Logsdon said. Having the lounge in the theater was his idea, she said.

There have been reports of the sound of sewing machines running in the rear of the theater while no one else was there. They keep a light on over the stage, they say, for the ghosts.

"Our goal is to make it an hour long," she said. "It is mainly for entertainment and will be family-friendly; not anybody jumping out trying to scare anyone."

Also, if the 7 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. tours fill up, they have a third guide available to take those brave souls for an 8:15 p.m. tour on Friday. If that sells out, there will be an 8:15 p.m. tour on Saturday, and if those both sell out, there will be ghost tours on Sunday, Oct. 31.

The cost per tour is $10 for guests 12 and older. Children ages 5 to 11 may join the tour for half price ($5). Children younger than 5 years old are free.

Booking has already begun.

Call the theater box office at 863-382-2525 for tickets and more information.