Albany’s Spine-Chilling Ghost Stories

The Albany Welcome Center resides in a historic home known as the Bridge House. While many newcomers cross its threshold to seek restaurant recommendations or other information, they often don’t realize what house they’re standing in. Formally called the Bridge House, this property was built in 1857 and designed by Horace King. He was a former slave and respected architect, well-known for his other project of building the first bridge over the Flint River. The City of Albany’s founder, Nelson Tift, commissioned the construction to create a toll house, a building to collect payment for passing through the covered bridge.

While designed as a toll house, the Bridge House served numerous purposes since its inception. During the Civil War era, the cellar was used for meat packaging to pickle hogs and cows for the Confederate Navy. Later on in the 19th century, the second floor was known as Tift Hall, serving as the meeting place for Albany’s elite. It was used as a theater, ballroom and concert hall – just imagine how much energy this area holds from all of the thrilling social events! Now, it serves as the Albany Welcome Center, welcoming travelers from all over who come to visit our wonderful community.

As with most historic homes, the presence of spirits of the beyond often makes itself known. Our staff has heard numerous strange sounds, like the footsteps of a person on the second floor, even though not a soul was up there (of the living at least). So, we decided to bring a local group known as S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal Investigators to see if the house was truly haunted. They brought electronic cameras and audio devices to conduct their spooky investigation. The results? A picture of a ghostly apparition in an empty room and the team’s medium, Tina Rexach, picking up the presence of a man on the second floor…

Another strange tale that has haunted our city first made headlines in the newspaper in 1888. A local by the name of Dink Melvin, who was a fisherman and boatman, made the shocking announcement of being haunted by a headless horse. That’s right, a headless horse! According to Dink, during his time along the riverbanks over by the Fair Grounds while on his boat, he would see a large, white horse that was missing its head. He claimed to have seen this strange creature for six years during his time on the water! Although no evidence of this grave sighting has ever been found, the tale is still eerie and one to think about the next time you find yourself along the Flint River!