13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
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13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey is a book first published in 1969 by folklorist Kathryn Tucker Windham and her former English teacher, Margaret Gillis Figh. The book contains thirteen "true" ghost stories from the U.S. state of Alabama. The book was the first in a series of seven "...and Jeffrey" books, most featuring ghost stories from a Southern state. Jeffrey in the book's title refers to a ghost that allegedly haunts Windham's home.
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[edit] Origins of the book and Jeffrey
According to a letter reprinted in the foreword to the book, Windham became interested in ghost stories after a "ghost" named Jeffrey began to haunt her family. At first, the family heard footsteps in rooms that would later be found empty. Jeffrey especially spooked the family cat, Hornblower.
Jeffrey was also known to move objects. On one occasion, he moved a heavy chest of drawers three or four inches along a wall, blocking the only door to the room. The door was only opened after pushing hard against the door to move the chest. Another time, Jeffrey almost toppled a cake which was placed on the Windham's dining room table during a frantic search for some missing car keys. During the search, Jeffrey pushed the cake to the edge of the table, so that it was teetering, about to fall, when the keys were finally found and the cake was collected.
There is a picture of "Jeffrey," taken inside the Windham home. On the night the picture was made, some young people visiting the Windham home decided to play with a Ouija board, trying to contact Jeffrey. When they later developed pictures taken that night, Jeffrey appeared in one of the shots. Jeffrey appears in the picture as a dark, shadowy blot in a vaguely human-like shape, "standing" next to a girl in the picture.
Soon after this picture was taken, Windham contacted Figh, who was a noted collector of ghost stories, to ask about Jeffrey. Out of that meeting, the idea of 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey was born.
[edit] Stories included
In the preface to the book, Windham says that although there are many ghost stories in Alabama, she wanted to choose stories for her book that had "entertained many generations" and were "a treasured part of Southern folklore." She also said she wanted to preserve pictures of the old houses and other places where the ghosts were said to appear.
Windham sought stories from which she could describe not only the ghost, but also the community and lifestyles of the people who first reported the haunting. In fact, this has been a noted feature of Windham's writing; she spends as much time describing the people and places around the ghost stories as she does the ghost itself.
- The Ghost of the Angry Architect
- Death Lights in the Tower
- The Faithful Vigil at Carlisle Hall
- The Specter in the Maze at Cahaba
- The Phantom Steamboat of the Tombigbee
- The Unquiet Ghost at Gaineswood
- The Face in the Courthouse Window
- Mobile's Pipe-Smoking Captain
- The Return of the Ruined Banker
- The Hole That Will Not Stay Filled
- Huntingdon College's Red Lady
- The Crying Spirit at the Well
- The Dancing Ghost of Grancer Harrison
[edit] Controversy
Despite being very popular in Alabama, the book has attracted a small amount of controversy from some Christians in the state who say the book promotes beliefs incompatible with Christianity. In fact, Windham has said that she has received letters from people telling her she is doomed to hell for writing the "...and Jeffrey" books.
In an interview with The Birmingham News, Windham responded to these claims, saying "If I'm going to hell — and I can't deny that, because it's not for me to judge — it won't be for telling ghost stories; I have far greater shortcomings than that."
[edit] References
- Windham, Kathryn Tucker; Figh, Margaret Gillis. (1969). 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. The University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0376-6.
- Gray, Jeremy. "The tale of the...", The Birmingham News, October 30, 2005. Retrieved on March 10, 2006.
