THE FACE ON THE WINDOW

Do you believe in ghosts or hauntings? Well, whether you do or not, I have a story for you!

There is a building in Alabama that is said to be haunted by an innocent man who was lynched. Some feel his presence, others hear his voice, but most can see a “face” on a window at the historic Pickens County Courthouse located in Carrollton.

In 1876, the courthouse burned down and was rebuilt. In 1878, Henry Wells was arrested for burning the building. An angry mob formed and Henry fled.

You’ll find many versions of this story in books and on the net but I’ve read that Henry claimed to be innocent. Did he have a chance to prove his innocence? Did he have an alibi? Would anyone even believe him? You see, some stories say that Henry was a freed slave who was often discriminated against because of his skin color. And, this was in Alabama in the late 1800s…

The story goes that Henry fled to the attic of the new courthouse to get away from the mob. As he stood by the attic window watching the angry mob below, a thunderstorm rolled in. Lightning struck and an image of his face was etched onto the window!! The mob made it to the attic, dragged him out of the building, then he was lynched!

That “face” image on the window is still there – today! Tales say the window has been vigorously cleaned but the etched image can’t be removed. Other stories say a violent hail storm came through the area and broke all of the windows except the one with the face!

Like with most ghost stories, there are always skeptics but we had to know. Hubby and I drove the 33 miles from Tuscaloosa to Carrolton to check out the window. We had to see it for ourselves.

The area was mostly deserted, no one on the streets, a few vehicles went by while we were outside the building taking photos. It was a weekend so the building was not open. You can see our pics below. Notice that they have put an arrow on the side of the building pointing to “the” window. How convenient, huh? There is also a binocular viewer in place for getting a close up view of the window.

Look closely at the last image. Do you see a face? What do you think, do you believe?

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Sylvia | Grace for a Gypsy

· Reply

August 4, 2022 at 10:49 PM

Oh I love ghost stories! I remember you telling me about visiting this place! It’s hard not to believe when you can clearly see his face in the window! Great post, I believe!

Dee | Grammy's Grid
· Reply

Author

August 5, 2022 at 2:31 PM

Thanks, Sylvia, glad you liked it!! Yes, there is definitely something on the window!!

Gina

August 10, 2022 at 9:17 PM

My family visited the Hotel Coronado across the bridge from San Diego which is supposed to have a “ghost in the window”. My girls must have taken a thousand pictures of those windows! Luckily they were digital. Lol. Too bad they don’t have an arrow.

Dee | Grammy's Grid
· Reply

Author

August 10, 2022 at 9:51 PM

Gina, the arrow helped a lot 🙂 Did your girls find the exact window?
- Gina
  · Reply
  
  August 10, 2022 at 10:23 PM
  
  Unfortunately not, but it’s made a great family memory and story for lots of years.
  - Dee | Grammy's Grid
    · Reply
    
    Author
    
    August 11, 2022 at 5:39 AM
    
    Gina, I think lots of us have ghost stories and enjoy them 🙂

Lisa Blair

August 12, 2022 at 12:20 PM

I’ve never heard of lightning etching face in glass before, Dee.

Dee | Grammy's Grid
· Reply

Author

August 12, 2022 at 4:24 PM

Lisa, neither have I but this is a ghost tale so it’s up to you to believe. And, they do claim that the “image” on the window is for real. To me it looks like a clown face but I’ve seen many supposed ghost faces that look like a clown.
- TJM
  · Reply
  
  March 21, 2023 at 7:26 PM
  
  It is real, though the truth is no one knows why it is there. The myth is simply that, a myth, though a myth based in fact. The true story of Henry Wells is different from the legend, and he was already dead when the windows were installed. As for the face, I know for a fact that it has been there for at least 120 years, probably longer, as it was already attracting the attention of visitors to the town in 1903. It was mentioned in an article in a local paper that year, along with a photograph of the courthouse. Even back then no one could say what caused the face to appear, though people had their theories, pretty much all of which were of a supernatural origin. The part about the hailstorm is true. I believe that happened in 1927, and there may have been a second on a different date. It is also true that the window has been examined and people have tried to remove it or debunk it as a hoax, but it could never be removed. I’ve been studying the story of the face for a while, and so far I haven’t been able to find a possible origin either. I’ve only just begun to dig into archival stuff, but I have already gone through stuff going back all the way to 1878. Every time the face has been mentioned so far, it’s already there, and people are already staring at it as they pass by.
  - Dee | Grammy's Grid
    · Reply
    
    Author
    
    March 22, 2023 at 3:55 AM
    
    Thomas, thanks for sharing your info on this. Like I said, you’ll find many versions of this story in books and on the net. It is definitely interesting!