Alabama’s dark tourism scene is packed with unsettling legends, haunted landmarks, and locations with bizarre, macabre histories. Here are 13 attractions for those drawn to the creepy and macabre:
Sloss Furnaces (Birmingham)
Site of deadly industrial accidents and repeated paranormal investigations, visitors report screams, shadow figures, and eerie voices in the ruins of this historic blast furnace.
Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville)
Alabama’s oldest burial ground, rife with ghost stories and an infamous playground rumored to be visited by the spirits of children.
Battle House Hotel (Mobile)
Haunted tales of tragic deaths, ghostly sightings, and mysterious events—including the legend of Henry Butler and the Crystal Ballroom’s hanging bride—make this hotel a supernatural hotspot.
Malaga Inn (Mobile)
Guests experience swinging chandeliers, flickering lights, and the appearance of a phantom woman in white, especially in room 007, at this Civil War-era inn.
Edmund King House (Montevallo)
Spectral lights and footsteps plague this historic university site, where the ghost of Edmund King (who built the home in 1823) reportedly lingers.
Pickens County Courthouse (Carrollton)
Home to a window with a mysterious face allegedly belonging to Henry Wells, a former slave lynched in the courthouse yard; legend says the image survived even after all other panes were shattered in a storm.
Sweetwater Mansion (Florence)
Ghost sightings and paranormal investigations are frequent at this antebellum home, with Civil War spirits and tragic deaths casting a shadow over its halls.
Fort Morgan (Mobile)
Civil War battles, shipwrecks, and eerie apparitions make this Gulf Coast fortress a haven for both history buffs and ghost hunters.
Drish House (Tuscaloosa)
Once a plantation home, it’s infamous for ghostly lights in the windows, sudden cold spots, and tales of restless spirits linked to the tragic Drish family.
Gaines Ridge Dinner Club (Camden)
A restaurant housed in a haunted antebellum mansion serving Southern cuisine amid reports of apparitions and unexplained phenomena.
Tombigbee River Ghost Ship (Pennington)
Legend says the Eliza Battle showboat rises on the river during stormy nights, its blazing lights warning of disaster; tales persist of the specter ship appearing to locals.
Pratt Hall—Red Lady Ghost (Huntingdon College, Montgomery)
Campus hauntings trace back to the tragic suicide of a lonely student in the college’s early days, her “Red Lady” apparition seen wandering the halls in crimson.
Hugging Molly (Abbeville)
A boogeywoman legend still celebrated locally, Hugging Molly’s menacing figure is said to chase and embrace children out after dark; the town even features a diner themed after her creepy story.
Each site delivers distinctive chills—whether with local lore, haunted history, or paranormal investigations—perfect for dark tourism and fans of the truly eerie.
Sources
(https://alabamanewscenter.com/2023/10/25/5-spooky-places-to-visit-in-alabama/)
(https://bienvillebitesfoodtour.com/blog/12-haunted-places-in-mobile-alabama/)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reportedly_haunted_locations_in_the_United_States)
(https://alabama.travel/article/the-most-haunted-places-in-alabama)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZPuBFWj4Ig)
