George Singleton tells of multiple sightings of woman's ghost at stream near Bradley Ridge in Monroe County

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Ghost lady of Bradley Ridge: We meet again” was originally published in the Oct. 24, 2002 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

About ten days ago, I received a telephone call from a lady requesting that I try and write again about a story that I posted in The Journal about 18 years ago. The story was about the ghost of a lady that I had seen over in the area of Bradley Ridge near a small stream. Looking back through my past articles, I discovered that I had come in contact with the ghost lady in the long dress about twice over the past years. Since it had been several years since I had seen her and Halloween was almost upon us, I decided to ride over in the area and perhaps I might, if I was lucky, or unlucky, as some would believe, our paths might cross again there by the small creek.

As I have written about on several other occasions, Monroe County has several “ghost stories” or stories of the “supernatural” that I have investigated since my arrival here in 1964. These stories are due largely to the age of the county and the many early settlements that could be found around the area. If one studies the early history of this county, one will find that many of these old settlements date back to the middle 1700s.

I was first told about this strange event by two of my dear friends whom I got to know and respect very much shortly after my arrival here. My dear friends, Raymond Fountain and Tom Snider, both elderly gentlemen, and both now deceased had a great knowledge of the early happenings around throughout the county. When the two found out that I was deeply interested in the local happenings of strange events, both spent many hours guiding me around, showing me the area and relaying these strange events to me. Each, in their travels around the area, had seen firsthand, most of these stories passed on to me, or knew someone who had witnessed the event themselves.

So, with nothing else to do, I decided to return to the area where I had seen with my own eyes the ghost lady in the long white dress. As I headed in the direction, I was glad that hunting season had not yet begun and my chances of coming in contact with a hunter was almost zero. Taking the narrow back trail, I slowly headed my iron horse through the wooded area, around the steep curves and crooked declines. As I slowly made my way down toward the small streams, I wondered if I would witness the same event that I had seen on two other sightings.

As I rounded the sharp curve in the narrow trail, just before reaching the first small creek, I looked ahead toward where I had first experienced coming in contact with the ghost lady in the long white dress. I glanced off to my right alongside this small stream. Low and behold, there stood to my great disbelief, what appeared to be a young woman. She was dressed in what appeared to be an ankle-length white dress. As before, the sighting almost blew my mind.

As before, it took a minute for this to register in my mind. On two other occasions, I had called out to her asking her if she needed help. This time I remained silent. I said nothing. Almost as if a replay from previous times, I lost sight of her for a moment. Looking as before, down the old abandoned pathway that led to the bend in the small creek, I saw her hurriedly walking toward the small stream and the deep woods.

By this time in the afternoon, the shadows from the tall timbers had shaded the area, and it was beginning to grow quite dark there from the lack of sunlight. I got off my motorcycle and began to slowly walk down the path where I had just seen her. As I had on the other occasions, I began to look for tracks. I felt sure that I wasn’t going to find any, but for some unknown reason, I searched the path anyway. Searching for twisted leaves and broken twigs, I found none. Searching for any evidence of her passing, this was to no avail.

Then, I discovered a large spider web stretched across the narrow path. I knew that no one could have come this way without disturbing the spider web. I was reaffirmed that I had experienced seeing the ghost lady in the long white dress once again.

As on the two other occasions, I began to feel that I was being watched. I felt the hair on the back of my neck begin to tingle. Standing there in the deep shade of the heavy timbers, I realized that I wasn’t as excited as I had been during the other sightings. It was almost like seeing an old acquaintance again. I found myself, to my amazement, to be relaxed and normal, when on times before, I was almost frightened out of my wits.

Looking again down the narrow path, I saw nothing. Turning, I walked the fifty or so yards back up the dim path to where I had left my motorcycle. Turning the motorcycle around before starting the engine, I looked one last time down the dim path where I had just returned from. There she stood, motionless there in the deep shadows, looking toward me as if she was about to speak. Not realizing what I was doing, I raised my hand to wave. I received no response. Then, there before my eyes, the ghost lady in white disappeared in the deep shadows of the tall timber. I saw her no more.

As I made my way out toward the much traveled Ridge Road, I promised myself that before too long, I would return and perhaps that time, bring someone with me. Then, if the young lady in white was seen again, I would have a reliable witness. At least one person would know that I wasn’t crazy. The poet Longfellow just might say it best:

“This is the place, stand still my steed.
And let me review the scene.
And summon from the shadowy past
The forms that once have been.”

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)