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Sat, Nov 21 2009 

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Clayton Baptist Church Cemetery, Clayton, Alabama: Legend says William T. Mullen wouldn’t give up the bottle no matter how much his wife begged. It is said she even threatened to embarrass him into the afterlife. When Mullen died before his 30th birthday on July 18, 1863, his wife erected this tombstone, reportedly shaped like a bottle of whiskey to keep her promise.


Six of Kelly Kazek's stories appear in "Weird U.S.: The ODDyssey Continues"


Mt. Nebo Cemetery, Clarke County: In this isolated cemetery off a dirt road in southwestern Alabama, concrete faces stare back at those who happen to stumble across it. Those who attend Mt. Nebo Baptist Church are aware of the folk art tombstones and try to protect them from outsiders. The stones were created by Isaac Nettles Sr., an inventor born in the 1880s. Local lore says the faces are not death masks but were made while the subjects were living by pressing faces into wet sand and then pouring concrete into the molds. Some of these unique stones have been mutilated by time, weather and vandals, but a few are in pristine condition.


Carrollton, Alabama, is likely one of the few cities in the country to have a window as a tourist attraction. And this window is the result of a mystery. Legend says the image of a face that can be seen in a pane on an upper floor of the courthouse was etched there one stormy, violent night in the town’s history. Henry Wells, whom townspeople thought had burned down the courthouse in the 1870s, was held prisoner on a top floor as a mob gathered below. When lightning struck, his horrified expression was etched into the glass. The pane is now marked with a sign so curious visitors can see it.


Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, Colbert County, Alabama: In an isolated, wooded spot in the woods of Colbert County southwest of Tuscumbia, nearly 200 coon dogs are buried in the only cemetery of its kind in the world. Key Underwood has stated in interviews he never envisioned a cemetery when he buried his faithful companion Troop in 1937 in the woods where they so often hunted. But other hunters wanted to honor their dogs, too, and more burials followed. Dogs must be certified as coon dogs to be buried there. The cemetery is now a tourist attraction and the site of an annual Labor Day celebration and liar’s contest. It has been featured in dozens of publications and on television shows.


Oakwood Cemetery, Lanett, Alabama: Visitors to Oakwood Cemetery are often astonished to find this brick playhouse, complete with real windows, wrought-iron columns and a sidewalk leading to the front door. A peek inside shows dolls and doll furniture — and a child’s tomb. This is the final resting place of Little Nadine Earles, who died of diphtheria at age 4 in 1933. Her tragic death came just before she could receive her Christmas gift, the playhouse her father was building. Her parents reportedly held a postmortem birthday party at the site and placed a Christmas tree in the house until their deaths. They are now buried beside the small house.


Creepy and kooky: Weird in Alabama

By Kelly Kazek
kelly@athensnews-courier.com

MM: That book was such a success that our publishers asked us what we wanted to do next. We told them we wanted to chronicle the unwritten folklore, creepy cemeteries, cursed locations and outlandish roadside oddities that were to be found in every state. And so the Weird U.S. book series was born, each tome focusing on the peculiarities of a particular state.

The series now includes dozens of books specific to particular states, though “Weird Alabama” has not yet been written.

KK: What do you think is compelling about weird things?

MM: By definition, “weird” is a word that describes something so out of the ordinary that it stand outs from that which we’ve come to expect. I think people need that kind of stimulation to snap them out of the mundane realities of daily life. Weird things remind us that life is truly a mysterious, fascinating and unbelievably amazing adventure.

Something weird is not necessarily scary or haunted, sometimes it’s just odd or out of the ordinary––out of place. Sometimes it is just something so absurd and ridiculous that all you can do is laugh about it. Other times though, it is something so disturbing that it makes you uncomfortable and ill at ease. Weird is often an intangible thing, hard to describe, something that gives you a feeling that you can’t quite put your finger on. For us it is the spice of life and something to be savored. It could be anything from a mysterious ancient stone structure in the woods to a person who spends all his days waving to passersby from his front lawn.

KK: What have you learned?

MM: We just never know what crazy adventure we will be on next. One day you’re spending the night in an abandoned insane asylum in Ohio, trying to make contact with a long dead inmate, the next day you’re interviewing a man in the Mojave Desert who has constructed a Technicolor mountain of mud in tribute to God. It's all good, and weird.

It’s been our experience that the more weirdness you discover, the more you realize how much more is out there yet to be found. One can only imagine the countless tales out there across the country yet to be told. Even after years of traveling, we know that we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. In this respect Weird U.S. is a lot like life; it’s the journey itself, not the destination that is really important.



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