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| Albertville, Alabama 1908 |
It was April 24, 1908 in the north Alabama city of
Albertville. The people in town had noticed the rainy and humid weather that day but in that time, severe weather was simply a part of everyday
life living in tornado alley. The area had always been prone to tornado weather
but no emergency warning system or any amount of human intuition could prepare the
city for the devastation that was coming.
In the late afternoon, severe wind and rain began to
fall on northern portions of Alabama, dumping hail and sleet for miles. As
the warm air of the hot Alabama spring hit the cooler air masses, a change in
the weather went from bad to worse. By 4 o’clock, a tornado had touched down
near Albertville and was spiraling quickly toward the small town. Hiding was futile as the monstrous cyclone ripped through the city. It left a trail of
destruction and devastation for almost ten miles; straight through the heart of town.
Albertville was almost completely destroyed. The
rows of stores along Main Street had been ripped clean off the facade. Entire
buildings collapsed under the crushing winds and the small wooden homes in the
region were spun about the country side. One of the homes was the McCord residence. It wasn't destroyed but the heavy winds from the tornado picked it up off it's foundation and dropped it back down as it passed by. Unfortunately, young Eric McCord had taken refuge under the house and when the house came down on top of him, it crushed him to death.
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| The ghost of Eric McCord is believed to be one of the many spirits that haunts the Main Street businesses located in Albertville, Alabama. He was crushed to death during the tornado of 1908. |
There were people both dead and missing in the wreckage. The result was 35
people killed from Gadsden to Albertville and 15 of those people were residents
of Albertville.
Since the great cyclone of 1908, other storms have
devastated the region as well, earning that particular part of the
United States the nickname, “Tornado Alley”. It’s a dangerous place to live but
tougher still to live among the scores of ghosts who still consider Albertville their home. The City library was one of the most haunted locations in
Albertville until it was destroyed by another tornado in 2010.
Ironically, the
storm happened 102 years to the day of the great cyclone disaster. The library
was built on the grounds of a former home and the spirits who haunted the
library were apparently the long dead people who used to live there. Slamming
and stomping inside the library were a every day occurrence when the
librarians arrived to open for business. The facet in the bathrooms often
turned on and off by itself, scaring the daylights out of many of the patrons.
Other parts of Albertville are also exclusively
haunted by the spirits of young children. Main Street has been a source of
paranormal sightings since the 1908 tornado. One apparition of a little boy,
wearing khaki colored suspender nickers and a white shirt has been seen running
barefoot through the street late at night. He’s reportedly stopped a few cars
by darting out in front of them, giggling hysterically as he runs by.
One
resident of Albertville had an experience she would never forget when she lived
in the small apartment building complex located on Main Street. As she looked
out of her apartment window one late summer night, she peered down at the street
and saw several young children, dressed in 19th century clothing,
playing and walking along the streets and sidewalks. She knew it was much too
late for young children to be out and in the middle of the street. What self-respecting parent would allow such a thing? She watched the
children for a long time and said as the dawn broke over the horizon, the
little children simply faded away.
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| Main Street in in Albertville, Alabama has been a location closely associated with the sightings of many "ghost children". They are believed to be the spirits of those who died in the great cyclone of 1908. |
If that isn't odd enough, other business locations
in town also claim to have seen the ghost children of Main Street inside their shops
and restaurants. A flower shop recently contacted the Alabama Ghost Hunters for an investigation regarding their supernatural experiences that was featured on The Weather Channel's, Twisted Believers. The ladies who worked in and owned
the flower shop said they often heard banging beneath the store floor and
sometimes the front door would open and close, as if someone was leaving the store. One of the most
unnerving experiences came one afternoon as the ladies were working inside and
heard the front door chime as if someone came inside. As they turned to greet
their customer, no one was there. But, they could hear the sound of
footsteps approaching the back counter as if someone had come in and walked
toward the register. Several minutes later, as the ladies looked through the
store, baffled by the experience, the front door open again and the footsteps
stopped.
Other strange experiences from the city cemetery,
located just a few blocks from Main Street, have locals wondering
about the spirits that haunt Albertville. The small cemetery is located in a
residential area but many of the graves here are now covered or no longer
marked. Encroachment has made the cemetery much smaller than it was originally, but
residents who live in the surrounding homes and neighborhood, say they close
their windows and lock their doors at night, but it doesn't keep the ghosts
from coming in.
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| The City Cemetery - Albertville, Alabama |
Albertville has suffered weather related tragedies
for over a century. The Cherokee people who inhabited the region before 1830 called
the area, “gi-ga-ha-i e-qu u-no-le” which translates too, “land of great
winds”. They obviously knew the dangers that came with living in the area and the devastating consequences. It's doubtful that anyone in 1908 would have known that
the terrible storms that impacted the region would have produced such a haunted town. However, much like the cyclone of 1908, the weather related tragedies of the city are still a very real threat to the people who live in Tornado Alley. But for the ghosts of those who were killed in the storms, they will forever take refuge among the living.
