The Face in the Window and Other Alabama Ghostlore

By Alan Brown

True voices, real places, and unforgettable chills: Alabama's ghost stories, gathered with scholarly care, reveal how memory, history, and belief linger--whispering from bridges, homes, cemeteries, and courthouses statewide today still.

The Face in the Window and Other Alabama Ghostlore is a landmark collection that preserves and brings to life Alabama's rich tradition of supernatural storytelling. Rather than offering fictional retellings, this book presents ghost stories as they are told--by neighbors, families, students, and elders--rooted firmly in real places and lived experience. Alan Brown captures the voices of Alabamians across generations, revealing how belief, memory, humor, and fear continue to shape the state's cultural landscape.

The collection is organized by geographic region, spiraling across the state so readers can explore local lore county by county and town by town. Many stories were gathered directly through fieldwork, lectures, and interviews, while others draw on previously unpublished Works Progress Administration materials from the 1930s. Dialect and storytelling style are preserved to maintain authenticity, and scholarly notes are placed at the back to keep the narratives accessible. Brown, a folklorist and former lecturer for the Alabama Humanities Foundation, brings both academic rigor and deep respect for oral tradition to the collection.

This collection will delight readers interested in folklore, Southern history, oral culture, and the supernatural. It is invaluable for scholars and students, irresistible to ghost-story enthusiasts, and especially meaningful for Alabamians eager to see their communities and traditions thoughtfully recorded and remembered.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081730813X
• ISBN13: 9780817308131
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"