Welcome to the Farewell to Finder’s Fest geo-art, brought to you by the Forest Minions! This series celebrates weird and unusual things throughout the Sunshine State. Please do not go to the posted locations. Rather, solve the challenging quiz found at the bottom of each page, for the final location. For the letterbox caches, please leave the stamp in the cache. They are not trade items. For the discerning traveler, we’ve included the GPS coordinates for these bizarre locations, when we were able to establish them.
Shadows of A Tavern – Location 28.3330, -80.7247
At the aforementioned coordinates is a popular eatery and pub on U. S. 1 in Rockledge that has a long haunting history. Built in the 1920s, this half-timbered, Tudor-style, structure looks more like something you’d find in the English countryside which provides a good backdrop for its ghostly reputation. Although the place has been under several names since it was built, the paranormal antics have pretty much remained standard poltergeist stuff like dishes flying off shelves, lights turning on, or off, and patrons being pushed by unseen hands.
According to legend, 19 year old Ethel Allen was brutally murdered in the restaurant’s storeroom and dumped in the Indian River in 1934. Her decomposing, nude body was found burned, mutilated, and dumped in the Indian River south of Rockledge, near Eau Gallie. The only evidence found was a nylon stocking wrapped around her neck, the initials “B.K.” tattooed on her leg, and a ruby ring on her finger. Research shows that in 1934, this place was known as “Jack’s Tavern,” and the proprietor was Jack Allen. It’s believed that Ethel Allen, was a relative of this owner. Ethel’s grave, discernable by a small, home-made, cement marker, can be found in an old cemetery on Merritt Island, almost directly across the Indian River from the tavern.
Here is the super duper, way challenging, really hard trivia question, which, if solved properly, will lead you to the final coordinates:
Question: What US state technically requires you to have a hunting license, to purchase a mouse trap?
A: Mordor = N29° 29.207' W81° 51.640'
B: Hogwarts = N29° 29.207' W81° 51.630'
C: California = N29° 29.207' W81° 51.620'