Kazek is the heiress apparent to Alabama's Kathryn Tucker Windham

Kelly Kazek’s new book, “Some Nightmares Are Real: The Haunting Truth Behind Alabama’s Supernatural Tales,” will be of special interest to readers in Wilcox County because one of the 10 tales featured in this book takes place in Wilcox County.

Published by the University of Alabama Press in August and illustrated by Sarah Cotton, this 135-page book “weaves a gothic tapestry of ten stories drawn from real people and legendary creatures, cursed places, and harrowing events. Each story or legend takes readers to a different place in Alabama.

“Unlike most ghost-story collections, ‘Some Nightmares Are Real’ includes an appendix of facts, historical resources and information about how to visit the locations. These contemporary stories embrace a beloved Southern folkloric tradition for a new generation of young readers. The tales will terrify and ensnare ghost-story lovers of all ages.”

Wilcox County readers will be especially interested in the story of the “Strange Light at Gee’s Bend Ferry.” This story talks of the mysterious “greenish” light that can sometimes be seen in the river near the ferry. Some witnesses claim the light starts small and grows to cover 60 feet.

Some say the mysterious light comes from a military plane that crashed near the landing decades ago. Others say it comes from some mysterious, unidentified creature that lives in the river near the landing. Some say that it comes from a ghostly overturned riverboat while others say that it’s the ghost of a person who drowned in the river.

The book also talks about the Gee’s Bend community and the role the Farm Service Administration played there during the Great Depression. Kazek also talks about the role the ferry played in the Civil Rights Movement. Her book also talks about the community’s famous quilts and the Gee’s Bend Quilters’ Collective.

Other stories in the book include the “Wolf Woman of Mobile,” who is said to have terrified the residents of Alabama’s haunted port city. Kazek’s book also describes the “Dead Children’s Playground” near the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. Another chapter describes the “Old Mill Witch,” who is said to haunt a rickety cotton yarn mill in Jacksonville.

It’s also noteworthy that Kazek dedicated her book to the memory of Kathryn Tucker Windham, the author of “Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey” and a number of other books on Southeastern ghost stories. Windham is no stranger to Wilcox County residents as she worked for a number of years in the county. In many ways, Kazek is the heiress apparent to Windham for her ongoing writings on Alabama ghost stories.

Many in the reading audience will be familiar with Kazek, a Southern writer and folklorist who for many years was the “weird news reporter” for AL.com, the Mobile Press-Register, the Birmingham News and the Huntsville Time. An award-winning journalist, Kazek is also widely known as a humor columnist and Southern culture author. Her previous books include “Y is for Y’all: A Book of Southern ABCs,” “Southern Thesaurus: For When You’re Plumb Out of Things to Say” and “A Guide to the South’s Quirkiest Roadside Attractions.”