Attendees gather around Southern Ghost Girl Heather Lawrence Saturday night at Rumors Deli. (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN – Close to 100 ghost enthusiasts came out to Rumors Deli Saturday evening for an interactive tour and paranormal investigation hosted by The Southern Ghost Girls. Lesley Ann, founder of Southern Ghost Girls, and her partner Heather Lawrence hosted the tours while Annette Harris, owner of Rumors Deli, participated with both groups and provided a history of the building.
Originally built in 1901, the J.R. Tucker building, where Rumors is located, was a general mercantile. Tucker sold a wide variety of items from farming equipment and tack to canned goods and candies. Tucker was just 23 years old when he began his business. In 1956, his son J.L. Tucker took over and he passed the building to his son J.A. Tucker in 1982. The store was closed in 1991.
A secretary named Ruby worked at the Tucker building for 44 years and it was her death from cancer that led J.A. Tucker to close the doors. He gave no notice and held no sales prior to locking the doors. The merchandise was left in the building just as it was when Ruby passed away. Harris said she was told that J.A. Tucker told Ruby, “When you quit, I quit.”
During the time Ruby worked for the Tuckers, there were two boarding houses on either side of the Tucker building. Ruby had lived at both boarding houses. She was gifted with flowers and according to Harris, Ruby knew how to take iris bulbs and splice them to create beautiful colors.
Harris and the staff at Rumors have experienced many unexplained events since moving to the location in April of 2018. Disappearing cheese, loaves of bread being moved and found in the floor, ovens being turned on and stove temperatures being changed are just a few weird things Harris said she and staff have encountered.
Said Harris, “Nothing has been scary. It’s like they are playing jokes and having a little fun.”
Asked if the ghosts possibly followed her from Rumors’ previous location in Cullman’s Warehouse District, Harris said, “It’s possible. We definitely had ghosts there. I experienced those myself, but again, never scary, always fun.”
On the tours Saturday night, The Southern Ghost Girls explained the equipment and the different detection abilities each has. The thermal cameras, spirit boxes, ghost grid and Kinect SLS cameras were ready. With EMF detectors in hand the investigation began. Some of the earliest activity happened right away near the bathroom entrances. This area was originally the offices before being converted into bathrooms for Rumors.
During a spirit box session outside of the bathrooms, the group asked a series of questions prompting several responses.
When asked about Ruby, according to attendees, a male voice replied, “She’s here.” The same male voiced responded, “I like it” when confronted about the missing cheese.
Meanwhile, in the front room to the left of the entrance, several attendees said they experienced tugs of purses, jackets and hair. The group was encouraged to snap as many pictures as possible in hopes of capturing orbs or anomalies. Orbs were captured by cell phones, and the KLS camera picked up on multiple figures.
Throughout the night people from both tours reported feeling cold spots, heaviness on their chests and changes in pressure when moving from room to room. A few areas in particular seemed to manifest the most activity. These areas matched up with the areas staff said they had also experienced odd activity.
Kristi Carter, who came from Harvest to take part in the investigation, said, “I wasn’t going to miss this. I guess you could say I am ghost-obsessed.” The name “Carter” came up multiple times throughout the investigation and this was strange to her. “I had such a good time and I plan on going on their next tour, too.”
Whether you believe or don’t believe in ghosts, it is undeniable that unexplained things happen frequently at the J.R. Tucker building. Nothing felt menacing or scary. All the activity came across as playful. Perhaps the spirits are just curious and feeling mischievous. Undoubtedly, everyone had a unique and fun night as they hoped to find answers.
Lesley Ann announced that the February tour will be an exclusive event. After a month of planning, the Southern Ghost Girls will be the first group to investigate the Pickens County Courthouse in Carrollton, Alabama. A story many may know from the book “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey” by Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh , the Pickens County Courthouse is home to “the face in the courthouse window.” The face of Henry Wells is said to be permanently etched into the attic window due to a lightning strike.
For more information on upcoming events, visit www.southernghostgirls.com or www.facebook.com/southernghostgirls.
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