MONTEVALLO -- Those who study things that go bump in the night love to visit the University of Montevallo.
A bouncing yellow light, a pig, a little girl with dangling feet and a levitating sofa are just a few things that pique their interest.
With Halloween arriving tomorrow night, those beyond the trick-or-treating age might just show up to stroll along the university's brick streets to see if they can detect something out of the ordinary.
Members of the Birmingham-based Gulf States Paranormal Society visited Saturday for just that reason. It's one of several such organizations that bring equipment to check on unusual occurences on campus.
Most of the paranormal attention is focused on a big brick building that was constructed by Edmund King, a pioneer who arrived from Georgia with dreams of striking it rich in what then was the Alabama territory.
By the time of King's death, there were enough ghost stories to thrill or chill youngsters for generations to come.
He died in 1863 at the age of 82. By some accounts, he was so worried that the Yankees eventually would arrive to steal his gold that he buried it on his property.
That's where the "bobbing yellow light" stories emanated. According to those "in the know," the light was cast by a lantern held by King, who was passing by a second floor window, headed to where the gold was buried.
As the years went by, more ghost stories popped up from King's house. One involved a "sighting" by a woman who claimed to have seen a girl sitting on a bed.
She would say later the "girl" was seven or eight, had long, curly blonde hair and apparently was alarmed by her unexpected entrance.
Seconds later, the "girl" allegedly told the paranormalist, "You must go for he is coming." The "he" was never seen.
Cynthia Shackelford, the university's director of public relations who assists paranormal groups with their "research," noted that King and his wife had 10 children. Several are buried in the family cemetery near their house.
"The woman told me that she saw a clear figure, not an apparition," said Shackelford, who subscribes to the Missouri state motto, "Show Me."
On more than one occasion, Shackelford said paranormal groups have come up with "readings" from instruments to indicate some strange happenings inside the King House.
"One group brought in $150,000 worth of equipment to take temperature and electrical readings," she said. "They've gotten unusual 'cold spot' and electricity data."
Shackelford said she personally has seen one gauge show an instant temperature drop of 17 degrees.
Well, then, what about that pig?
Seems the porker was the main course at a 19th century wedding reception and was about to be consumed until a groomsman cut into it and -- according to the story -- got more than he and the others bargained for that night.
"As he thrust the fork into the pig, a 'huge, white thing' crept from beneath the table, hovered between the bride and groom for an instant and then vanished," wrote author Kathryn Windham in one of her popular ghost books. "The supper went uneaten."
Shackelford said she indirectly witnessed a strange happening at the mansion during a visit by a paranormal group a few years ago.
She said she was alone in the house where the doors were locked, the group was outside and she went into the living room to make a startling discovery.
"I saw a heavy sofa raised off the floor," she said. "One corner of it was resting on the edge of a table which was leaning about 50 degrees."
She is quick to point out that she didn't actually see the heavy sofa levitate, but was convinced that something was amiss.
"It defied gravity," she said more than once. "That thing was heavy. It had to be off the ground at least eight inches."
Asked if one of her visitors might have done it as a joke, she looked back at the big sofa and said one of the paranormal members indicated that a spirit was making itself known.
"I don't know if it was a spirit, but something made itself known to me," she said. "I was quite shaken by it."
If you'd like a tour of the King House, call Shackelford at 205-665-6223 or send her an e-mail at shackelc@montevallo.edu.
Alvin Benn writes about people and places in central and south Alabama. If you have suggestions for a story, contact him at 334-875-3249 or e-mail him at benn8071@bellsouth.net.
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