Haunted Piano of Mountain Brook, Alabama

Dr. William Jordan who lived just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, purchased a piano for his kids to play as they were growing up.  He had the desire to learn how to play himself, but never had the opportunity given his busy schedule.  However, in his later years, he managed to learn and churn out a couple of tunes.  There are some that say even though Dr. Jordan is long gone he can still be heard playing the piano on certain nights.

An old piano in the Old Brower Home in Mountain Brook, Alabama is said to play tunes on it's own in the middle of the night.

Recent residents of Dr. Jordan's home which is now known as the Old Brower Home in Mountain Brook, settled into the house and made themselves comfortable.  Except for certain evenings when the sounds of the piano that was left in the house when they took over could be heard.  Family members report hearing "Maple Leaf Rag" and "Stars and Stripes Forever" emanating from the old Steinway piano.  When they investigate, no one is sitting at the piano, yet it sounds as if it is being played.  Those two songs are heard being repeated over and over.

Upon further investigating the piano and the former owner, it turns out that Dr. Jordan, in his elderly years learned to play only two tunes on the Steinway, "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Maple Leaf Rag".


Location: 

3648 Clairmont Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35222
This is a PRIVATE residence!  Permission must be obtained from the owners to investigate the property. 

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References:
voices.yahoo.com

Spirit of Marie Lavaeu, Saint Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana

Marie Lavaeu was a hair dresser in 19th century New Orleans.  However, she had a mysterious side that would become well renowned around the bayou. She was a Voodoo priestess on the side and some say she still walks the streets of her burial place.

The ghost of Voodoo Queen Marie Lavaeu is said to walk Saint Louis Cemetery #1 where she was buried in 1881.

The Saint Louis Cemetery #1, the oldest of the three Saint Louis Cemeteries in New Orleans is said to be haunted by the ghost of Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.  She was entombed there in 1881.  Some believe that the priestess was so good at her craft, that she arises from her grave and walks the cemetery grounds.  A woman wearing African style turban and clothing has been spotted walking through the crowded vaults and tombs of Saint Louis. Some believe this is the spirit of Marie Lavaeu.

The crowed tombs of Saint Louis Cemetery #1 hold over 150,000 bodies including that of Marie Lavaeu and is thought to be one of the most haunted cemeteries in the world.

Built in 1789, the cemetery is said to contain over three hundred bodies per square foot amounting to well over one hundred and fifty thousand human remains in a square block area. Due to the limited space in the city, they began to stack grave upon grave. Some say there are many souls who haunt this graveyard.  Strange sounds such as crying and moaning can be heard emanating from the tombs within its gates.  On certain nights when that are otherwise fog free, an eerie mist seems to move throughout the grave yard in different directions as if guided by some unseen force.

Marie Lavaeu, it is said, likes to stroll out of the graveyard on occasion and walk about. She has also been seen walking the streets of New Orleans itself.  People swear to see Voodoo queen one minute walking down a dark side street, then the next instant they turn around for another look, she is gone!

Location:

29°57'25"N 90°4'34"W
425 Basin Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 

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Phantom Trucker of Booger Mountain - between Barbourville and Corbin, Kentucky

This haunting originates back to the 1950s when the only road between Barbourville and Corbin, Kentucky was a narrow, winding, dangerous road over Gilliam Hill, known locally today as Booger (Bugger) Mountain because of some terrible things that happened there years ago.

A ghostly truck haunts "Booger" Mountain on the highway between Barbourville and Corbin, Kentucky.

Supposedly during the 1950s, when the only passage from Barbourville to Corbin was over the mountains via Highway 25.  On the downward slope, the road gets a bit curvy and dangerous.  A truck driver was coming down the mountain in his rig one night.  Whether he lost his brakes or was just plain going too fast, it is unknown.  Regardless, he lost control of the eighteen wheeler and went over the edge and down the side of the mountain.  He died in the crash.

It is said that on certain Saturday evenings if you are traveling up Booger Mountain, you will see what appears to be truck headlights coming at your or coming up fast behind you in your rear view mirror.  Now matter how hard you try to evade the lights, they seem to turn right towards you.  Then, at the last minute just when you feel you are about to crash, the lights will suddenly swerve away and go over the side and down the hill!  Others have seen a hovering light on the the road or moving along the road which appeared to have the dark shadow of a person inside of it.

Another possible reason people feel that Booger Mountain is haunted are rumors that years ago a serial killer was on the rampage in the area.  He targeted young red headed girls.  One or more of this victims were found on this nasty stretch of road.  You may get the feeling that someone is watching you as you make your way over the mountain in the darkness.  If your hair stands on end and you get an eerie feeling, be sure that it is the ghosts of booger mountain.

No matter what the cause, it is certain that Booger Road is one of the scariest night time passages around.  And as the saying goes...  Don't follow the lights!

Location: 
36° 56' 45.47" N  83° 57' 24.14" W
Barbourville Rd (Ky 1232 or old Highway 25)
Gray, KY 40734

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The Girl on Highway 365 - Woodson, Arkansas

On a stretch of road centered around Woodson, Arkansas, there come tales of drivers who come across a young girl hitching a ride to the town of Woodson, mostly around the month of June on rainy evenings. However, this no ordinary young lady as she is wearing a white gown that is stained with blood from her bruised and battered face with a cut on her forehead. 

The ghost of a girl wanders highway 365 near Woodson, Arkansas.  
Photo credit: © Aija Krodere | Dreamstime.com

Most drivers eager to help the seemingly injured girl, volunteer to take her home to nearby Woodson.  "It isn't far" she tells them.  "I will be fine once I get home".  In most cases, when they arrive at their destination, the drivers get out and go around to help the girl out of the car, the passenger seat is empty.

Upon inquiring within the house to see if somehow the girl slipped inside without being seen, they are informed by the people living there that the girl they are referring to is their daughter.  And that she and her boyfriend were on their way to the prom in May of 1973 when their car skidded off the rain slicked highway and they both died on the scene.

Drivers have spotted this phantom hitchhiker as far north as just south of Little Rock to below Hensley, AR.  So beware as you are driving this stretch of highway in the south eastern United States as you may encounter the girl on highway 365.

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Witch of Winnsboro Courthouse

In the warm humid air of South Carolina in 1792, a plague of sorts shook the residents of Fairfield County.  Many folks were thought to be possessed and at the same time herds of cattle began to fall ill.  People began to suspect that a local band of Gifted Brethen were behind it all.  They were known to use hypnosis and entertain unorthodox customs.  Among them, was a well respected German immigrant named Mary Ingleman.  She as well as a few of her brethren friends were accused of witchery.

The Fairfield County Courthouse in Winnsboro, South Carolina is said to be haunted by the ghost of Mary Ingleman, known as the Witch of Winnsboro Courthouse.

Mary and the others were put on trial, if you could call it that.  It did not take place in any courthouse or local with authorities, but in a barn of a local farmer, Thomas Hill.  The accused were put on trial by their neighbors.  One even accused Mary of turning him into a horse.  Something which may seem like it is right out of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Mary and her friends were of course found guilty and they were severely beaten and had their feet burned by the locals.

After the incident, Mary Ingleman reported those who beat and tortured her to the authorities.  Those who did the actual beating were put on trial and were found guilty.  However, they received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.  Mary was furious and protested to the authorities that justice was not done and never forgave her neighbors for what they had done.  It is said to this day the ghost of Mary Ingleman can be seen on occasion sitting on the steps of the courthouse, continuing her protest for justice into the after world.  She is affectionately know to those who have seen her as The Witch of Winnsboro Courthouse.

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Phantoms of Goat Castle - Natchez, Mississippi

In the 1890s in Natchez, Mississippi, in the an upper class neighborhood lived a couple named Dick and Octavia.  They became friends with another couple and got along well.  That is, until at one point, things drastically went wrong.

The "Goat Castle" of Natchez, Mississippi which is actually the estate named Glenwood

Dick and Octavia lived in their beautiful home called Glenwood, where they passed the time playing the piano, reading, and taking care of their animals.  They became close friends with a neighbor, Jennie Merrill, who lived in an estate next door called Glenburnie.  Jennie was not married, but in a close relationship with a man named Duncan.  It is thought they were forbidden to marry because they were cousins. He would visit with Jennie during the day and return to his home at night. The couples were close and would spend lots of time together.

All this changed when things fell apart between the couples. They stopped going out together and kept apart from each other. Dick and Octavia ran into financial troubles and let their estate run down. Animals roamed freely all over the place. Then one day in the 1930s, Duncan went to visit Jennie at Glenburnie and discovered a trail of blood leading from her house.  After a search by police, Jennie's body was discovered in the woods nearby.  She was murdered.  Her body was found riddled with bullet holes.  Suspicion went directly to Dick and Octavia.  This is when the previously beautiful Glenwood estate got the name Goat Castle.  The couple became the center of investigation and soon people far and wide learned of the dilapidated, animal infested mansion with goats roaming freely about the place.

Dick and Octavia claimed that they could hear and see strange things in the woods were Jennie's body was found.  The believed that it may have been her ghost returning to haunt them. Later, they were cleared of all suspicion when the real killer was found.  The couple decided to charge admission and give tours to Goat Castle so that they could make money.

Gravestone of Octavia Dockery the Mistress of Goat Castle

Eventually, Dick and Octavia passed away and their beloved Goat Mansion was bulldozed to the ground.  Today, a community sits on the grounds of the former estates and the area is known as Glenwood. Many claim that the apparition of two women can be seen floating through the woods surrounding the area and on certain nights, the sounds of piano music can be heard on the wind.

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Spirits of the Sinyard House - Hawkinsville, Georgia

In the small Georgia town of Hawkinsville, located halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, there is a home that for a while seemed most ordinary.  That is until work some work was done on it and extensive changes were made.  The changes in the house seemed to awaken something... spirits who dwelled within.

Spirits from the post Civil War era haunt the Sinyard House in Hawkinsville, Georgia - Image courtesy of Photostock freedigitalphotos.net

After the Sinyard home was remodeled, strange things started to happen with in the home.  A huge amount of poltergeist activity accompanied by sightings of the paranormal kind.  It is believed that this poltergeist has moved things around, pulled items out of kitchen cabinets and slammed the doors shut.  Folks have been taking showers and the curtain would suddenly open by an unseen hand. Also the sounds of a child playing upstairs, laughing and giggling has been heard by some witnesses who claim that no child was present in the home. Poltergeist activities have been long thought to be caused by the spirits of dead children, the life taken away from them in their youth, so they like to play in the afterlife.

Other things happen in the house that would suggest that this poltergeist is not alone.  Heavy footsteps have been heard going up the stairs when no one was there.  Clothing left in rumpled piles have been found neatly folded and placed in a stack on the foot of the bed.  Occasionally the smell of perfume can be detected with in certain areas of the house.  A kind not worn by any occupant.  There has been instances where a woman's voice has been heard singing upstairs as if singing a lullaby to a child.  And on a rare occasion the actually full bodied apparition of an unrecognized woman has been seen in the windows of the upper floors by people passing by.

The ghostly image of a woman has been seen in the upper floors of The Sinyard House in Hawkinsville, Georgia - Image courtesy of thephotoholic freedigitalphotos.net

After the owners did some research on the property, it was discovered that sometime shortly after the Civil War, a live-in maid stayed in the household and she had a child.  The reason that is known is because records indicated that one day the woman and her child were found dead.  The life needlessly taken away from them.

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