Local Southern Legend and Folklore as told by Ki
Local Southern Legend and Folklore as told by Ki
The Lady of Seven Husbands:
This legend used to be in the Alabama history books, it’s since been taken out. In Hazel Green, Alabama on the old Dale Mansion site a woman supposedly killed all seven of her husbands. It is said that on stormy nights you can hear the men screaming. Before they tore the old house down, a hat from each of her husbands hung on a coat peg just inside the door. This site is where the first settler of DeKalb County, supposedly the Lady’s father, is buried. I have been here, though never on a stormy night. I live pretty close to here.
Cry Baby Holler (also known as Hollow):
If you look hard enough, you can find this legend in every state, most likely in several locations, this is the telling of the Hartselle, Alabama Holler. It is said, and no one can pin point the date, that a woman was driving over a narrow bridge (that used to sit deepwithin Hartselle but has long since been torn down) during a thunderstorm and wrecked. She survived but the baby in the car did not. Now when you drive over the bridge at night, and stop and sit there, you will hear a baby cry. It’s also said that if you leave a candy bar on the bridge and leave, when you return the candy bar will be gone. There’s a variation of this, that you should leave the candy bar on your car, up against the windshield and you will see disembodied baby handprints crawling on the windshield and disappearing with the candy bar. I have never been to this particular Holler at night, but my mum will swear up and down to the baby’s cry.
The Dead Children’s Playground:
This cemetery is located next to Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. The ghosts of children buried in the cemetery are often seen swinging on the sets, or rather the sets move as if someone where in them. The children are always sited late at night, from 11 PM to 3 AM, too late for children to be out. This is a newer legend, but is fast becoming part of local folklore. There are several documented cases of this haunting, there’s even video. I’ve a friend who claims to have seen it.
Sally Carter:
The Carter Mansion in Huntsville, Alabama is haunted by Sally Carter, who died a very violent death at the age of 16. She has often been seen wandering the mansion grounds, and is presumed to be responsible for tipping her headstone on occasion.
Sloss Furnace
Birmingham, Alabama’s Sloss Furnace, provider of steel from 1882 to 1971, is said to be haunted by the ghost of James ‘Slag’ Wormwood who was killed when he lost his footing and fell into a pool of melted iron ore. His body melted instanty. Some speculated he was pushed, because he was basically a slave driver, pushing his workers mercilessly. There have been many reports of an unnatural presence and in 1926, a night watchman sustained injuries after reportedly being "pushed from behind" and told angrily by a deep voice "to get back to work." In 1947, three supervisors went missing and were found unconscious and locked a boiler room, none of the three could explain what happened to them. All of them did agree that they had been approached by a badly burned man who told them angrily ‘to push some steel.” The most horrifying of the tales occurred in 1971, the night before the plant closed, when Samuel Blumenthal, the watchman, found himself face to face with "the most frightening thing he had ever seen." He described it simply as "evil", a "half man/half demon" who tried to push him up the stairs. When Blumenthal refused, the monster began to beat on him with his fists. Upon examination Sam was found covered in intense burns.
There have been more than 100 reports of suspected paranormal activity at Sloss Furnaces recorded in Birmingham Police records.
Chicken Foot1
Located somewhere near Moulton, Alabama is a site called Chicken Foot. It's said to be haunted by a boy child who had his head chopped off by two other boys. You can supposedly still see his blood stains on the stairs of his old farm house; he also walks around looking for his head. Also somewhere in that vicinity there is an old haunted witch's house. Unfortunately, I know very little about that period.
1Nothing whatsoever to do with the legend, it’s just a country name for a place. Like Lick Skillet, the town, and Biscuit and Gravy Road. Gotta love that Southern Culture! =)
The Bell Witch:
I was going to tell you about the Bell Witch as well, but I found a site on her that explains it more in depth than I ever could. -
http://www.bellwitch.org/home.htm
Elftown Paranormal Society
Legends and Folklore
UFO - Unidentified Flying Object
Ghosts and Hauntings
Cryptozoology
Out-of-body Experience
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
Stumble!