Haunted North Alabama (Haunted America)

Join author and Huntsville resident Jessica Penot on a terrifying trip through the chilling and ghost-filled destinations of North Alabama.Nestled in the scenic foothills of southern Appalachia, in the center of the Tennessee Valley, North Alabama is known for its natural beauty. Peppered with antebellum mansions and historic homesteads, it is a region rich in history, brimming with a unique cultural heritage. Yet amidst the beauty of these rolling hills and historic features, something dark lurks below the surface. The haunted spirits of the past run as wild as the Tennessee River through North Alabama.From Florence to Huntsville to Albertville and points in between, Haunted North Alabamaoffers a broad survey of the history of haunted destinations in the upper regions of Alabama. Packed with over 20 haunted locales, Haunted North Alabama is required reading for anyone interested in learning about the history of the phantom spirits that call the heart of Dixie home.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Haunted North AlabamaThe Phantoms of the SouthBy Jessica PenotThe History PressCopyright © 2010 Jessica PenotAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-59629-990-0ContentsAcknowledgements, Introduction, Dead Children's Playground, The Haunting of the University of North Alabama, The Moody Brick, The Old Dallas Mill and Village, The Ghosts of Merrimack Hall, The Specters of Space Camp, The Potter's Field Presence, The Headless Ghosts of Ferrar House, The Haunting of Huntsville Depot, The Winston House, The Ghost of Woodland Hospital, Hell's Gates, The Demon in the Dark, The Legend of Crybaby Hollow, The Guardian Ghost, The Apparitions of Athens State University, The Albertville Public Library, The Ghosts of Russell Caverns, The House in the Shadow of Madness, The Tutwiler Hotel, A French Wife's Tale, The Haunting of Sweet Water Mansion, About the Author, CHAPTER 1DEAD CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUNDMaple Hill Playground is a place that has become legend. In Huntsville, Alabama, this playground has become a rite of passage for local youths, who are challenged to hop over the gates at night and creep into the shadows of the tall trees through complete darkness. The playground is pressed up against Maple Hill Cemetery, so as they walk down the road to the playground, they can see the tombstones illuminated by the moonlight. It is a short walk up the road from the fence to the playground. The playground is set off the road, and the earth curves downward into a rocky cove. It is surrounded on all sides by sheer rock cliffs that have been overgrown with kudzu and greenery.The youths who come here sit on the swings and wait for the legends to come to life. They wait for the dead children to come out of the shadows of night and play. They must be brave, because they all know the stories. There are literally hundreds of them. They've all heard about people who have vanished into the shadows of this playground and of teenagers who have never been seen again. These legends are so strong in Huntsville that the true name of this playground has been forgotten. No one knows the name Maple Hill Playground; everyone calls it Dead Children's Playground, where the ghosts of lost children spend their nights endlessly playing in the dark.The legends surrounding this playground are prolific. One local legend says that in the early 1960s, Huntsville, Alabama, was the prowling grounds of a child murderer. This murderer abducted local children and did horrible things to them before killing them. When he was done with them, he buried them in the walls of the playground. The playground is filled with the bodies of these lost children, and when darkness settles and the gates of the playground are closed, they rise up and make the playground their own. Of course, according to Huntsville Parks and Recreation, Maple Hill Playground wasn't built until 1985, long after these murders were supposed to have taken place, but facts don't stop the legend from spreading and growing.Most of the legends surrounding this playground also say that it is part of beautiful Maple Hill Cemetery. Maple Hill Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Alabama and one of the oldest. Founded in 1818, Maple Hill now covers over one hundred acres of land. It has its own encyclopedia of ghost stories associated with it that seems to seep out of the tombstones into the neighboring playground. Those who believe the legends associated with Dead Children's Playground say that it was built for the children of the dead, to bring solace to those who had suffered loss. It is interesting that the oldest marker in Maple Hill Cemetery actually belongs to a child. The oldest grave with its marker intact is that of Mary Frances Atwood, infant daughter of William and Martha Caroline Atwood, who died September 17, 1820. This gravestone might mark the beginning of what was to become a strong connection between the cemetery and the ghosts of children.Legends aside, the real history of the playground is much less interesting. The playground was a rock quarry bought and mined from 1945 to 1955. During this time, Alabama was known for its limestone and marble quarries, and several such quarries were mined in the region. The playground's history as a quarry accounts for its covelike appearance and the high cliff faces that surround the playground. The playground is actually built into the side of a gentle hill that was mined out and used for limestone. The cliffs are not natural. After the quarry closed in 1955, the land was donated to the city. In 1985, the city turned this bundle of land into Maple Hill Park.Maple Hill Park is more than just the playground. If you drive farther down the road, you'll find another covelike area with grassy space that can be used for sports. Although there are no current sporting events at the park, it is clearly designed for soccer and other outdoor activities. The park also includes a pavilion for picnics and gatherings. It could even be used for a birthday party. Maple Hill Park is not part of the cemetery and never was. It is part of the City of Huntsville's Parks and Recreation Department and Youth Athletic Zone 3. The playground was remodeled in 2002 and now sports modern playground equipment and a new picnic pavilion. The park is 8.64 acres — a sizeable and beautiful spot for a family to spend the day. If you didn't know about the cemetery or the legends, this would be an almost perfect park.The park is quite beautiful, and the covelike surroundings give it a feeling of seclusion, despite its urban setting. The park is also uncommonly quiet, and even during the day, it feels off the beaten path. Tall trees create permanent shadows, and from the playground, which is set in a recess where the old quarry must have been, you can't see the road or any other activity. You can almost imagine that you are deep in the woods, far away from the rest of the world.The day I ventured out to the playground, I spent quite a bit of time filming and watching. It was sunny, but it had just rained, so there were enormous puddles under the swings prohibiting the living from swinging. Despite this, the swings moved gently back and forth. Birds sang in the background, and the sun filtered in through the tree branches, painting the earth in dappled light. There was no wind, yet the movement perpetuated, and I was able to capture five minutes of the swings gently moving on their own. There may be some natural explanation for this phenomenon that escapes me. I'm not the only one who has recorded this trend. YouTube is filled with videos of these swings moving, and many visitors to the park describe this trend.The swings aren't the only ghostly activity that observers describe. One visitor I spoke with described hearing children laughing. Another person I talked to said that she had heard a child crying while she was visiting the playground. One visitor claims to have seen even more significant paranormal activity; he claims to have witnessed a ghost child leaping from the moving swing and then coming to a complete stop. Another witness claims to have heard the voices of a child and a woman calling to each other. Stories like this are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Everyone who travels to the playground comes back with another story. Ribbons of light and ghostly shadows are seen in photos that visitors have brought back from the park.My photos aren't that interesting, nor did I witness any of this activity during my stay at the park. I have visited during the day and during the night, and all I heard was bird song or the chirp of crickets and the constant groaning of the moving swings.The Alabama Paranormal Society (APS) did a study of Dead Children's Playground. I was fortunate enough to talk to Leilani of APS. She told me that the playground was very active and very haunted. Leilani has been ghost hunting for years, and she is also a psychic. While she was at the playground, she saw the ghost of a woman in Victorian garb. It was the most apparent and clear ghost she was able to see, but she felt others. APS's investigation indicated that the ghosts that come to playground come from the cemetery. They are wanderers. They are not directly connected to the playground itself. They merely drift in and out of the wooded park that is pressed up against the necropolis. Their story is the story of those who lie in the graveyard.Although I am not a psychic, there is definitely something eerie about this little playground. It is too calm and too serene, and the view of the cemetery makes this calmness unnerving. Living children rarely play in this picture- perfect park, so it is left mostly to the dead.CHAPTER 2THE HAUNTING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMAIn order to get to the University of North Alabama (UNA), you have to drive the back roads of rural Alabama. You have to drive past schools and old cemeteries. You have to go through many small towns and pieces of Alabama that a city dweller might never see. On your way, you'll pass a closed Halloween haunted house and a year-round Christmas castle. You'll pass flea markets and historic polo clubs, and at the end of this journey, you'll come to one of the most beautiful university campuses in Alabama. It is so beautiful that it seems out of place. It seems like it should be part of an Ivy League school or a piece of an old English manor. This is the University of North Alabama. It is not only one of the most beautiful campuses in Alabama, but it is also the most haunted.As you wander through the old campus, history will come to life around you. The old buildings surround the cobblestoned pedestrian campus. Their blackened windows loom above the green grass and fragrant flowers. The center of campus is marked by a large marble fountain that sputters out crystal-clear water. To the right of the fountain is a lion habitat with a waterfall and two lions. Small children stand around the habitat with their faces pressed up against the glass, gazing in wonder at the two majestic beasts. The buildings around the quad are all Gothic Revival style, making the campus seem even older than it actually is.The university is old. It was founded in 1855 after the president of LaGrange University fled across the Tennessee River. The president founded Wesleyan University after LaGrange University was burned to the ground by Union forces. Like many places in the South, Wesleyan University was forged in the furnace of the Civil War. Both Union and Confederate troops occupied the buildings of Wesleyan at points during the war. After the war, in 1872, the Methodist Church gave Wesleyan University to the State of Alabama, and it was renamed the State Northern School of Florence. It was the first coeducational college in the United States. The school changed names many times in the following years and was finally named the University of North Alabama in 1974.The school has grown since that time, and the campus has been shaped into the beautiful university it is today. UNA is now home to about seventy-one hundred students. It has sixty undergraduate majors and many postgraduate degrees. The campus occupies 130 acres in the heart of Florence, Alabama.The oldest building on the UNA campus is Wesleyan Hall. This three-story building is also the most striking building on campus. From far away, it looks almost like a castle. Its Gothic-style turrets and architecture are part of the most impressive building in Florence. Today, Wesleyan Hall is home to the Geography, Psychology and Foreign Language Departments. Its halls are crowded with students rushing to class or studying at the desks against the walls. Its walls are filled with large colorful posters documenting the many research projects and publications completed by the faculty and students of the hall's many departments.Wesleyan Hall was designed by Adolphys Heiman, although some believe that one of Heiman's slaves may have actually designed the building. It was constructed by Zebulon Pike Morrison and served as the university for many years. During the Civil War, Union troops occupied Wesleyan Hall. During General Sherman's notorious march through the South, Wesleyan Hall was one of his stops. Sometime between 1863 and 1864, Sherman came to Wesleyan Hall. It is said that the Florence residents gave Wesleyan Hall to Sherman in exchange for him leaving the rest of the city alone. Sherman would not burn Florence because he was given Wesleyan as his home while he visited.During the Civil War, it was not uncommon for officers to bring their sons to act as drummer boys. One of Sherman's colonels brought his son with him as a drummer boy. The son was named Jeremiah. No one is entirely sure what happened to Jeremiah. The cause of his demise is more legend than fact. Some say he was abducted by locals and held for ransom. Others claim that he went for a walk and drowned in the creek near Wesleyan Hall. Whatever the cause, his ghost has been seen wandering the corridors of this old building ever since Sherman left.There have been numerous reports of sightings of Jeremiah's ghost. Some see his waterlogged form standing in the halls, and others hear his footsteps on the floorboards. There are those who describe hearing his voice, and many say they've seen him walking across the lawn in the light of the moon.Jeremiah is not alone in his ghostly wanderings. There is another young ghost that haunts the University of North Alabama campus. The ghost of a very young girl wanders with him. This little girl, Molly, is one of the most famous haunts of Florence, and she can be found at the off-campus bookstore.Molly's story is quite tragic. Tradition says that the bookstore was once her house. She lived there with her mother and father. They were a happy family, but Molly was lonely. She spent her days playing alone in her room with her dolls. The little girl's father was particularly worried about his baby's loneliness, so he went out and purchased an adorable little puppy for her. Of course, the girl was delighted. It was love at first sight. She loved the puppy so much that she put it in bed with her that night, and the two little ones nestled up next to each other in the soft evening light. She slept like this with her puppy for several nights. The two curled up next to each other in peaceful slumber.Both of Molly's parents were happy with the new puppy, and they felt as if they had found a good friend for their little girl. It came as a complete surprise when they were awakened one night to the sound of Molly screaming. The wail cut through the night, awakening both parents and sending them running into their daughter's room. The puppy had bit the little girl. The parents were mortified, but the girl and the puppy seemed no worse for the wear, so they wrote off the event as caused by the types of bad dreams that sometimes haunt little dogs. Things returned to normal, but it wasn't long before the dog and the little girl began to show signs of illness. The parents took the little girl to the doctor, and both she and the puppy were diagnosed with rabies. According to legend, the disease had progressed too far for treatment, and both died shortly thereafter.Time went on, and the building was turned into a fraternity house. The house was remodeled, and the fraternity members reported seeing a phantom girl sitting in the second-story window gazing out. It wasn't just the frat boys who saw her. People walking by the house reported seeing her as well. The building is an off-campus bookstore now, and people still see the little girl looking longingly out the window. The women who work at the bookstore don't deny her presence. They say she still makes her appearances, sometimes alone and sometimes with her dog. One employee I spoke with said that she has never seen or heard Molly, but she claims that every morning some of the candy is missing from the shelf.The Shoals Ghost Walk visits the bookstore regularly, and many who have taken this tour have reported seeing Molly's ghost. One ghost walker even managed to snap a picture of the little girl standing in the corner. Those who have heard Molly say she always says the same thing. She always asks, "Have you seen my dog?"Coby Hall sits directly across the street from the off-campus bookstore. It is a pretty building. It sits in the shade of several large, lazy oaks. It isn't part of the central campus and differs architecturally from the main campus. Its Classic architecture is typical of the Old South. It is the admissions building for University of North Alabama and is quite welcoming. When you step inside, the staff members greet you cheerfully. They will talk to you about just about anything and are happy to discuss the beautiful building they are overjoyed to work in.Coby Hall, one of the most recent additions to UNA's campus, was donated to the university in 1990 by David Brubaker in memory of his wife, Coby Stockard Brubaker. It was named after her. Coby Hall was built in 1830 by John Simpson. John Simpson moved to Florence to buy land and start a mercantile business. Like many of the Irishmen of the time, he came to chase the American dream. Mr. Simpson found the American dream, and his little business flourished in Florence. He became a very wealthy man. He was envied by all, not just for his wealth and success, but also for his beautiful wife, Margaret Patton. Margaret Patton was a notorious beauty in her day, and she was beloved by all who laid eyes on her.When Mr. Simpson built Coby Hall, he named it Courtland Mansion. It was the perfect home for his beautiful bride. Mrs. Simpson was said to adore her house. She decorated it with great love and spent a considerable amount of time entertaining. Mrs. Simpson was a perfectionist, and every detail of the house was perfect, especially when she had a party. Nothing was ever out of place. Every item of her home was laid out to make each room an exercise in beauty. (Continues...)Excerpted from Haunted North Alabama by Jessica Penot. Copyright © 2010 Jessica Penot. Excerpted by permission of The History Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

About the Author

Jessica Penot, a Huntsville resident, is a behavioral health therapist with an MS in clinical psychology. As an award-winning fiction writer, ten of her short stories have been published in a variety or magazines and journals, and she has written a horror novel due out by the end of 2010. She writes a popular blog about ghosts and hauntings, averaging 150 hits a day, and she is a member of the American Ghost Society, the American Ghost Hunter's Society, the Horror Writer's Association and the Penn Writer's Association.

Reviews

News