Haints and Haunts for Halloween

Ghost Stories in Alabama

“Come away with me to a place where magic still happens and legends never die” has become the tagline for tourism in rural Southwest Alabama. Kathryn Tucker Windham, our Patron Saint of  Tourism in this area said it best. She got people interested in ghosts when she wrote 13 Alabama Ghosts, the book that fired the imagination of children and adults alike.  Now we all talk about ghosts. Whenever people are sitting around swapping stories, the topic of ghostly apparitions comes up. This is mostly due to the success of our Alabama Ghost Trail. We’ve been written up in a bunch of publications and have 22 segments of filmed stories on You Tube. It has really caught on. People love ghosts. In fact, it seems they love being scared. Alfred Hitchcock said it best “Of course, we love to be scared. Why else would people go around saying ‘Boo’ to a baby?”.

In rural Southwest Alabama, we are a region of storytellers. We are still close to our roots. Dr. Jerry Brown was in town recently to talk about his new book on the Mitchum War. He said that we are still in touch with our ancient roots because things didn’t change much from the 18^th century to the 1950s. We still do things the old way. Storytelling is one of our favorite old ways. We are also very open to mystical influences. Once an interviewer asked me why this was so. I think it’s because of the two major influences we are still in touch with – the Celtic influence and the African American Voodoo and Haints Tradition. The early settlers were mostly Scots and Irish, both of who have Celtic blood. Every family has at least one member in every generation who was “fey” or had second site. The slaves brought in the Voodoo/Haint traditions and kept them alive through their storytelling. We aren’t the least bit scared of our dead ancestors. Some of us even talk to them on a regular basis. Nobody thinks it  extraordinary to say a place is haunted or the see spirits. Everybody knows of at least one place where somebody has seen a ghost.

There is no better time to parade out ghosts around than Halloween. There is no better time to trot out our ghostly places than close to the witching hour. It has become a tradition in our area of Southwest Alabama to combine both spirits and places into ghostly experiences for Halloween. This year, there are a number of special events to scare you good for the holiday.

The oldest Haunted History events in the region started in Selma, home of Alabama’s storyteller and ghostly chronicler, Kathryn Tucker Windham. There are plenty of acknowledged ghosts in Selma. there are 5 museums there, each one having its own ghost, plus the famous ghost of Jesse James at the St James Hotel. Jesse didn’t die there. According to accepted ghost lore, the person either has to have a great attachment to a place or have strong emotions tied to the place for it to be haunted by them. The St James was a place where Jesse James was said to be very happy. He was incarcerated there in room 306. He was a great celebrity, so the local women fell all over themselves fixing him their prize recipes to each, vying with one another for the privilege of preparing his meals. He was said to be quite charming and flattering to the women. Who wouldn’t want to haunt a place where the women fought over you? In a special package for the Haunted History tour, guests can stay at the St James. As part of the package, on Friday night, they will visit the ghost town of Old Cahawba. This is the only time in the year when Cahawba is open at night. There are documented ghosts there to see and hear. On Saturday night, the visitors will tour Sturdivant Hall by candlelight. Their resident ghost is one of the 13 Alabama Ghosts. After that, they will go to the Live Oak Cemetery to meet with a whole crowd of reinacted ghosts of the famous people buried there. The suggested ages for the participants is 12 years and older, but parents have the discretion to choose when their child is mature enough to take the tours.

In Demopolis, visitors will take a riverboat ride on the Tombigbee to hear the tale of Itombi ikbi, the Coffin maker. They will go from the City Landing downriver to the Riverside Cemetery while hearing stories of real people from Demopolis’s historic past.  Then, when they are scared enough to look behind every bush and tree, they will take a hayride through downtown Demopolis. This happens on October 28 & 29. Admission is $15.

For the first time ever, Rickard’s Mill in Monroe County will be open for Ghost Tours. It is located in an area as remote as Old Cahawba. This is a family event with admission being $5 a person or $20 a carload. In addition to the scary tales at the Covered Bridge, Millhouse, Pioneer Cabin, Carriage House and Barn, there will be a Haunted Swamp Trail with well known historic ghosts. There will be child friendly activities including pumpkin painting, relay races and pumpkin toss as well as other games before gathering around the campfire to make S’mores.  There will be food vendors, too. The fun takes place on Oct 28 & 29.

St Stephens, a ghost town that was the state’s first territorial capitol, has Halloween fun all month long from the first weekend in the month to the last. Every weekend will have a Haunted House open in the old cement plant that has been abandoned for decades. The last weekend will include a Scary Hayride through old town. St Stephens,too, is off the beaten path. It’s easy to see why ghosts have remained there all these years with no one to disturb them.

The Kathryn Tucker Windham Ghost Walk in downtown Thomasville commemorates the birthplace of Alabama’s Storyteller. It is a family friendly event with a variety of activities taking place in downtown Thomasville including face painting, food vendors and live music. There is the traditional Ghost Walk to various locations around town to hear ghost stories.

The Alabama Ghost Trail is an ongoing self guided event that the visitor can do any time. The best place to start the self guided tour is by looking at the ghost trail segment stories on You Tube to hear them told by the people who experienced the ghosts first hand. Then, the next step is to do a driving tour of the sites. By visiting the alabamasfrontporches.com website, you can find out where to eat and shop as you travel around. The Ghost Trail is still in development and adds more sites every year. Films will be posted to You Tube as whole areas are completed. Contact the Southwest Alabama Office of Tourism and Film at (334) 636-5506 for more information.