The Bizarre and Beautiful Haunts of Rural Alabama

Travelling through rural Alabama is much more interesting than it sounds.  In between the cow pastures,  rolling hills, and red necks are little pockets of beauty and wonder and some of the best ghost stories ever to send chills down the spines of a ghost hunter.   Today, I travelled through North Alabama to the University of North Alabama in search of her many ghosts.  Along the way,  I encountered a closed down haunted house and a year round Christmas castle.  There were acres of old cemeteries and a historic polo club.   

The campus itself is unexpectedly beautiful.   It's gothic revival style architecture makes you feel like you have stepped back in time and across an ocean to someplace far older that it really is.    There are fountains sputtering out crystal clear water at every turn and a lion habitat sits in between two gothic buildings.  There are a multitude of ghost stories hiding in the shadows of this old University.  The University was founded in 1850 and was occupied by Union forces for several years during the civil war.   Many of the ghosts that haunt this campus date back to the civil war, others are much younger,  like the ghost of a little girl that wanders the off campus book store looking for her lost puppy.

One of the more famous ghosts of UNA is the ghost of a beautiful young woman that wanders the site of old O'Neal Hall.   The young girl lived at the University in the late 19th century.   After her gentleman caller left her broken hearted,  she decided to take her own life and hung herself from the tower.    The pictures I took of the campus today show the beauty of the many buildings that settle into the sunlight of this picturesque University, but I'm saving many of these stories for my book.

The Haunted Halls of Athens State

I travelled to Athens, Alabama today where I visited the oldest college in Alabama and took pictures of  the University's haunted halls. Athens State University was founded in 1822 and is haunted by numerous ghosts.   These ghost's story tell the the story of the history of the school.  They are stories of lost love and tragic loss.  These stories are part of the story of the South.  The first is the story of a poor stable boy who died serving the head Mistress of Founder's Hall.  At that time,  Athen's University was an all girl's Christian College and the boy died serving the daughters of the old South.   Founders Hall is also said to be haunted by the ghost of a poor girl who died in the light of her own candle.

Since the night in 1914 when the building was dedicated, folks on the Athens campus have reported seeing the ghostly form of a young lady in a formal white dress in and about McCandless Hall. This apparition, holding flowers, has been frequently observed casting a strange light from the third floor. Some students have smelled her flowers. Others have seen the ghost in the dressing rooms, as if she were preparing for a perfor­mance. Her phantom footsteps have been heard throughout the stately old structure.  This beautiful ghost is said to be the ghost of Abigal Adams, a famous opera singer who performed at McCandless Hall.   She died on her way home from the University.

There are many more ghosts that wander the grounds of Athens State, making it one of the most haunted schools and places I have ever been to.  Tonight I am posting pictures, but I will tell the many ghost stories associated with this beautiful school more in depth when I have more time.