Sally Carter’s Ghost

Cedarhurst Mansion

There is an old mansion in Huntsville that is reportedly haunted by the ghost of 15-year old Sally Carter. Stephen Ewing built the mansion in 1823. Sally was visiting her sister, Mary Ewing when she was struck down with a fatal illness. She died several weeks shy of her 16th birthday, on November 28, 1837.

Sally Carter’s Ghost

Sightings of Sally’s ghost started in 1919 when a teenage boy who was staying at the mansion had a dream about her. In the dream, Sally came to him and told him to fix her tombstone, which had been toppled over during the previous night’s storm. Sure enough, when he went to visit her tombstone the next morning, it had been knocked down. This popular local legend ends with the boy going back to his home town of Dothan, never to return to Huntsville again.

Over the years many witnesses report seeing Sally’s ghost, both in the house and near her grave. When functions were held at the mansion there were reports of paranormal activities such as chairs being pulled out from under people, violin cases mysteriously falling over. It was also reported that a women walking down the stairs fell and she recalled feeling someone pushing on her back.

Due to numerous cases of vandalism of the grave site, while it was located on the premises of the mansion, the bodies were exhumed and moved to an undisclosed location.