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| George Buster Singleton |
(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 “Do the spirits of the past guard
that which was theirs?” was originally published in the Nov. 12, 1992 edition
of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)
I know that Halloween is over, and the spirits and goblins
have been put to rest until next October. But during the past two or three
weeks, several people have approached me and asked the same questions. None of
these people knew that I had been asked by others.
The question, though not worded the same, was “Do you
believe that the spirits of the past guard or protect that which was rightfully
theirs in real life?” Each time the question was asked, I was told about
certain happenings that led these people to investigate these strange circumstances.
One story involved a certain section of road in Conecuh
County where several serious vehicle accidents had occurred. These accidents
resulted in several serious injuries or deaths.
Story has it that when the road was built, it was surveyed
across an ancient Indian burial ground. As the machinery plowed up and moved
much of the dirt for the road, there was no regard for the sacred burial
ground. Those who know and believe in the supernatural seem to think that these
accidents happened because the spirits who slept there were disturbed.
Just today, I ventured to the Franklin community. Stopping
at the old store, I became involved in a conversation with a group who were
discussing a strange light that had been seen in the area for many years.
One present in the group had just seen this strange light
only a couple of days before. He reported seeing the unusual light moving along
the top of his pasture fence.
Since I have been in Monroe County, I have had no less than
20 people tell me similar stories of seeing this strange phenomena in the area
of Franklin. Could this be the spirit of someone seeking a lost friend or loved
one who might have disappeared for whatever reason? It has to be something; all
that had seen this strange sighting would not tell the same story if it wasn’t
true.
In many instances, when being told about a sighting of the
supernatural I have been asked not to use the name of the individual who told
me.
A few days back, as I sat in my favorite stop atop Crazy
Nancy Mountain, this vehicle pulled up and stopped. Out of a pickup truck
stepped an elderly gentleman whom I didn’t know.
Strangely, he knew my name; after asking me if I was the one
who wrote the weekly article in The Monroe Journal, he relayed this strange
event to me.
This fellow went on to tell me that he liked to get up
before daylight and go down to the river and fish during the early morning
hours. He stated that a few weeks back, he decided to come down to the park, near
where the ferry is located, and do some fishing.
As he approached the ferry landing, there in the early
predawn light he saw an old woman dipping water from the river with a small
pail. He stated that she was tall and appeared to be very slim. She wore a long
dress and had a bonnet on her head. He also mentioned that she had a long stick
in her left hand, one that might have been used for a walking stick. He said
that he noticed especially her long, snow-white hair that fell down her shoulders
from under her bonnet.
He could not understand why this woman would be down here on
the river at such an early hour in the morning, dipping up river water. He said
he thought she might be with a group camping nearby, but he could not
understand why she was dressed as she was.
As he opened the door of his truck to ask if something was
wrong or if he could assist her, he realized that he was dealing with a spirit
or a ghost; the old lady in the long dress and bonnet had disappeared from
sight.
I asked him if he had been frightened, and he said that he
had been very frightened. He did not understand how she could disappear so
quickly. One second she was standing there, pail in hand, and the next second
she was gone, vanished into thin air. I told him that he had seen Aunt Nancy.
He had never heard the story of Nancy Mountain, the area where we now sat.
Hardly a week passes that someone doesn’t call me or stop me
on the street to relate a story of some strange happening. I have come to realize
that these people are serious and want to be heard. They want to relate their
stories to someone who won’t take lightly these happenings, one who will listen
and believe.
Since early childhood, I have been extremely interested in
the study of the supernatural and have devoted many, many hours in
investigations of the unusual. I believe we must approach this dimension, if
one wishes to call it that, with an open mind.
I know for a fact that one doesn’t have to be ignorant or
lack a certain amount of education to believe. Some of the most educated and
talented people I have known believe that there among us walk the spirits of
another time.
In this world of fantasy and make believe that we now live
in, we should recognize and investigate that which cries out from the distant
past to be remembered. A better knowledge of this dimension would greater
enhance our lives, and we could live together on this planet in closer harmony
and understanding.
The mysteries of our past cry out to tell us something. It’s
best that we stop and listen…
(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 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.)
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