Is Evergreen library, CCHS Building haunted? Some say 'yes!'

Last Thursday, in the spirit of Halloween, I gave you my list of the “Top 10 Spookiest Places in Conecuh County, Alabama.”

I ended that post by asking readers to contact me with their own ghost stories, and, as things turned out, I didn’t have to wait long for two readers to contact me with a pair of spooky tales.

Last Thursday morning, a retired schoolteacher contacted me with an eerie story about a school building in Conecuh County. According to this veteran teacher, she had more than a few chilling experiences while working late at Conecuh County High School in Castleberry.

She claimed that on a number of occasions she heard running footsteps in the building’s attic and on each occasion she knew that she was the only person in the building.

“It will give you a chill up your spine,” she said. “I know because it happened many times to me when I was teaching there, working late and knew I was alone.”

The Conecuh County High School building, which now houses Conecuh County Junior High School, was constructed in 1936. Since the late 1930s, thousands of students have passed through the halls of this school, which has bound to have been the site of a number of accidents over the years.

The second ghost story that came my way this week is about the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library, located on Cemetery Avenue in Evergreen.

Present and former staff members at the library, pictured above, have had a number of unusual experiences in the buildings, including cold temperatures even when the thermostat’s turned up, unexplained thumping noises throughout the building and finding lights on that should have been off. Staffers have also found books “turned topsy-turvy” or misplaced on shelves as well as items on the floor, even though things had been in their proper place when they closed the building the day before.

They say that this unusual activity has increased now that the building’s second floor has been opened for public use after recent renovations. Workers there also say that strange sounds have been on the rise, including the sound of someone coming up the stairs even when no one is there.

All of this aside, some library employees also claim to have actually seen a ghost outside on the library grounds. They describe this ghost as a young girl, wearing what looks like turn-of-the-century clothing and riding breeches, standing next to a phantom horse. The girl has her arm draped around the horse’s neck, witnesses said.

According to local historians, as many as three houses were once located on the corner where the library property sits today, so maybe this ghostly girl once tended her horse there decades ago.

In the end, I’d like to hear from you if you know a good local ghost story or have information about a spooky location in Conecuh County. You can reach me by calling 578-1492, by e-mail at courantsports@earthlink.net or by mail at The Evergreen Courant, ATTN: Lee Peacock, P.O. Box 440, Evergreen, AL 36401.