Kathryn Tucker Windham
| Kathryn Tucker Windham | |
|---|---|
Windham on her balcony in Selma in 2007
|
|
| Born |
June 2, 1918 Selma, Alabama |
| Died | June 12, 2011 (aged 93) Selma, Alabama |
| Occupation | Journalist, short story writer, storyteller, photographer |
| Nationality | American |
| Subject | Fiction, Non-fiction |
Kathryn Tucker Windham (June 2, 1918 – June 12, 2011) was an American storyteller, author, photographer, folklorist, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama and grew up in nearby Thomasville.
Windham got her first writing job at the age of 12, reviewing movies for her cousin's small town newspaper, The Thomasville Times. She earned a B.A. degree from Huntingdon College in 1939. Soon after graduating she became the first woman journalist for the Alabama Journal. Starting in 1944, she worked for The Birmingham News. In 1946 she married Amasa Benjamin Windham with whom she had three children. In 1956 she went to work at the Selma Times-Journal where she won several Associated Press awards for her writing and photography. She died on June 12, 2011.
Kathryn Tucker Windham wrote a series of books of "true" ghost stories, based on local folklore, beginning with 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey (1969). Other titles were Jeffrey Introduces 13 More Southern Ghosts (1971), 13 Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey (1973), 13 Mississippi Ghosts and Jeffrey (1974), 13 Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey (1976), and Jeffrey's Latest 13: More Alabama Ghosts (1982). In 2004, she wrote Jeffrey's Favorite 13 Ghost Stories, which was a collection of featured stories from the previous books.
Jeffrey is a purported ghost that took up residence in the Windham house in October 1966. According to a letter printed in the foreword to 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, Windham became interested in ghost stories after this ghost began to haunt her family. At first, the family heard footsteps in rooms that would later be found empty. Sometimes, objects had been moved.
A photo of Jeffrey was accidentally taken when some young people visiting the Windham home decided to play with a Ouija board in an effort to contact the ghost. When photos from that night were developed, a dark shadowy blot with a vaguely human-like shape was found to be in one image. Soon after this picture was taken, Windham contacted Margaret Gillis Figh, who was a noted collector of ghost stories, to ask about Jeffrey. Out of that meeting, the idea for 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey was inspired.
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