Should you stay away from Nancy Mountain on Halloween?

Halloween will come to pass on Monday, and all week I’ve been asking myself one question: What’s the “spookiest” place in all of Monroe County?

If I had to pin it down to just once place, I’d say its Nancy Mountain. Located near the Davis Ferry at Haines Island, just off County Road 17 at Franklin, it’s not just creepy, it’s also the home to one of the county’s most enduring ghost stories, the story of “Crazy Nancy.”

Variations of this ghost story exist, but the most common version says that the ghost of a woman, “Crazy Nancy” or “Aunt Nancy” or “Nancy Haines,” can be seen walking up and down the hill to Davis Ferry in hopes of meeting her son and husband who were killed in the War Between the States, never to return. Witnesses say that this female phantom is seen walking with a lantern (or long walking stick) in one hand and with a bucket of water in the other.

According to paranormal investigator George B. Singleton’s book, “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” you’ll know this spirit by her long, gingham dress, her old bonnet and the long, white hair that hangs out the back of her bonnet and all the way down to her waist. In addition to his book, Singleton wrote about Nancy Mountain numerous times over the years in his popular weekly Monroe Journal column, “Somewhere in Time.” Many readers will remember Singleton, who lived in Monroeville and passed away in 2007.

A little over six years ago, my son James and I spent an entire night on Nancy Mountain. We camped out in a simple tent and turned in after a hot meal cooked over a small campfire. For the record, we never saw “Crazy Nancy,” but it was a memorable trip.

The most memorable thing that I took away from that long night is that Nancy Mountain is the darkest place that I have ever been in my life. We pitched our tent in the woods, about 75 yards from the road, and it was an overcast, moonless night. Around 3 a.m., a noise – probably an armadillo – woke me up, and without turning on my flashlight, I unzipped the tent.

I peered out of the tent and down the trail in the direction of my truck, but I couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black dark, so dark that I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. It was like my eyes were closed. It was like being blind.

I honestly did not know that anywhere outdoors could be so absolutely devoid of all light. Take my word for it when I say that when it gets dark on Nancy Mountain, it gets dark with a capital “D.”

In the end, it would be interesting to hear from any readers who have had their own unusual experiences on Nancy Mountain. No doubt many of you have been there late at night, and some of you may have seen something out of the ordinary. With that said, if I could give you any words of friendly advice, it would be to think long and hard about staying away from Nancy Mountain on Halloween.