| Address |
| Carrollton, AL, USA (Carrollton, Alabama)
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| Information |
The Fires
On November 16, 1876, the Carrollton courthouse burned to the ground for the second time. The courthouse had originally been burned by Union Army troops as they were sent West from Tuscaloosa to scout for advances from Mississippi. Eventually after the war, the courthouse was rebuilt. But, less than twelve years after Union troops burned the first courthouse, the new one burned, believed to be a break-in gone awry. The townspeople angered over the loss of the courthouse for a second time wanted revenge and decided to focus their pain from the first fire along with the second. Their wrath finally settled on Henry Wells.
Henry Wells
Henry Wells was said to have a horrible temper, and there was no denying he had been involved in several brawls. However, only sparse evidence linked Wells to the November 1876 fire. Regardless he was arrested and convicted on four counts: arson, burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and assault with intent to murder. The sheriff decided to hold him in the office, located inside the newly completed courthouse.
Bad feelings grew quickly in the town. A few drunk men began heading toward the courthouse, so the sheriff took Wells into the garret of the new courthouse. Wells, hearing the mob grow outside went to the window. Afraid of the mob's intentions he yelled, "I am innocent. If you kill me, I am going to haunt you for the rest of your lives!" Just then, a bolt of lightning struck nearby, flashing the image of Wells' face, contorted with fear, to the crowd below.
The mob forced its way into the courthouse, and took Wells outside. His cries went in vain, as the mob carried out it's vengeance. None of them even considered Wells' predictions of hauntings, at least not until the next morning.
Early the next morning, as a member of the mob passed the courthouse, and glanced up at the window. He was horrified to see a face looking down at him, just like the night before. He screamed, bringing others and as they arrived, they all remembered Wells prediction. "If you kill me, I am going to haunt you for the rest of your lives!".
The Courthouse Today
The face remains in the courthouse window to this very day. No amount of washing has been able to remove it. It is said that when you look out of the window from the inside you can not see the face, it can only be viewed from the street. And on at least one occasion, it is said that every window pane in the courthouse was broken by a hailstorm; every pane that is, except for the pane from which Wells continues to look down accusingly on the town that put him to death. An arrow has been placed on the outside of the building, pointing to the ghostly visage. |
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| Related Sites |
Wikipedia: Pickens County Courthouse
Wikipedia's entry on the Pickens County Courthouse where the alleged face of Henry Wills can still be seen in a window to this day. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| The Old State House Museum |
| Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark |
| Burkittsville, Maryland |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: The Ghostly Visage of Pickens County Courthouse (11/16/08) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
The glaring garret ghost: since 1878, the horror-stricken face of Henry Wells has supposedly glared from the garret window of the Pickens County Courthouse ... real?: An article from: Skeptical Inquir |
Alabama Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Curiosities Series) |
Shadows and Cypress: Southern Ghost Stories |
Haunted Places in the American South |
Dixie Spirits: True Tales of the Strange and Supernatural in the South |
Smoky Mountain Tales |
Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations |
Haunted America |
Haunted Heritage: A Definitive Collection of North American Ghost Stories (Haunted America) |
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ghosts and Hauntings |
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