Haunted Places in Alabama: 10 Sites With Real History

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The haunted places in Alabama run from a Birmingham blast-furnace complex to a Black Belt ghost town and a string of Greek Revival mansions, and many of the best-known ghost stories trace back to one book: Kathryn Tucker Windham's 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey (1969). Below are 10 haunted places in Alabama, each split into what the record supports and what is only told as legend. Most hauntings here rest on that book, local ghost tours, and paranormal-list websites, and we say so wherever that is the case. One famous “ghost” turns out to have been invented for a Halloween attraction.

Quick answer if you're short on time: Of the haunted places in Alabama listed here, Sloss Furnaces has the strongest documented history (and a ghost story its own historian calls made up), the Drish House and Sturdivant Hall are the most-cited mansion legends, and Old Cahawba is the best place to see a real ghost town.

1. Sloss Furnaces (Birmingham)

Colonel James Withers Sloss founded the Sloss Furnace Company, and the first furnace was blown in during April 1882. It produced pig iron until it closed in 1970 or 1971 (our sources differ on the year), became a National Historic Landmark on May 29, 1981, and opened as a museum in September 1983. Sloss history is also labor history: the workplace was rigidly segregated until the 1960s, and convict labor, mostly Black, supplemented the region's coal mines until 1928. The ghost lore centers on “Slag” Wormwood, an abusive foreman supposedly pushed to his death in 1906. That story is not history. A Birmingham-area account quotes Sloss historian Karen Utz saying the “Slag” tale was made up by outside Halloween promoters, and the Sloss Fright Furnace haunted attraction ran from 1998 to 2019. We could not verify the worker-death figures quoted on ghost sites, so we give none.

Can you visit: Yes. It is a free museum with a visitor center that opened in 2016. Confirm hours and event schedules first.

2. Dr. John R. Drish House (Tuscaloosa)

Dr. John R. Drish, a Virginia-born physician and contractor, commissioned the stuccoed brick mansion in 1837. It was later remodeled in the Italianate style with a three-story tower. It became the Jemison School in 1906, was a parts warehouse after 1925, and was bought by Southside Baptist Church in 1940. The Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society acquired it in 2007, and a private owner bought it in 2012. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The ghost story, mysterious fires and lights in the tower, is told in Windham's “Death Lights in the Tower.” It is folklore, with no documented cause. For the full story, read our article on the haunted story of the Dr. John R. Drish House in Tuscaloosa.

Can you visit: It is privately owned. View it from public ground and check for any announced events.

3. Sturdivant Hall (Selma)

Colonel Edward T. Watts commissioned the Greek Revival mansion at 713 Mabry Street, built between 1852 and 1856 and designed by Thomas Helm Lee. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (January 18, 1973). The City of Selma bought it in 1957 and turned it into a house museum. The ghost story is “The Return of the Ruined Banker” from Windham's book: former owner John McGee Parkman is said to have vowed never to leave his house and to haunt it after death. We found no document behind the vow itself.

Can you visit: Yes, as a house museum. Confirm tour hours.

4. Gaineswood (Demopolis)

General Nathan Bryan Whitfield designed and built Gaineswood, starting in 1843 and finishing in 1861. The Greek Revival house uses Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders and was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 7, 1973. The state bought it in 1966, and the Alabama Historical Commission runs it as a museum. The ghost is told in “The Unquiet Ghost at Gaineswood”: Evelyn Carter, a visitor who loved to play the piano and died during a stay, is said to play it still. Paranormal-list sites add that she is angry her body was not returned home quickly. We found that detail only on those sites, so treat it as legend.

Can you visit: Yes, as a state-run museum. Check seasonal hours.

5. Bluff Hall (Demopolis)

Allen Glover built Bluff Hall in 1832 for his daughter and her husband, Francis Strother Lyon. It was listed on the National Register on July 28, 1970, and the Marengo County Historical Society bought it in 1967 and runs it as a museum restored to its 1850s look. The haunting is smaller-scale: a regional ghost-tour article says overnight visitors in 2003 heard a noise like a child jumping rope upstairs, which was later linked to a boy who died of scarlet fever in 1877. That link is after-the-fact storytelling from one retelling, and we did not find a primary record of it.

Can you visit: Yes, as a museum. Confirm hours with the historical society.

6. Old Cahawba (near Selma)

Cahawba was Alabama's first permanent state capital, from 1820 to 1825, and the legislature moved to Tuscaloosa in 1826. The town stayed the Dallas County seat until 1866, when flooding drove the move to Selma, and its population fell from 1,920 in 1860 to 431 by 1870. Most buildings were gone by 1903, and it is now the Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, listed on the National Register in 1973. The classic ghost story, "Pegues' Ghost," describes a glowing white light a young couple saw in 1862 behind Colonel C.C. Pegues's house, after he had been mortally wounded at Seven Pines. Windham's book retells a Cahaba story, “The Specter in the Maze.” The park also runs a Haunted History Tour, which is entertainment built on real history, not proof of anything.

Can you visit: Yes. It is a public park, and the haunted tour has run in October. Confirm dates before going.

7. Red Lady of Huntingdon College (Montgomery)

Huntingdon College was chartered February 2, 1854, as Tuskegee Female College, moved to Montgomery in 1909, and took its current name in 1935. Julia Pratt Hall was built in 1912, was a dormitory, and now houses the education and psychology department. The “Red Lady” ghost is a campus legend from Windham's book and Daniel Barefoot's Haunted Halls of Ivy. One version has a woman in red who died in a dormitory room, but the sources give no surname, date, or record of her existence. Sororities hold a “Red Lady Run” each October, so it is living tradition, not documented history.

Can you visit: It is an active college campus. Stay on public areas and respect classes and residents.

8. Bragg-Mitchell Mansion (Mobile)

Judge John Bragg bought the land on May 10, 1855, and built the Greek Revival mansion with Italianate details, attributed to his brother, architect Alexander J. Bragg. It was added to the National Register on September 27, 1972, and is a house museum often called one of the most photographed buildings in Mobile. A Mobile ghost-tour roundup describes a lady of the house with a phantom cat, reportedly seen since the 1970s, and sightings of Judge Bragg. These are tour-site and visitor reports with no independent record.

Can you visit: Yes, as a museum and event venue. Check current tour hours.

9. Huntsville Depot (Huntsville)

The depot was built in 1860. After Union forces occupied Huntsville in 1862, it was used as a prison for Confederate soldiers, and graffiti the soldiers left can still be seen. It was listed on the National Register on September 10, 1971. As of October 2024 the earlier museum operator was no longer involved, and the property had returned to City of Huntsville control, so its current public access is unclear and needs checking. Local ghost write-ups describe footsteps on the upper floors, a train engineer on the platform, and a Confederate soldier at a third-floor window. All of that is visitor testimony.

Can you visit: Not confirmed. Operating status was in flux in late 2024, so check with the City of Huntsville before planning.

10. Fort Gaines (Dauphin Island)

Fort Gaines, designed by Joseph G. Totten, was built in 1821 and played a role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. It is on the National Register (December 12, 1976) and operates as a historic site with a museum and reenactment events. Erosion is a serious threat: the beach and dunes have lost up to 10 feet a year, and the fort has appeared on endangered-site lists. We found no well-sourced ghost account for it in our checks. It is included here as a real military ruin that ghost-tour lists often mention, not as a documented haunting.

Can you visit: Yes, as a historic site. Confirm hours and any closures from erosion work.

What's Actually Verifiable

Across these haunted places in Alabama, the construction dates, National Register listings, and historical events are documented. The ghosts mostly are not. The most useful single fact is the Sloss case: the best-known “Slag” Wormwood legend was invented to sell tickets, which should make you read the other stories with care. Many of the mansion ghosts come from a single 1969 folklore book, a respected collection of Southern tales but not an investigation.

Visiting Haunted Places in Alabama Responsibly

Haunted places in Alabama include state museums, a working college, and private homes. Stay on public ground, use official tours, and do not enter closed buildings or fenced land. Trespassing is illegal, and a few of these properties are privately owned. Hours and events change from year to year, so check each site before you plan a trip. Mobile's best-known local legend is the Boyington Oak, a story tied to a Mobile cemetery. For the wider American picture, see our guide to haunted places in the United States, and for sites that welcome visitors, our list of real haunted places you can actually visit on Halloween.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most haunted place in Alabama?

There is no objective ranking of haunted places in Alabama. Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham and Old Cahawba are the most frequently named, while mansions like the Drish House and Sturdivant Hall come from Windham's folklore book. Treat any “most haunted” label as marketing, since the ghosts are unproven and the history is what can be checked.

Is Sloss Furnaces really haunted?

There is no verified evidence of it. The site's real history is industrial and includes hard, segregated labor. The popular “Slag” Wormwood story is described by a Sloss historian as invented by outside Halloween promoters, and the Sloss Fright Furnace attraction ran from 1998 to 2019. The museum is open to visitors for the history.

What is the book 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey?

It is a 1969 collection by Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh, published by Strode Publishers, and the first of a seven-book series. It retells stories tied to the Drish House, Sturdivant Hall, Gaineswood, Cahaba, and Huntingdon College. It is regional folklore, not documentation, and it shaped Alabama's ghost reputation.

Which haunted places in Alabama can you visit?

Several are open as museums or parks: Sloss Furnaces, Sturdivant Hall, Gaineswood, Bluff Hall, Old Cahawba, the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion, and Fort Gaines. The Drish House is private, Huntingdon College is an active campus, and Huntsville Depot's status needs checking. Always confirm hours before you travel.

Is Old Cahawba really a ghost town?

Yes, in the ordinary sense. It was the state capital from 1820 to 1825, lost the county seat in 1866 after flooding, and had lost most of its buildings by 1903. It is now an archaeological park. Its ghost stories, such as Pegues' Ghost, are legends layered on that real abandonment.

Is it legal to explore abandoned haunted places in Alabama?

Not without permission. Entering closed buildings or private land without the owner's consent is trespassing. The legal ways to see these sites are public visiting hours, museum tours, and official events such as the Old Cahawba haunted tour, so plan around those and always ask first.