Sloss Furnaces

Alabama · United States · Industrial site

Sloss Furnaces — Alabama · United States · Industrial site

The founder who fell into molten iron swore never to leave the furnaces — over a hundred hauntings are logged with the police.

Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama was one of the largest ironworks in the South, founded in 1880 by Colonel James Sloss. Today the disused blast-furnace plant is an industrial monument — and said to be one of America's most haunted industrial sites.

The best-known ghost story concerns Theophilus Jowers. On 9 September 1887 the 28-year-old assistant founder fell from a platform into molten iron at the nearby Alice Furnace; only a shoe and part of his foot could be recovered. The workers took his promise seriously: "As long as there is a blast furnace standing in this country, I'll be there." When Alice No. 1 was demolished in 1905 his spirit moved to Alice No. 2, and in 1927 to Sloss.

Another, more recent figure is James "Slag" Wormwood — in fact an invented character created for the haunted attraction Sloss Fright Furnace, a ruthless shift foreman said to have fallen into the furnace in 1906. During the period the works was run by such foremen, the death records show that 47 men lost their lives in accidents.

Over a hundred reports of suspected paranormal activity at Sloss have been logged in Birmingham police records — from steam whistles sounding by themselves to sightings and physical assaults, most in September and October, at night. Today Sloss is a museum and concert venue — but the ironworks' dead labourers are said never to have left their furnaces.

Sources: hauntedrooms.com, bhamwiki.com, hauntedus.com, thelittlehouseofhorrors.com

FAQ

Where is Sloss Furnaces located?

Sloss Furnaces is in Alabama, United States.

More haunted places in Alabama

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons