By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
The cast and crew of Alabama’s Most Haunted will be paying a visit to Opelika’s Spring Villa Mansion in early September to capture audio and footage of its rumored supernatural happenings.
Since making their announcement via Facebook in July, Kevan Walden of Alabama’s Most Haunted said he and his team have received waves of excitement and support from residents.
“We chose Spring Villa because of the looks of the house itself and the people … once we shared the news we had so many people post and share their personal experiences, with some not even being ghost related,” Walden said.
Though there are multiple ghost stories tied to the mansion and surrounding park area, the property’s most famous apparition is that of the home’s former owner Penn Yonge.
“Haunted Auburn and Opelika” book author Faith Serafin shared the origins of this ghost story during a 2015 interview with the Observer.
Seeking revenge for Yonge’s mistreatment of his fellow slaves, one slave hid in a small nook along the home’s spiral staircase. Headed upstairs to go to sleep, Yonge was met and decapitated by the slave on the staircase’s 13th step.
According to legend, Yonge’s presence can still be felt in the house, and the blood spilled that night will not wash away, more than 140 years later.
Utilizing advanced audio equipment and night-vision cameras, Walden said he and his team plan to converse or capture images of Yonge or the house’s other spirits.
“We’re looking to get some photographic or video evidence, and with our audio recorders, pick up audio of some voices that we may not have heard ourselves while on the hunt,” Walden said.
Filming will take nearly a day to complete, but nearly two months to edit and ready for television, according to Walden. Once completed, the episode will air on the WQCT network in Cullman for two weeks and later be uploaded on Alabama’s Most Haunted’s Youtube channel.
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