10 Haunted Places to Visit During Your Next Trip to Alabama

Everyone loves a good ghost story. That's what makes authors like Stephen King, Bentley Little and Robert R. McCammon so popular. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the South. A combination of old traditions, Civil War history and African religions brought to America by slaves presents a rich tapestry rife with ghosts and hauntings.

We start our tour of "These Haunted States of America" in Alabama. "The Heart of Dixie" is home to 4,447,100 people and a number of ghosts including a phantom hitchhiker, a pipe-smoking sea captain, a mysterious student known as the Red Lady and the face of an accused arsonist etched into the window of a courthouse. So, the next time you're in Alabama, here are 10 haunted locations to visit.

1. CARROLLTON: Pickens County Courthouse

In 1876, Henry Wells, an African-American man who lived alone outside of the town limits was blamed for the November 16 fire that burned down the Carrollton Courthouse. He was quickly arrested and jailed in the attic of the building that was to be the new Carrollton Courthouse. A lynch mob gathered to demand that Wells be delivered up for their brand of justice. It was a February afternoon in 1878 and a thunderstorm began to gather over Carrollton. As the mob bickered with the sheriff, Wells peeked out of the window at the top of the building. At that moment, a lightning bolt struck the building where Wells stood, killing him instantly. His face and expression was etched into the windowpane by the bolt and no amount of effort, scrubbing or solvents have been able to erase it from the glass. According to local legend, when thunderstorms roll through Carrollton, you can see the ghost of Henry Wells staring out from the window.

2. DECATUR: Highway 11