HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A circa-1850 Huntsville home with a documented Underground Railroad secret room — and active paranormal investigation events tied to the people who passed through its hidden staircase.
1205 Kildare St NW, Huntsville, AL 35801
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ghost hunt events are ticketed; check event listings for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story home with stairs; narrow interior passages.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1850 · Documented Underground Railroad station with physical evidence: secret room and sound-dampened staircase · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places · Confirmed by local news investigation (WAFF, 2023)
John Tate Lowry built the house at 1205 Kildare Street NW around 1850, during the period when Huntsville was a significant slaveholding city in North Alabama. Lowry was an abolitionist who used the property as a station on the Underground Railroad — a role confirmed by a February 2023 WAFF news investigation and independently corroborated by the Lowry House Wikipedia entry listing it on the National Register of Historic Places.
The physical evidence of the Railroad's presence remains intact: an upstairs room where freedom seekers were hidden, and a staircase that was engineered with modified joinery to suppress the sound of footsteps — a precaution against the possibility of patrollers searching the home. These architectural features distinguish the site from locations where Underground Railroad history is claimed without physical documentation.
The house also carries reports of a violent death on the property involving a woman, though the specific historical documentation of this event is limited in publicly available sources. It operates today as an events venue and is regularly scheduled for paranormal investigation nights listed through the Huntsville tourism authority.
Sources
The paranormal investigation events at the Lowry House draw their framing primarily from the Underground Railroad history of the site. Investigators report a 'Lady in White' apparition in the front bedroom, a full-bodied figure seen in the kitchen, and unexplained sounds including footsteps on the modified staircase — sounds that would have been deliberately suppressed during the home's operational period as a station.
The specific character of the legends here differs from more theatrical haunted-house accounts: participants are on a documented historical site with physical evidence of its concealed past still intact, and the reported phenomena are tied to people who had real, documented reasons to pass silently through the building. Investigators using EVP equipment, EMF detectors, and infrared cameras have reported activity during organized events.
The site's event calendar through Huntsville's tourism authority confirms active ghost hunt programming, making this one of the few Underground Railroad-connected sites in Alabama with regular public paranormal investigation access.
Notable Entities
Ticketed paranormal investigation evenings in the circa-1850 home that served as a documented Underground Railroad station. Investigators have access to the secret upstairs room with specially silenced stairs, the front bedroom where a Lady in White apparition is reported, and the kitchen where a full-bodied figure has been observed.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hopkinsville, KY
The Knight House is the oldest surviving structure in Hopkinsville and Christian County, built between 1815 and 1820. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Knight family, prominent lawyers and real estate investors, occupied the house until the 1940s.
King George, VA
Belle Grove Plantation in King George County, Virginia was established around 1670 on the banks of the Rappahannock River. The plantation is the birthplace of President James Madison, born here March 16, 1751 in an earlier house that no longer stands; his mother Eleanor Conway Madison was visiting her family's plantation. The current Federal-style mansion was built in 1791 by John Hipkins for his daughter Fannie, and expanded in the mid-1800s by Carolinus Turner who added the porticos and terminal wings. The property now operates as a bed and breakfast and paranormal investigation venue.
Huntsville, AL
Built in 1819 by Thomas Weeden, the Weeden House is documented as Alabama's oldest standing public home. It was the lifelong residence of his daughter Maria Howard Weeden, a painter and poet who was born, lived, and died within its walls. The home is now a museum managed by the Twickenham Historic Preservation District Association.