Written in the rich tradition of Southern story-telling, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey has captivated generations of readers of all ages with its colorful and suspenseful legends. In these tales of spectral visitations, Windham and Figh infuse each story with a wealth of fact and folklore about Alabama history and the old South. In the words of the august Paris Review: “In Windham’s tales, myth and fact intertwine to present a picture of the South that is as true as any textbook.”

Millions of readers cherish memories of being chilled as teachers and parents read them unforgettable stories like “The Unquiet Ghost at Gaineswood,” about the spirit of Evelyn Carter, who fills a Demopolis antebellum mansion with midnight musical lamentations because her body wasn’t returned to her native Virginia, and “The Phantom Steamboat of the Tombigbee,” about the wreck of the steamboat Eliza Battle, which caught fire on the way to Mobile and sank one February night in 1858. Residents who live along the river say the flaming steamboat wreck still rises on cold nights, its cotton cargo blazing across the waves while its terrified survivors cry for help from the icy water.

Released in 1969, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey became an instant classic, loved by generations of students, families, and librarians. Director of the Selma-Dallas County Public library, Becky Cothran-Nichols, said, “The popularity of 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey has been a constancy, and I’ve been here thirty-seven years. Windham and Figh’s book has always been a hot item. It’s checked out often, and many copies have been spirited out ‘on permanent loan!'”

13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey has long been available only in a slim paperback edition. This year, Windham’s children, Dilcy Windham Hilley and Ben Windham, partnered with the University of Alabama Press to recreate 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey in the ghoulish glory of its original illustrated hardback format. They have penned an original afterword for this very special commemorative edition. According to Cothran-Nichols, “This new edition is like welcoming this collection home.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
A native of Thomasville, Alabama, Kathryn Tucker Windham grew up to become one of the state’s most treasured storytellers. Her journalism career included stints at The Alabama Journal, The Birmingham News, and The Selma Times-Journal. Windham won fans nationwide by way of her much beloved segments on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Windham was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2003. Writer and folklorist Margaret Gillis Figh was an English instructor at Huntingdon College and a frequent contributor to the Southern Folklore Quarterly.

PRAISE FOR 13 ALABAMA GHOSTS AND JEFFREY
“In Windham’s tales . . . myth and fact intertwine to present a picture of the South that is as true as any textbook.”
-Paris Review

“Almost every town has its own ghostly legends. It’s separating fact from fiction and fantasy that requires someone of Mrs. Windham’s expertise.”
-Hunstville Times

“Mrs. Windham’s stories bring to life apparitions from Mobile to Sand Mountain. They’re stories that will never wear out from too much repeating.”
-Decatur Daily

SPECS
Trade Cloth
7 X 10, 124 pp
Cloth ISBN: 978-0-8173-1842-0
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-8173-8705-1
Price: $29.95

The University of Alabama Press is a proud member of the Association of American University Presses. The Press currently publishes 70-75 new titles a year and has over 1,800 titles in print; it is a founding member of the University Press Content Consortium and is at the cutting edge of digital publishing. The Press is the publishing arm of the University of Alabama.