Kathryn Tucker Windham
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Kathryn Tucker Windham (born June 2, 1918) is a storyteller, author, photographer and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama and was raised in nearby Thomasville.
Tucker got her first writing job at the age of 12, reviewing movies for her cousin's small town newspaper, The Thomasville Times. She earned a B.A. degree from Huntingdon College in 1939. Soon after graduating she became a reporter for the Alabama Journal. Starting in 1944 she worked for the Birmingham News. In 1946 she married Amasa Benjamin Windham with whom she had 3 children. In 1956 she went to work at the Selma Times-Journal where she won several Associated Press awards for her writing and photography. She currently can be heard each Friday morning on Alabama Public Radio, where she has been writing weekly commentaries for the past 25 years.
The 2004 documentary film, Kathryn: The Story of a Teller, directed by Norton Dill, chronicles Windham's life and varied careers.
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[edit] Ghost Stories
Kathryn Tucker Windham wrote a series of children's books of "true" ghost stories, starting with 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey (1964). Other titles were Jeffrey Introduces 13 More Southern Ghosts (1971), Thirteen Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey (1973), Thirteen Mississippi Ghosts and Jeffrey (1974), Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey (1976), and Jeffrey's Latest Thirteen: More Alabama Ghosts (1982).
In 2004, she wrote Jeffrey's Favorite 13 Ghost Stories: From Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, which was a collection of featured stories from the previous books.
[edit] Jeffrey
Jeffrey is the friendly ghost that took up residence in the Windham house in 1966. According to a letter reprinted in the foreword to 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, 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, 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 for 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey was born.
[edit] Storytelling
Following an invitation to speak at The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee she began to gain attention for what some consider her greatest gift, storytelling. She often appears at storytelling events, historical meetings and classrooms. Her stories about ghosts and growing up and living in the Southern United States have earned her a place on National Public Radio's All Things Considered which has brought her national attention and praise.
[edit] They Call Me Julia
Kathryn Tucker Windham also appears on stage in a one woman play about Julia Tutwiler. The play is named They Call Me Julia and is based on Kathryn Tucker Windham's book of the same name.
[edit] Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum
The Thomasville campus of Alabama Southern Community College is home to the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum.[1]
[edit] Personal papers and manuscripts
Kathryn Tucker Windham's personal papers and manuscripts from 1939-1995 were donated to the Special Collections department of the Auburn University Libraries.
[edit] See also
[edit] Reference/External Links
- "Kathryn Tucker Windham". Retrieved on January 5, 2006.
- "A Southern Treasure". Expression. Retrieved on January 5, 2006.
- Kathryn Tucker Windham's books on Amazon.com
- Kathryn: The Story of a Teller DVD at The Documentary Depot
- Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum. Retrieved on August 25, 2006.
