The Breathtaking, Haunted Beauty of The Linn-Henley Library

Halloween is over.  It was an amazing Halloween this year.   For one, I got to speak at The Birmingham Public Library Archives or the Linn-Henley Research Library.   I have been fascinated by this old building and its hauntings and history for years so telling ghost stories in this library was like achieving a big goal for me.   The Birmingham Archives is a building of uncommon beauty.   When you step in, you are greeted by some of the most striking murals ever to grace the walls of an old building.   These murals were done by Ezra Winter and each scene represents the amazing literature of the world.  One mural shows a scene from A Thousand and One Arabian Nights.  Another mural shows a picture of Krishna for the Bhagavata Purana.   Walking through the library is like walking through a living, breathing work of art.

The beauty of the library is amplified by the uncanny quiet that fills the building like a tangible presence.  The silence makes the building feel haunted and this feeling is not false.  The staff at the library are happy to tell tales of Fant Thornly, a former librarian who wanders the halls of the old building at quiet moments.  Many have seen Fant wandering the archives.  The have smelled his cigar smoke lingering in quiet corners and heard him riding up and down on the elevators.  One electrician described seeing him standing in the very doorway of the room that I told my ghost stories in.   One librarian picked a picture of Fant out of a stack of old photos she was given and named him as the ghost she saw in the room I spoke in.

The Linn-Henley Research Library was built in 1927 and was the Birmingham Public Library until 1984. At this time the primary library was moved across the street into a modern building of glass and harsh angles. The two buildings are attached by a catwalk and the architectural differences between these two buildings that are connected like Siamese twins are so vast that they should be in different countries. But the two buildings are bound together by their common purpose.

In 1984 when the old building was partially abandoned it took on a new purpose and became the archives where the old books were stored and the history was kept. There are no stories of bizarre deaths here. There are no horror tales of Indian burial grounds or murdered children, but the ghosts that have been described in this building are so terrifying that some of the librarians have refused to go back into the stacks alone and without every light on. Many staff members know about the haunting in a general sort of way. They know that doors open and close on their own and phantom noises fill the building when it is empty, but a few report an even more active haunting. They describe seeing Fant in the shadows.

As I told my ghost stories on Halloween day, it was wicked fun to be able to share the tales of the ghost that haunted the very room we were standing in.   Some of the staff believe many of the tales told of Fant are fancy, but even the skeptics believe that there has been to much activity in the library to be able to explain it all away.   Fant still wanders the Linn-Henley building and I hope he was listening when I told my ghost stories.  That would be a real honor!

   

Stumbling Upon a Haunted Pizza

I have been meaning to go to Sam and Greg's Pizza in downtown Huntsville, Alabama for sometime.  It is notoriously haunted.  It has been investigated by paranormal investigators and proven to be haunted using all the ghost hunting gadgets such folk use.  It has been featured on the local news.  Psychics have declared it haunted. Yet, for some reason I haven't stopped by.  I even love pizza and their pizza is wonderful. 

Last week a lovely young writer named Stephanie contacted me to do an interview for a local magazine. I was delighted when she invited me to meet with her at Sam and Greg's.  I assumed she knew it was haunted and invited me there because of its haunting, but it was just a wonderful coincidence.  I had heard that all of the paranormal activity associated with this cute little restaurant takes place in the upstairs room, so we sat upstairs.  I believe the activity actually happens in the forbidden region of the restaurant just beyond the lock door, but it was still nice to sit and talk about ghosts next to such a haunted place.

 

On my way out of the restaurant, I asked one of the employees about the stories associated with the restaurant.  She says that the rumors that circulate amongst the staff state that the ghost that haunts Sam and Greg's was once a maintenance man in the old building.  His boss used to like to play practical jokes on him and he was always being laughed at.  Nobody can say for sure if it was all the jokes, or if the maintenance man was just lost in all his melancholy, but, according to the oral tradition, he killed himself in the building on the second floor.  His ghost still wanders Sam and Greg's making mischief to this day.  The staff who talked to me about this says she's not sure she believes all this, but she still finds the story fun and so did I.  

The Haunted Upstairs Area Can Be Seen From the Upstairs Dinning Area

The Upstairs Dinning Area

The Ghost of a Girl Named Howard

The Weedon House was built in 1817 and sits at the center of Huntsville, Alabama's historic district.  It is surrounded by constitution village and other historic structures.  It is a classic example of Federalist style architecture and was home to Howard Weedon, one of Huntsville's more renknowned female artists. Ms. Weedon was famous for her lovely and touching paintings of African Americans.  In an era when most African Americans were depicted as either animals or fools, she captured the spirit of her subjects and gave them life and humanity.  Her painting were even used as models for some of the characters in Gone with the Wind.  When Huntsville was occupied by Union forces in 1862, the Union Army requisitioned Weeden House and used it for its officers quarters.  After the war, Howard Weedon and her sister Kate lived out their lives in Weedon House.  There, Howard was able to paint and live her dreams of creation as a starving artist.  Ms. Weedon lived and died in Weedon house.  Some say she still stays there.  Weedon House now belongs to the city of Huntsville and is open for tours.

My mother got to visit the Weedon House this week.  She interviewed to be the director of the museum that now occupies the house.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her because she has a passion for history and old houses and she would do an amazing job tending to this old house.  While she was there, she saw water damage on the walls and those interviewing her explained that the walls always weep there.   They aren't sure why and they haven't been able to stop the weeping.   Those that believe in ghosts site this as the most conclusive evidence of a haunting a Weedon House.  The walls there always weep and no one knows why.  The weeping isn't the only sign of haunting in the old house.  The old grandfather clock in the foyer is said to continue chiming even though the clock has no working parts and phantoms have been seen lingering in the upstairs window.   I hope my mother gets her job at the Weedon House, maybe I can learn more about the ghosts there and maybe I can find the secrets behind its weeping walls.

The Moody Brick and the Tragic Story of Joseph Sanders

One of my favorite chapters in my book Haunted North Alabama is the chapter about The Moody Brick.  In fact,  The Moody Brick is one of my favorite ghost stories.   When I did a presentation on ghost stories at the library,  a lovely lady named Ms. Dorothea came to see the presentation just to discuss the Moody Brick with me.   She had read my book and wanted to share her family history with me.   Although she was no ghost story junky, she collected stories about the Moody Brick because her family was linked to the old house.   This week, she sent me an amazing collection of photographs and information about and of The Moody Brick.  I am honored to share this information.

For those of you who haven't read Haunted North Alabama, The Moody Brick is an old plantation house in rural Alabama.  Its bricks positively drip with ghost stories and old legends.  The ghost stories there are so thick you'd have to shovel them away to see past them.   The stories start with tortured slaves who rise up to kill their masters and enter into the civil war when the house was used as a hospital and keep on going through suicide and tragedies.   Ms. Dorothea added another sorrowful tale to the Moody Brick's history.

The paperwork she sent me told of her 3rd Grandfather, Joseph Sanders.   She sent me information that came from a grave website and was submitted by Gary Sanders.  When describing the family relations to the Moody Brick  he told this story:
     "Joseph Sanders had some rebel neighbors.   The rebel neighbors hung him on a mulberry tree because they thought he was giving information to the Yankees.  There were three of the rebels, one a neighbor by the name of Barbee-after killing him they left with a horse thy were using as a pack mule to carry the things that they had taken.  That evening, not long after the rebels had left, a group of Yankees came down out of the mountain and went after the rebels.   They caught up with them near the foot of the mountain close to the old Moody Brick.  The Yankees killed te horse and made the men dig a grave for it.  When the grave was dug- they killed the men- put them in the hole and rolled the horse on top of them. "

 There seem to be many variations on this story.  In some variations, Sanders is shot and killed by bushwhackers rather than rebels.  Either way, the murderers were killed and buried under the mulberry tree at The Moody Brick, adding to the many ghosts that wander the grounds.

Ms. Dorothea also sent me information on The Harris/Moody Brick Family Cemetery located on the grounds of The Moody Brick.  According to this information there are seven marked graves on the cite and six graves with markers but no inscriptions.  There may be as many as 50 graves on the property outside the fenced in family cemetery area.  There was a clean up of the area in 2005 and they attempted to mark as many of these graves as possible with concrete blocks. 

Other information she sent me included a tour guide for the Moody Brick and farm with its history on it.  The tour guide describes the restoration of this beautiful old home and its significance in the history of the region.  It also described the architectural evolution of the house.  At the bottom of the brochure it states: "We appreciate your interest in this historic home.  Unfortunately for some, it is not a paranormal site- no ghosts here."  It is clear the current owners want to respect the history of their amazing house and dispel the folklore and fascination associated with it.  I respect that and include this information in this post so people know not to travel to the house expecting to ghost hunt there.  Although I love the many ghost stories surrounding the house, I appreciate that the current owners want no part in them and ask people to come and visit to enjoy the rich and interesting history, not the ghosts. 

   The pictures Ms. Dorothea sent me are included in this post. I can not thank Ms. Dorothea enough for all the information she sent me and for coming to talk with me about hr family history and the history of the Moody Brick.  I wish I could write another book and include the wealth of information she has sent me.  It was an honor to meet someone who is a part of the history I love and for them to holds me in enough regard to send me information on their family.     

The Ghosts of the Rawls Hotel

The Rawls Hotel is in the Southern most part of Alabama.   It is located in Enterprise, Alabama far from the larger cities like Birmingham or Mobile.   Its history doesn't seem to be marred by murder or tragedy.   Its story is the story of a normal historic, small town hotel.   Japheth Rawls was a developer who had made some profit from turpentine plants.  He decided to invest his money in a small hotel.   He and his wife built the Rawls Hotel in 1903 and named it the McGee Hotel.  It was a small building in the Spanish Mission style.  In 1928, when Japheth passed away,  Jesse Rawls took over the hotel and began remodeling it.  He added two three-story wings to the structure and the Rawls Hotel evolved into a town center.  It was elegant and pretty and  many gatherings and meetings were held in the building.  The Hotel was conveniently placed next to the railroad so travelers to Enterprise could enjoy a pleasant night in a luxurious hotel.  In the 1970s, the hotel fell into disrepair and may have been forgotten if it weren't for Hayden Pursley.  Pursley purchased the building and renovated it.  The Rawls is now a bed and breakfast that is famous for its hauntings and ghosts.

It is my hope to travel down to the Rawls some time in the next several months to learn more about the ghosts that are said to linger in its halls.   The stories say that there are many children ghosts in the old hotel, but I don't know where they come from.  None of the stories seem to explain the presence of so many children ghosts in the hotel.  There is a little girl who has been seen by many visitors and the voices of children are said to come from the wine cellar.  Orbs are frequently seen in photographs and visitors describe feeling a presence in the hotel.  

Mr. Rawls is also said to haunt this old hotel and many have described seeing him in the halls.  He is said to stand by and watch decoration and renovation of the building and his spirit is thought to be interested in the well being of the hotel.   Many of the apparitions of the Rawls are said to linger on the third and forth floor.   The Rawls is listed as one of the most haunted hotels in Alabama.   Hopefully, I will discover why some day in the near future.

The Children of Walker Street

The Spanish Flu killed between 50 million and 100 million people between 1917 and 1920.   It swept the globe, killing people in every corner of the world.  It was a particularly cruel plague.  Most illnesses prey on the weak.  They take the elderly and children, but the Spanish flu was indiscriminate. It killed many healthy young adults as well as the weak. It is considered to be the second largest disaster in human history and it infected 28% of the human population and killed 3% of the global population.  It killed more people than the black plague.  Enormous Flu wards were created to care for the amazing number of sick that over ran hospitals and health facilities where the sick were lined up like cattle to wait for death.

It is no surprise that the Spanish Flu left many ghosts.   I've found many ghost stories related to this terrifying epidemic.  The story of Walker Street in Historic Huntsville, Alabama is one of the sadder of these tales.  According to local legend, the Spanish Flu hit Walker street with a particular cruelty.  It took mostly children, leaving entire homes empty.  So many people died that the bodies of the dead would be left on the front porch  because there weren't enough healthy people left to bury the dead.  

The ghosts of the many children that died on Walker Street during the Spanish Flu are still said to wander the streets at night.  They've been seen singing and playing in the shadowy dark.  They sing nursery rhymes as they play and haunt the living that have been left behind.  There is a  rhyme that the children are said to have made up.  "I had a bird whose name was Enza, I opened the window and in flew Enza."  The children are said to still sing this little rhyme as they wander Walker Street.

The Athens/Limestone County Courthouse

The Drive to Athens, Alabama was petulant today.  Tornadoes are expected and a vicious storm is heading our way.   It is preceded by shadow and wind so strong I had to cling to the steering wheel to keep the car on the road.   It was worth the drive.   Athens, Alabama is that kind of quiet, small, Southern town that belongs in old movies and books.   The old courthouse sits surrounded by a square of historic buildings and old churches.  Even in the shadow, it is alive and is the hub of life in Athens, Alabama.

I couldn't find much on the history of the old courthouse.   Athens was one of the first counties in Alabama to get a courthouse and claims to be the oldest county in Alabama.  The land for Limestone county was ceded from the Cherokee Nation in 1806 and from the Chickasaw in 1816.  For obvious reasons, for many years settlers had to fight off the Natives of the area.   Athens was made county seat in 1818 and during the civil war it was the first county in Alabama to be occupied by union forces.   Athens and the courthouse were sacked and burned.   The Col. responsible for the sacking was court marshaled the behavior in Athens was so terrible.

According to courthouse staff, there used to be a prison on the third floor of the Athens/ Limestone County courthouse.  This is where all the haunting activity is usually said to take place.   Locals say that one of the prisoners hung himself in his jail cell many years ago.  They don't know if he was sorry for what he did or just sorry to be paying the price for it, but he couldn't see the point in living any longer.  He hung himself on the third floor of the county courthouse and his ghost has never left.   Employees didn't have any specific stories for me.  They just knew the story and knew the third floor was haunted.