A spirited spirit in Mt. Airy, North Carolina

     Many people I’ve met in my ghost travels are afraid of cemeteries, worried that spirits haunt the hallowed ground at night. I always thought that if a spirit remained on this plane, the last place they would hang around is a cemetery. So many nicer places to visit.

     Take Old North State Winery in Mount Airy, North Carolina, for instance. Someone haunts the winery building, and if you ask me it makes perfect sense. I definitely would haunt a winery, wouldn’t you?

     The building was constructed in 1885 by Thomas Franklin Prather as a general store. The legend remains that Prather and another general store owner in the quaint North Carolina town were at odds. During this time the town’s granite quarry was in high gear so dynamite was in abundance. On a night in 1926, someone set off dynamite in front of Prather’s store and blew off the façade.

     In 1969, when Belk purchased the building to renovate into a department store, human remains were found inside a wall. An arm to be exact.

     Old North State Winery took over in 2002, serving up wines created on-site mostly from grapes in the Yadkin Valley. The store is an arm — pun intended — of Fish Hippie apparel and accessories.

     Is it the one-armed person who walks through the winery at night, opening and closing doors and throwing wine glasses around? No one knows but many have heard the footsteps and seen odd things happening. Our server mentioned the lamps hanging from the ceiling as moving on their own at odd times. Just then, the lamp above our heads starting shaking from side to side. You can see the video here. Is it air moving through the building or something else? For one thing, none of the other lighting fixtures moved. You be the judge.

     While you’re visiting Old North State Winery, be sure and sample Restless Soul, a blend of malbec, tannat and cabernet sauvignon that’s an homage to the spirit haunting the building.

     Mount Airy, by the way, is the hometown of Andy Griffith, who used his growing up years as basis for his long-running television show. You can learn more about Griffith and the show at a museum in his honor or by enjoying a Squad Car Tours in 1960s police cars.
     There’s also the Historic Mount Airy Ghost Tours departing from the Museum of Regional History on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings June through October.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire along with “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Cross Timbers Winery offers variety of spirits

The historic Grapevine, Texas, home

            There’s more spirits than just wine at the Cross Timbers Winery in Grapevine, Texas. Some claim the former owner of the historic home still resides within its walls, letting guests and staff aware of her presence on many occasions.

            And then there’s the 12 spirits in the barn.

            The winery began as a farm in 1871 when Dr. William E. Dorris moved to Texas from Starkville, Miss. It passed through several hands before Patti Weatherman purchased the L-plan farmhouse with clapboard siding, gabled roof, front porch and folk Victorian stylings.

            Patti came down with pneumonia, according to current owner Don Bigbie. Her fireplace had been built improperly and was unable to provide much heat so in her sickness Patti moved her cot next to the wooden stove for warmth. She later died in the kitchen.

Storage units

             Those who have worked in the house or have visited the winery have captured flashes of light on photographs and on the winery’s night cameras. Odd unexplained images appear in wedding photos as well; the winery accommodates about 120 weddings a year on its lovely grounds.

            The first time Bigbie had an encounter with Patti was arriving at the winery and finding the built-in storage units — which are located up high — opened.

            “We came in the morning and all those units were opened and they were not easy to open,” he said.

            Patti had kept her Christmas decorations in the units and once the staff removed them and decorated the house, the phenomenum ceased.

            “The minute I did that the activity stopped,” Bigbie said.

            Another time Bigbie heard someone knocking at the front door but every time he appeared at the threshold there was no one there. Finally, he came up to the door and peered out, wondering to himself if it was Patti making mischief. At that moment, the window blinds began to hum.

            “I promise you the minute I had that thought that shade starting shaking,” he said.

            People who have visited the winery have reported feeling that the house was haunted. Two guests even located Patti’s exact place of death in the kitchen. “The odds of that happening just don’t compute at all,” Bigbie said.

            But the strangest part of this story is the barn. When the North Texas Paranormal Society arrived to check out the property, according to Bigbie, they found 12 spirits in the upper levels of the barn. The current barn structure is not original to the property. The previous barn was razed in 1975 but replaced in 2001 by a structure that fits the 1800s footprint of the original barn. So far, no one knows why a dozen members of the afterlife hang out there.

            A visit to Cross Timbers is anything but scary. The quaint home features a tasting bar and gift shop. Group wine tastings and special events occur on the grounds which include a gazebo and expansive patio. The gracious 200-year-old on the property has become the image on wine bottles and the nearby shed was the original carriage house that housed the first Model T Ford in Tarrant County.

            Cross Timbers Winery is located at 805 N. Main St. in Grapevine. For information, visit www.crosstimberswinery.com.

Haunted Deep South is written by travel writer Cheré Coen, author of Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana by The History Press. She writes the Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series under the pen name of Cherie Claire.