Living about an hour from Birmingham, Alabama, I thought I had done everything there was to do there. Well, at least the more well-known things, like Vulcan Park, the Birmingham Zoo, and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite botanical gardens in the Southeast.

I’m always looking for new adventures close to home, and I found out about US Ghost Adventures. They have ghost tours all over the United States, including in Birmingham. I had never done a ghost tour before, so I thought, why not give it a try? The concept of ghosts has always been fascinating to me. I have to admit I am a bit of a believer. But I also thought it would be a fun way to learn some things about Birmingham I didn’t know.

Let me explain why Birmingham Ghosts is something you should consider if you’re visiting for the first time or looking for new things to do in the area.

The Experience

Our 7 p.m. tour started in Birmingham’s historic Linn Park, a 7-acre urban park in the heart of Birmingham. Linn Park has hosted presidential speeches and Civil Rights demonstrations while also anchoring the Birmingham City Hall. Meeting at Linn Park puts you right in the middle of Birmingham’s downtown and historic buildings. It’s also walking distance to all the haunted places.

My husband and I met our tour guide Liz, and she gave us our EMF detectors to detect ghostly activity. (Note: Renting EMF detectors is an additional cost, but I would recommend it if you want the full ghost experience.) Liz explained to us that because these detectors measure electromagnetic frequencies, they can be triggered by transformers and other electrical devices while walking around town.

We spent the next hour and a half walking around downtown Birmingham while Liz explained the ghostly past of all the stops. As she mentioned, our EMF devices were triggered by transformers on some of the street corners. We didn’t get to go inside any of the stops, but the EMF detectors were triggered outside some of the buildings. Electrical interference, or true ghostly activity? I know what I believe it to be, but you’ll just have to take the tour to see for yourself.

I don’t want to spoil the whole experience by listing every stop we made. But, I would like to highlight some of my favorite stops as a travel-lover: downtown Birmingham’s haunted hotels.

Birmingham’s Haunted Hotels

The Tutwiler

The Tutwiler Hotel is Birmingham’s oldest hotel, dating back to 1914 as a luxury hotel. The original Tutwiler hotel was demolished in 1974 and re-established in 1986 on a different site as a historic landmark. The hotel has hosted guests such as Charles Lindbergh, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Babe Ruth. It is also said to be Birmingham’s most haunted hotel.

In 1995, a bartender who worked at the hotel was responsible for turning off the lights in the bar and kitchen area. But, the bartender’s manager arrived one day and noticed the lights were still on. The bartender swore he did turn them off, and the lights would come back on by themselves. This happened every night for a week. One night, the manager arrived and saw that one of the tables was set with a multi-course meal, candles, and wine, and again the bartender swore he knew nothing about it.

The ghost is said to be Colonel Tutwiler, for whom the hotel is named. So, the bartender began calling out to Colonel Tutwiler every night to tell him good night and to please not make a mess.

There are also reports of knocking on doors at night, only for the door to be opened and no one there. If you want to experience this haunted hotel yourself, the hotel is still operated today by Hampton Inn and Suites.

The Redmont Hotel

The Redmont Hotel is the second most haunted hotel in Birmingham. It is also the oldest continuously operated hotel. This was my favorite stop on the tour because the ghost that is said to haunt it is Alabama native Hank Williams.

Hank Williams passed away on January 1st, 1953 from heart failure. He was known for his struggle with alcohol and drugs, and the night before he died, New Year’s Eve, he spent the night partying at the Redmont Hotel, where he consumed large amounts of alcohol.

The next morning, he was supposed to head to a concert in Canton, Ohio. But his driver noticed that he seemed unwell. They stopped in the area of Knoxville, Tennessee, where a doctor gave him a shot of morphine. By the time they got to West Virginia, he had passed away.

Because the Redmont Hotel is where Hank Williams spent his last night alive, hotel-goers say they often see his ghost at the hotel’s rooftop bar. As a big country music fan, I may just have to go back and see for myself.

A Truly Underrated Experience

Overall, I definitely enjoyed my first ghost tour. Even my husband, who is a bit of a skeptic when it comes to ghosts, enjoyed the tour. We learned so much about the history of Birmingham. Our tour guide, Liz, was very friendly and knowledgeable, and I could tell that she enjoyed giving the tour.

I would love to do another ghost tour through US Ghost Adventures to explore a new city in a different light. Even if you’re not visiting Birmingham, if a ghost tour sounds like something you would also enjoy, be sure to check out the locations that US Ghost Adventures offers./