Published by Haunted America
A Division of The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2013 by Faith Serafin
All rights reserved
Unless otherwise noted, all images appear courtesy of the author.
First published 2013
e-book edition 2013
Manufactured in the United States
ISBN 978.1.61423.991.8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Serafin, Faith.
Haunted Montgomery, Alabama / Faith Serafin.
pages cm. -- (Haunted America)
print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-930-3 (pbk.)
1. Ghosts--Alabama--Montgomery. 2. Haunted places--Alabama--Montgomery. I. Title.
BF1472.U6S435 2013
2013031637
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
You dont need to believe in ghosts to enjoy a good ghost story.
Kathryn Tucker Windham
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This literary adventure has brought a great number of people I would like to acknowledge and give credit to. While researching and writing this book, I was introduced to some very informative and highly educated people in the area of history, legends, folklore and, of course, ghost stories from Montgomery. I have been fortunate to have had the time to personally interview and have countless conversations with many of them. First, I would like to give a great deal of credit to my friend Shannon Fontaine. Shannon is the nightly chauffeur and owner of the Haunted Hearse ToursMontgomery. Shannons knowledge of ghost stories in many of the capital citys most historical locations helped to inspire several of the stories featured in Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Mary Ann Neeleys contributions helped establish the history of these stories with great accuracy, and Willie Thompson of the Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, who gave an inspiring interview regarding the wandering spirit of Zelda Fitzgerald.
I would like to personally thank Mr. Eric A. Kidwell, director of the Houghton Memorial Library at Huntingdon College for his interview and information about the library ghost and for his generosity in allowing me to photograph the location. I would also like to thank the countless students at Huntingdon who shared their personal experiences about the campus spirits. Id also like to recognize those who have anonymously contributed to this book, and I must also thank the ghost of Hank Williams, who, in a dream, informed me that I should be the one to write his ghost story. Also, I must give credit to my daughters, Tori and Jordis, who spent countless hours with me, scouring over dusty records in the Alabama State Archives and to my sons Jason, Jared and Eric for helping me in my seemingly endless cemetery searches and haunted outings.
I was also very fortunate to be able to work with other great authors and paranormal investigators from Alabama on their History Press projects this year. David Higdon and Brett Talleys Haunted Alabama Black Belt; Michelle Smiths Legends, Lore and True Tales of the Chattahoochee; Haunted Shelby County, Alabama by Kim Johnston; and Haunted South Alabama by Jessica Penot. As always, I must express my gratitude to my team of paranormal investigators and researchers, the Alabama Paranormal Research Team. Their dedication and devotion to the paranormal has helped fuel many of the books I have written and, hopefully, will continue to write.
And last but not least, I must thank my family for all their patience and understanding while writing for the Haunted America series and my very supportive and loving husband, Tony. He has supported and helped me focus on my goals, which motivates me to write more on the supernatural and document any and all paranormal occurrences I can.
INTRODUCTION
In July 2012, I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, with my very dear friend Nicola Hampsey of Basingstoke, England. We planned the trip after a series of unusual dreams led me to seek out the ghost of Hank Williams. While attending the Nashville Ghost Tours, I spoke briefly with the tour guide about sightings of Hank Williamss ghost. Nicola and I were informed that his spirit is most often seen leaving the back of the Ryman Theater, and at the conclusion of the tour, which was conveniently at the Ryman Theater, our curiosity led us to an alleyway that connects the back of the old theater and the party district on Broadway.
As I stood there in the alley, it began to thunder and lightning flashed across the sky. It started to rain, and I thought about the recurring dreams I had that led me here. In these dreams, a thunderstorm drives me into an old cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama, and an apparition appears to me at the grave of Hank Williams. The sound of a match being lit sparks my attention as a tall, slender man, silhouetted against the night sky, appears. Although I cannot see his face, the dull glow from his lit cigarette and strong southern accent seem to make me vaguely familiar with him. Are you the lady writin them ghost books in Alabama? he says. Yes sir, I have written one or two, I answer. Well honey, when you get ready, I want you to write my ghost story. Realizing, at this point, I am in the ghostly presence of a legendary man, I reply, Yes, sir! Id be honored to write about you, Mr. Williams. A haunting smile comes over the figures face as he says, Ill be waitin. The apparition fades away as he walks among the headstones.
We didnt find the ghost of Hank Williams that night in the alley behind the Ryman, but we did have an experience neither of us would ever forget. As we stood there, soaked to the bone, Nicola and I were flabbergasted when we saw English rocker and original member of the Beatles Ringo Star exit the theater through the crowd. He had just finished a performance at the Ryman and was in Nashville celebrating his seventy-second birthday that weekend. We came to Nashville to find a legendary ghost and instead found a living legend.
Though Nashville, Tennessee, is located nearly 280 miles north of Montgomery, Alabama, this was the location and the experience that inspired my first story for Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Many historic people, legendary events and unusual and captivating tales can be told as part of the darker side of Montgomerys history. The heart of Dixie is still very much alive with the spirits of yesterday, and they are still reaching out to tell their stories, from Prattville to Montgomery, history is resurrected in the stories of Indian folklore, Civil War heroes, disastrous events and the legacies of those individuals who have helped to cultivate the ghost stories of this citys historic locations. They can all be found in this small collection of mysterious stories.
