Alabama hopes 'ghost trail' will scare up more tourism dollars
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- In Wilcox County, Ala., it's known as "The Billie Hole," where in antebellum times, a female slave is reputed to have jumped into a wooded pool because she didn't want to be sold.
Stories abound that on nights of the full moon, Billie can be seen to rise up out of the hole wearing a long white dress.
Officials in Alabama's historic Black Belt region hope that story and others like it will make tourism rise as well. In an effort to cash in on the history of things that may or may not go bump in the night, city officials here and across the USA are increasingly turning to ghost tales and trails to boost tourism.
The Southwest Alabama Regional Tourism and Film Office is working to establish a ghost trail stretching through the 18 counties that make a swath through the middle of the state starting this summer. Named for its rich black prairie soil, the Black Belt was where cotton was king before and after the Civil War. "The Black Belt is rich in the history and culture of the Scots-Irish settlers and the African Americans who toiled as slaves," says Linda Vice, of the tourism office. "Both cultures valued story telling as a way to preserve their history, and both cultures understood the concept of second sight and a spirit world. So we have plenty of stories of ghosts and 'haints' to chose from for our trail."
Tourism is big business in Alabama. In 2008 it generated an economic impact of $9.6 billion, according to Edith Parten, communications director for the Alabama Board of Tourism. Last year there were about 22 million people who visited the state, she said.
While there are no national statistics on the subject, paranormal tourism is becoming increasingly popular in communities across the country are taking advantage of haunting pieces of folklore and legend to bring in business, tourism officials say.
•Richmond, Va.:Demand from visitors was so high this year another tour was added to the May through October Haunts of Richmond schedule, says Sandi Bergman, who started the company with her husband, Scott in 2004.
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