Kathryn Tucker Windham (June 2, 1918 – June 12, 2011) was an American storyteller, author, photographer, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama and was raised 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 a reporter 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. A collection of her photographs is on display at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. She passed away on June 12, 2011. The 2004 documentary film, Kathryn: The Story of a Teller, directed by Norton Dill, chronicles Windham's life and varied careers.
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
Jeffrey is the "friendly ghost" that took up residence in the Windham house in 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, Jeffrey would even pick up some objects. Jeffrey especially spooked the family cat, Hornblower, and made his hackles stand on end.
There is a picture of "Jeffrey" that was taken inside the Windham home. On the night the picture was made, some young people visiting the Windham home decided to play with a Ouija board, trying to contact Jeffrey. When they later developed pictures taken that night, Jeffrey appeared in one of the shots. Jeffrey appears in the picture as a dark, shadowy blot in a vaguely human-like shape, "standing" next to a girl named Nikki in the picture. Soon after this picture was taken, Windham contacted 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 born.
On August 18, 2003, she was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, having been nominated by fellow Alabamian, and close friend, novelist Harper Lee. In 2008, Tucker was named ABA Citizen of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association.
(Sources: Mongtomery Advisor, Wiki, NPR)
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