Karli Maudlin
Assistant News Editor
Jill Odom
Variety Editor
(PHOTOS by April Irvin and Hannah Crews)
While Troy doesn’t have a particularly haunted history, there are still some notable locations that have an eerie feeling.
In the spirit of Halloween, we have compiled some of the spooky spots around the city and campus.
A word of warning, some of these places are private property and should be treated with caution and respect.
Sometimes the suggestion of a place being scary or creepy causes the mind to see things that aren’t there, so please take these allegedly haunted or paranormal places with a grain of salt.
1. Hell’s Gates
The real name is Carroll Street Cemetery, but it is also called Hell’s Gates due to its creepy setting.
When you drive down Vine Street, which leads to the cemetery, the over-arching tree branches blot out the sky, and moss grows on the broken pavement. With no streetlights and only one house facing the road, there is very little light.
If you visit this spot at night, your headlights reflecting on the closed gates at the end of an empty, pitch-black street make for an unnerving site.
In the daylight it isn’t as bad, but the sound of faraway cars on the highway creates an eerie, lonesome sound and there is an odd shed set on the edge of the trees.
2. Sorority Hill
Now home to Troy University’s sororities, Sorority Hill was initially an orphanage.
The Alabama Baptist Children’s Home occupied the space on Elm Street for several decades, and the original structures are in use as sorority houses.
Rumors occasionally surface that a few children died in the houses, including a child that was murdered in a bathroom at the Phi Mu house.
Several sorority sisters from the different houses will claim they’ve seen the spirits of these children running down the hallways, standing on the staircases and they’ve even heard laughter coming from the bedrooms.
3. McCartha Hall
McCartha Hall is like a trip into the Twilight Zone. It is home to the Air Force ROTC branch and not much else. When you step inside, the building seems frozen in time, and it is only recent poster dates that indicate otherwise.
The majority of the building is deserted, and the second floor is composed of empty classrooms and offices. Downstairs is the fallout shelter that harkens back to Cold War times and the threat of nuclear warfare.
It is a peculiar feeling when walking through McCartha, and it seems almost like you have been transported back in time.
4. Scarecrow House
This is a house that you would come upon if you headed down Highway 231 towards Dothan and took a right on a country road and drove for a few miles.
As this is a person’s home, more specific directions have been withheld.
The Scarecrow House is a home where numerous scarecrows are scattered in the front yard. They are all set in different positions, some sitting, some standing.
One particular scarecrow is closer to the road than others, and the human-like silhouette standing by the road can be quite a shock when driving down the road at night
There were more once, but the collection has been dwindling over the past few years.
5. Mossy Grove Schoolhouse
Mossy Grove is an old schoolhouse-turned-restaurant that is hidden away under trees laden with Spanish moss, adding to the mystery of the spot. The restaurant is right next to a cemetery and the location is allegedly haunted. Psychics and mediums from across the country have paid the schoolhouse a visit, professing to be able to speak to the ghosts.
One of the cooks claims he hears children playing in the front room while he is prepping the kitchen. This timeless and historical landmark is on Elba Highway.
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