Included in Kathryn Tucker Windham's popular book, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, the story of the mysterious face had been popular for more than 100 years. It is said to be the earthly representation of Henry Wells, a man suspected of setting fire to the county's previous courthouse that had stood on the same spot.
As the story goes, Wells was suspected of burning the Pickens County Courthouse on November 16, 1876. The people of the county had just raised enough money to replace the courthouse burned during the Civil War and were infuriated by the act. When Wells was implicated in the act, according to the legend, a lynch mob gathered. By this time construction was underway on the building that still stands and he fled into its attic to hide. As he was peering out on the lynch mob below, lightning struck the building and permanently etched his terrified face into the pane of glass.Scientists say it is impossible for such a thing to happen, yet the face has remained there for more than 130 years. An arrow on the outside wall of the old courthouse even points it out to curious visitors.
So what can be told about the real story of the mysterious Face in the Window? Read more at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/faceinthewindow.