HauntBound Press Fact Sheet · Updated September 2026
The Most Haunted Places in Alabama
Alabama has 100 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
Top 10 identified after source-level analysis of the 22 strongest Alabama candidates.
By the numbers
- Total documented
- 100
- Museum / Historical Site
- 22
- Outdoor / Natural Site
- 20
- Cemetery / Burial Ground
- 17
- Family-friendly
- 99
- Bookable
- 28
- Oldest documented site
- Cathedral Square (Campo Santo site) (1711)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
Ranked
- 1. Maple Hill Cemetery Maple Hill Cemetery, Alabama's oldest and largest burial ground, was established in 1822 and now holds more than 80,000 graves, including five governors and five senators, with a substantial Confederate section from the Civil War era. Visitors report figures in nineteenth-century dress near the older monuments, cold spots in the ironwork-enclosed family plots, and the sound of a woman crying in the older Confederate section. 6 original accounts · documented across 6 decades, 1839-2021 · retold in 4 later publications
- 2. Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark Sloss Furnaces produced pig iron in Birmingham from 1882 to 1971, worked largely by Black laborers in extreme heat; at least 47 worker deaths were documented over the operating era. The site's popular ghost story of a foreman named 'Slag' Wormwood is acknowledged by historians as a fictional invention for the haunted attraction. Visitors nonetheless report phantom whistles, disembodied voices telling them to get back to work, and being shoved near the old casting shed. 3 original accounts · documented across 6 decades, 1887-2026 · retold in 2 later publications
- 3. The Redmont Hotel HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across five kinds of published source. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and objects moving. 3 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1934-2024 · retold in 4 later publications
- 4. Sturdivant Hall HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this historic home, across four kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and disembodied voices. 3 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1867-1980 · retold in 2 later publications
- 5. Cry Baby Hollow Bridge — Hartselle HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this outdoor site, across three kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include touches and pushes. 3 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1940-2025 · retold in 2 later publications
- 6. The Alabama Theatre HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this working theater, across three kinds of published source. Reported phenomena include apparitions and objects moving. 3 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1986-2012
- 7. Bill Sketoe's Hole, Choctawhatchee Bridge Methodist minister William Sketoe was seized by Confederate Home Guard troops and hanged at the Choctawhatchee River bridge near Newton on December 3, 1864, accused of desertion after tending his ill wife; government archives hold no record that he ever served in a Confederate unit. The original site was covered by rock when the Choctawhatchee flooded in 1990, and a historical marker at John Hutto Park tells his story today. 2 original accounts · documented across 6 decades, 1864-2025 · retold in 6 later publications
- 8. The Tutwiler Hotel (Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler) HauntBound identified three distinct published accounts at this working hotel. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and disembodied voices. 3 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1995-2026 · retold in 4 later publications
- 9. Auburn University Chapel HauntBound identified one distinct published account at this documented site, across four kinds of published source. Three later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include electrical anomalies and orbs. 1 original account · documented across 5 decades, 1920-2012 · retold in 3 later publications
- 10. St. James Hotel HauntBound identified two distinct published accounts at this working hotel. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and shadow figures. 2 original accounts · documented across 3 decades, 1881-1997 · retold in 4 later publications
By city
- Mobile: 15 documented sites
- Birmingham: 10 documented sites
- Tuscaloosa: 5 documented sites
- Florence: 5 documented sites
- Montgomery: 4 documented sites
- Auburn: 4 documented sites
- Opelika: 4 documented sites
- Decatur: 3 documented sites
- Huntsville: 3 documented sites
- Selma: 3 documented sites
- 42 more across the rest of Alabama
Press images
- Maple Hill Cemetery LonelyPilgrim, CC BY 2.5, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maple_Hill_Cemetery_Huntsville_Alabama_Front1.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/maple-hill-cemetery/hero.jpg
- Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sloss_Furnaces,_Birmingham_AL,_North_view_20160714_1.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/sloss-furnaces-national-historic-landmark/hero.jpg
- The Redmont Hotel Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Redmont_Hotel_Nov_2011_02.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/redmont-hotel-birmingham/hero.jpg
- Sturdivant Hall Altairisfar hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/sturdivant-hall/hero.jpg
- The Alabama Theatre DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alabama_Theatre,_Birmingham_AL,_West_view_20160714_1.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/alabama-theatre-birmingham/hero.jpg
- Bill Sketoe's Hole, Choctawhatchee Bridge Ecjmartin1 hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/bill-sketoes-hole-newton/hero.jpg
- The Tutwiler Hotel (Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler) Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tutwiler_Hotel_Nov_2011_01.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/tutwiler-hotel-birmingham/hero.jpg
- Auburn University Chapel Rivers A. Langley; SaveRivers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Auburn_University_Chapel.JPG hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/auburn-university-chapel/hero.jpg
- St. James Hotel Carol M. Highsmith hauntbound.com/images/locations/alabama/st-james-hotel-selma/hero.jpg
Images listed here may be republished with the credit shown; all other HauntBound images are not offered for press use.
Superlatives
- Oldest documented site: Cathedral Square (Campo Santo site) Documented since 1711.
- Most documented: Maple Hill Cemetery 6 distinct published accounts.
- Top haunted stay: Kate Shepard House Bed and Breakfast Overnight stays bookable.
- Most family-friendly: Boyington Oak Family Comfort rating: High.
Methodology
For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.
The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.
Updated September 29, 2026: documented totals now exclude the private homes, operating hospitals and venues with nothing left to visit that were withdrawn on September 25 and 26. The ranked ten are unchanged.
Updated October 19, 2026: listings that could not be sourced, or that are private or have no public access, were withdrawn after an October review, so some of the state's town counts are lower. The documented total stays as published until the November update.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.