The Josephine
Hotel – Union Springs, Alabama
About 40
miles southeast of Montgomery, Alabama, just off highway 82, is the sleepy town
of Union Springs, Alabama. This small community has managed to preserve some of
its most historic buildings which are now serving as a spiritual mecca for the supernatural.
For years the residents of Union Springs
have seen, heard and felt the presence of shadowy spirits, piano playing
specters, and ladies dressed in white Victorian gowns. The days of the antebellum-era
are long gone and the streets are no longer filled with horse drawn carriages,
but the ghosts of that time are still very much alive and are waiting to tell
their stories.
Some of the historical
buildings in Bullock County include the court house, which is rumored to be
haunted by several spirits, including a former sheriff named Red Williams, the Pauly
Jail and the Josephine hotel. The Pauly jail has been restored to a great state
of preservation and serves as a museum dedicated to the history of law
enforcement during prohibition in Bullock County. The three story building is
complete with a trap door and eyelet where a single noose hangs. It was also
used in the 2006 movie, “Heavens Fall”
and the scene for the jail on the bottom floor was kept after production for
patrons to see.
Perhaps the
most impressive building, from the aspects of stature, history and spirits, is
the Josephine Hotel. This building once hosted some of the South’s most festive
parties and the most charming masquerade balls held East of New Orleans. It was
built in 1880 by Robert A. Fleming and was named for his beautiful wife, “Josephine”.
The lavish dinners held here brought guests from all over the region. Under the
careful and meticulous eye of Mrs. Josephine Fleming, the hotel hosted “bird
dinners”. Wild fowl were brought into the hotel by local hunters and piled in
rows in front of the hotel. The birds were prepared and served in to guests
from the town’s most elite and most prominent families in the hotels formal
dining room. Other splendid dinners included oysters, shipped in from as far
away as Eufaula, Alabama and Orchestra’s from Columbus, Georgia serenaded the
guests into the late evening hours.
Over time
the hotel changed hands and was renamed the “Drummers Center” and “Commercial
Hotel”. The 32-room hotel was still considered one of the finest in the region
and the saloons, located on the bottom floor, hosted cards games and kept the
finest whiskey in town. In 1903, the building became the property of F.F.
Ravencroft, a druggist and active supporter in the campaigns of tonics or “near
beers”, as they were called during prohibition. Ravencroft established his
pharmacy here for many years until the building eventually became a commercial property.
The old piano, located on the second floor of this three story, historic, hotel has been heard playing a ghostly tune. |
Logic, of
course, plays a big part in dismissing some of the claims of the paranormal
activity here at the Josephine, but ghost hunting teams, who have investigated
the building, have been able to document many of the ghost sightings and
sounds. During one investigation, by the Alabama Paranormal Research Team, a
team member found herself in the grips of a frightening experience when a photo
of the hotel literally flew off the wall toward her in the downstairs parlor. Sounds
were recorded by the team that matched a sighting from a local who said he saw
a woman dressed in white, mid-century, clothing appear in the 2nd floor window.
The EVP recorded that night also captured a woman’s voice. When the investigator
asked for anyone present to touch the electromagnetic device, the voice
captured on the audio of the camera said, “Yes”. Light anomalies were also
captured manifesting out of thin air on the second floor, and the sensation of being
watched was very prominent among all the investigators.
The spirits
of the Josephine Hotel have recently been documented in the new publication, “Haunted Alabama Black Belt” by David
Higdon and Brett Talley. Other stories from Bullock County include the Pauly
Jail and the Bullock County Courthouse. This 23 chapter guide to the Alabama
black belt’s ghosts has an abundance of supernatural history. It’s definitely a
book for the ghost story enthusiast or history buff. New stories from the
region are being reported daily, and for the Josephine Hotel, lunch crowds that
spend an afternoon in the deli may find more than just a great meal or snack. If
your curiosity encourages you to visit, feel free to ask the Perrin’s about
their personal experiences. They are more than willing to share them with you.