Paranormal investigations open doors to surprising encounters, new visitors and financial support at historic venues
Story and Photos By Colette Boehm
From the shores of the Bon Secour River near the coast to an Underground Railroad stop in north Alabama, visitors can take part in paranormal investigations at sites considered to be among the state’s most haunted. But on these ghost tours, the spirits are generally friendly and venues reap rewards.
“Ever since the age of six I have always had paranormal and psychic experiences where I have had things happen to me that are unexplainable,” says Lesley Ann Hyde, of Southern Ghost Girls Tours. “I feel angels speaking with me. I’ve had all these weird experiences.”
Her fascination with those experiences, coupled with a heart for giving back to historic places, led Hyde to start Southern Ghost Girls Tours. She and her team, predominantly women, lead tours and “investigations” at historic venues throughout Alabama and beyond. The events introduce participants to the venue and its history and invite spirits to reveal themselves to the group. The experience blends a scientific approach, using tools and equipment, with what Hyde considers a spiritual element, her mediumship, along with the open-mindedness of the participants.
“I ask that people be openminded,” she says. “We just want to make it a safe space; an environment where people feel comfortable. A safe space for people to explore something different that they’ve not done before.”
Many participants, she notes, are interested in exploring a phenomenon they want to learn more about. “A lot of people at our tours are like, ‘You know, I’ve had these experiences, but I’ve never been able to tell people about it, and this is cool that there are other people I’m meeting that have had these same experiences.’”
Hyde estimates about 50 percent of the people who come to her events have had some type of other-worldly encounter and are curious to find out more about what these experiences mean. Or, she says, they’re looking for closure by using her mediumship work. “It’s the best feeling in the world,” she says, “to help those people. It’s like they get a bonus
psychic reading.”
No matter their reason for coming, participants learn of the history and lore of the tour venues, and how they are woven into the fabric of their communities. The guests are also sustaining the venues by showing up. Each tour supports the host locations financially, fulfilling one of Hyde’s business objectives.
“I wanted to do something fun and give back to the community. And it popped into my mind: I’m going to start a company doing ghost tours. I’m going to start a company where we raise money for historic preservation.” Since the business’ inception she estimates it has contributed more than a half a million dollars back to historic preservation. “Every historic venue that we do the tours at, we give back. That’s really my mission and purpose for the company and for what I do. Plus, I just absolutely love it. I love getting to
meet people.”
Different personalities, different energy
It’s clear that she has come to love the venues she visits regularly as well. Her tours are held at venues considered to be some of the most haunted in the state. They each have a personality of their own, she says, and in most cases, have resident paranormal personalities that join in the tours.
“Every single venue has a different energy,” she notes. “In our investigations, we do try to speak with the residents of the houses, but there are other spirits that can come through. So, there is always a different vibe.” The form of that communication can be as varied as the “vibe.” Hyde recalls seeing what she considers evidence of active spirits in forms including setting off equipment sensors, footsteps in hallways and stairs, random item movements and figures appearing in photographs.
In the nearly 10 years of investigations at the Arlington House in Birmingham, the spirit of Judge William Mudd often comes through. At Huntsville’s Historic Lowry House, they’ve witnessed a lot of activity related to the house’s Underground Railroad connections as well as the spirit of former resident Anne Lowry.
While at the Swift-Coles Historic Home in Bon Secour, the rich history of the area adds variety to the spirits encountered. They include British soldiers and Civil War soldiers as well as family members who lived in the home. Through the use of a variety of electronic tools, combined with questions from both Hyde and tour participants, the events “allow the ghosts to tell their own story,” she says.
Those personal stories help honor the history of venue, according to Hyde. “People who would never come to just a history tour of a place will come for the ghost hunt, and they’ll learn the history. They may not know that they’re learning history, but they’re having fun while learning the history.”
Swift-Coles Manager Susan Reynolds agrees.
“It’s a good way to bring people into the house. The people who come, as Lesley said, are here for the excitement, probably more so than the history. But we want to get people into the house. This is an old house and requires a lot of maintenance. And that’s expensive. This goes towards helping us to achieve that goal. It’s just another thing to get more people in to enjoy our house, and they’ll tell
friends, hopefully.”
Southern Ghost Girls Tours holds events in venues as diverse as Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, the Drish House in Tuscaloosa and the Historic Painted Lady Hotel in Birmingham. They also host Ghost Walks and Murder Mystery Dinners.
The Original Alabama Ghost Girl: Kathryn Tucker Windham
No discussion of ghosts in Alabama would be complete without giving a nod to author, photographer and legendary storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham (1918-2011). Her 1969 book, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, penned with Margaret Gillis Figh, introduced a generation of children to the Windham family’s friendly spirit, Jeffrey, along with stories of other Alabama spirits.
Southern Ghost Girls Tours owner Lesley Ann Hyde recalls Windham’s books being an influence during her childhood.
“I was a huge fan as a little girl,” she said. “I vividly recall when we would get to go to the library at school. I would go straight for the 13 Alabama Ghosts, 13 Tennessee Ghosts, books and read them during library time and check them out. I absolutely loved them! Actually, for my 30th birthday, I got a complete set of all of her books! Still have them.”
While Windham’s stories were about ghosts and haunted locations, her daughter Dilcy Windham Hilley notes that Kathryn’s true love was the sharing of the stories themselves.
“She was much more interested in preserving the folklore and the history of the stories,” Hilley notes. “That was her purpose. To preserve the stories as folklore.
“People would say, ‘Well, Miss Windham, do you believe in ghosts?’ And she’d say, ‘I believe that the people who tell me the stories believe. I believe them.’”
Windham’s ghost stories, as well as her many other accomplishments, are documented at the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum on the Thomasville campus of Coastal Alabama Community College and at kathryntuckerwindham.com.
