“So there’s this small town in Alabama where…well they are like really big on slavery in Alabama and they wanted to keep it around… So there’s this tree at the top of a hill where they would hang all the African Americans and supposedly there’s still some rope on the branches. And, I don’t know how this happens, I think it has something to do with the gravitational force or something…but apparently if you bring your car to the bottom of this hill and leave it in neutral, it is said that the ghosts of the little slave children will push the car up the hill to this tree. And legend has it that if your car is pushed passed where the rope is hanging, you will die.”

Kirby told me she heard this story in Atlanta, where she’s from, about a year or two ago from her friend who experienced this story first-hand. She said her friend told her how she went to this hill with a family friend, put the truck in neutral, and left the driver seat empty and the car started to move up the hill. She said her friend was really spooked by the situation and did not stick around very much longer to see what would happen. Kirby said that her friend is still freaked out by what happened that time at this haunted hill.

Kirby believes that the ghosts that are said to haunt this tree are of African American slaves who seek vengeance for the many unjust hangings in the South. She said that this ghost story can serve as a reminder of our country’s dark past so that we will not revert back to such violent times. She observed that this ghost story was very creepy due to the fact that in places like Alabama, it was not that long ago when these types of hangings were being held. She said it is regretful to think that such turmoil and unrest plagues our country.

I agree with Kirby’s sentiments about this story and I believe that these chilling stories are meant to scare us to create a more peaceful world to live in. As eerie and uncomfortable these accounts might make us feel, they do serve as a reminder that there are many injustices that go unnoticed. This type of story seems to be a call to not let the injustices go overlooked, to not be ignorant about sensitive issues, and to know what you can do. These types of ghost stories, which are based on historical background, paint a picture that is different from all the patriotic images of liberty and glory that is more commonly displayed as our history. This ghost story embodies an undying truth that our country will never be able to forget, no matter how ashamed or embarrassed we feel about that time in our country’s past.