Frank the Library Ghost

Now Entering Frank’s Study

Although the Red Lady may be Huntingdon College’s most well known ghost, she is certainly not the only one!

It’s believed the Huntingdon College's Houghton Memorial Library is home to a mysterious, and mischievous spirit named Frank. Perhaps most unsurprising for a library ghost, is Frank’s has a particular fondness for playing with books.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

Sources:

Brown, Alan. Haunted Alabama. Haunted America. New Orleans, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2021.

Huntingdon College. Library: Ghosts. Houghton Memorial Library. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://libguides.huntingdon.edu/website/ghosts 

Mitchell Bennett Houghton (1844-1925). Find a Grave. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65121276/mitchell-bennett-houghton 

Rankin, M. (2020, October 30). Hauntings at Huntingdon: Frank, the Library Ghost. CBS 42 Birmingham. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.cbs42.com/news/hauntings-at-huntingdon-frank-the-library-ghost/ 

Serafin, Faith. Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.

Swancer, Brent. “The Mysterious Lady in Red and Other Hauntings at Huntingdon College.” Journal Online, March 22, 2021. https://journal.com.ph/the-mysterious-lady-in-red-and-other-hauntings-at-huntingdon-college/.

Walking tour. Huntingdon College. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.huntingdon.edu/admission-aid/learn-more/walking-tour/

The Red Lady of Huntingdon College

““Nearly all colleges have ghosts, legends that have grown up around some supernatural occurrences generations of students tell to each other [...] but the finest of those ghost stories, those college ghost stories, is told here at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.””

— Kathryn Tucker Windham

One of the most Iconic College Hauntings in America

Huntingdon College of Montgomery, Alabama regularly makes the lists of ‘most haunted’ universities in America as generations of students have claimed the ghost of a young woman haunts the fourth floor of Pratt Hall--an apparition that has become known as the Red Lady.  Legend claims that this young woman named Martha left behind her home in New York to attend the institution, but upon her arrival, she was overcome by homesickness and the loneliness of being misunderstood by the other girls in her dormitory.  As a result, Martha did something drastic that students continue to whisper about to this day.    

But did Martha actually exist or is this just another tall tale to frighten freshmen?  We will explore this question and more on this week’s episode of Southern Gothic….

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Watch Kathryn Tucker Windham tell the story of the Red Lady of Huntingdon College on Dr. Poppy Moon’s YouTube Channel.

• Listen to Wolfgang Poe on Season One of Ghost Tour.

• Check out Astonishing Legends: The True Story Behind the Exorcist - Episodes 219-221.

Sources:

Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of Southern Colleges and Universities. Winston-Salem, NC: J.F. Blair, 2004.

Brown, Alan. Haunted Alabama. Haunted America. New Orleans, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2021.

Brown, Alan. The Haunting of Alabama. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2017.

Crider, Beverly. “Strange Alabama: The Red Lady of Huntingdon.” AL.com. Advance Local Media LLC, April 17, 2012. https://www.al.com/strange-alabama/2012/04/the_red_lady_of_huntingdon.html.

Ferri, Jessica. “A Crimson Vision: The Red Lady of Huntingdon College.” The Lineup. Open Road Media, August 17, 2016. https://the-line-up.com/the-red-lady.

Hauck, Dennis William. Haunted Places: The National Directory. London: Penguin, 1997.

Huntingdon College. Accessed January 6, 2022. https://www.huntingdon.edu/. 

Huntingdon College's Red Lady. YouTube. Dr. Poppy Moon, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsinhmsF4gA&t=48s.

Kazek, Kelly. “Let's Look at the Real Sites From '13 Alabama Ghosts'.” AL.com. Advance Local Media LLC, October 26, 2018. https://www.al.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/10/4e9023658d7208/lets-look-at-the-real-sites-fr.html.

“Lady in Red (Ghost).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, November 25, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_Red_(ghost). 

Schexnayder, Brandon, Alicia King-Marshall, hosts. “Wolfgang Poe of the Birmingham Historic Touring Company” Ghost Tour (podcast), September 10, 2021, accessed January 5, 2022, https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/blog/gt001

Serafin, Faith. Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.

Swancer, Brent. “The Mysterious Lady in Red and Other Hauntings at Huntingdon College.” Journal Online, March 22, 2021. https://journal.com.ph/the-mysterious-lady-in-red-and-other-hauntings-at-huntingdon-college/.

“White Lady.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 5, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lady. 

Windham, Kathryn Tucker and Margaret Gillis Figh. 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2016. 

Legend of Peter Dromgoole

A UNIVERSITY DISAPPEARANCE

For almost two centuries the legend of the disappearance of Peter Dromgoole has been told by the students of the University of North Carolina.      

In 1833 Peter Dromgoole arrived to study at the University, and although he initially failed the entrance exam Peter remained to prepare to retake the test.  Yet before he could do so, Peter Dromgoole vanished without a trace. 

The oft-told legend of Peter Dromgoole is one of a love story that ends in a tragedy.  There is another version of the tale, one that looks at Dromgoole family letters, in an attempt to discover Peter’s path from North Carolina. 

Today, centuries later, the mystery remains unsolved.  What actually happened to Peter Dromgoole?