Forty-five years ago a writer for the Selma Times-Journal named Kathryn Tucker Windham published a book of old ghost stories entitled 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. This book spawned six additional volumes of ghost stories which have served to inspire the curiosity, and perhaps haunt the dreams, of schoolchildren in the South for decades. This series of nightcaches is inspired by the 13 Alabama Ghosts.
Cahaba was the first permanent state capital of Alabama, from 1820 to 1825. It is now a ghost town, mainly due to two major floods that devastated the once thriving community. In the days before the Civil War, however, more than 3,000 people called Cahaba home.
There were grander and costlier homes in Cahaba than the one occupied by Colonel C. C. Pegues, commanding officer of the Cahaba Rifles, but none surpassed its hospitality. One of the most distinctive features of the premises was a labyrinth, or maze of thick cedars. Young couples enjoyed the privacy of a stroll in the Pegues' maze, and it became part of the ritual of courtship in Cahaba.
One evening a young officer was promenading with his sweetheart in the maze when a large, white glowing ball darted toward them. It appeared to float a few feet above the ground, taunting them, as it moved back and forth from one side of the walk to the other, appearing and disappearing. The officer was bewildered, and tried to catch the object, but it finally vanished completely. In the days and weeks afterward, others began to report the same ghostly white ball, dancing about the labyrinth. It soon became known as Pegues' Ghost, ironically, as Colonel Pegues most likely never heard about the phenomenon. He was mortally wounded in battle at Gaines Mill, Virginia and died soon afterward. Now nothing is left of old Cahaba. Its streets, cemeteries and ruins have been abandoned now for more than a century.
Now a few words of caution, remember you are in a forest. The terrain may be uneven at times. This trail is only accessible by foot. It will take an hour or more to hike the entire trail. Bring water, bring batteries for your torch of choice (and maybe your GPS), and please bring a buddy or two. Oh, and be sure to try and keep that imagination in check as you journey down our little trail.