September 25, 2008

LIVINGSTON, Ala.--Just in time for Halloween, a University of West Alabama professor and author will introduce his latest book of ghost lore and lead a free walking tour that includes some of the most frightening places in Livingston, including several UWA buildings.

Dr. Alan Brown has recorded ghost stories from across the United States in eight books of ghost lore. His most recent collection, “Ghost Hunters of New England,” will be available at a book signing Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. at UWA’s Spence-Moon House. The free walking ghost tour of the small Sumter County town will leave from the Moon House at 7 p.m.

Brown, a member of the UWA English faculty since 1986, says that because ghost stories are legends, the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred mid-way through the telling.

“As famed Alabama storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham says, ghost stories make people wonder, ‘Can such things be? Could this really have happened?’” Brown said. “In addition, ghost stories hold out hope for people who are searching for proof that the human soul is indeed immortal and that there truly is life after death.”

Brown says he enjoys leading ghost tours because they spark interest in the history and folklore of Livingston, one of Alabama’s most fascinating small towns.

“Ghost tours compel people to take a second look at sites they drive by every day, but do not know nearly as well as they think they do,” he said. “They inspire people to see that these old buildings might be more historically significant than they realize.”

Stops on the one-mile tour include several haunted homes currently occupied by Livingston families and many campus buildings.

“UWA employees and students report seeing spirits in both Brock Hall and Webb Hall, a former girls’ dormitory that now houses University administration,” said Brown. “Others claim that strange occurrences in Bibb Graves Hall cause them to believe it is haunted.”  

UWA’s Julia S. Tutwiler Library, another stop on the tour, was the site of paranormal investigation by the ghost hunting organization Orbservations. The group used tape recorders to hear electronic voice phenomenon and digital cameras to capture floating orbs in the library.

The library is said to be haunted by the ghost of Miss Lucile Foust, an old maid who was principal of the University’s lab school in the 1930s. Her portrait now hangs on the building's second floor. According to Brown, the strange activity began in 1995 when the portrait of another university official, Dr. Lyon, was moved to the library. The two did not get along in life, and it seems Miss Foust is trying to get revenge even in death, he said.

Ghost stories from the Tutwiler Library include spectral fingers gliding through the hair of librarians at the front desk, an antique wheelchair propelling itself out of the second floor conference room, books falling off shelves by themselves and cabinet doors opening and slamming shut inexplicably, Brown said.

The most disturbing story involves a female spirit, probably Miss Foust, who frightened both a student and a security guard on separate occasions.

“The security guard saw Miss Foust’s reflection in the glass doors of the building. She was standing behind him,” Brown said. “The guard retired from the University that year, and I believe the experience still haunts him today.”

Brown says tales such as those from the Tutwiler Library stimulate the imaginations of people who might have adopted the view that life is boringly familiar.

“I particularly enjoy the looks on children’s faces as I tell them about strange things that happened right where they are standing,” he said.

Autographed copies of Brown’s “Ghost Hunters of New England” will be available for $19.95 at the book signing and reception. For more information about his latest book or the walking ghost tour of Livingston, contact Brown at 205-652-3521 or abrown@uwa.edu.