Eerie Places to Explore

Sloss Furnaces

In Birmingham, Alabama the police force is constantly called to the Sloss Furnaces to deal with unexplained activity. Most of the time, the activity is minor, such as, screams and loud noises, but on rare occasions, people will get physically injured by an unseen force.

The most well known ghost is named James 'Slag' Wormwood who was a foreman of the "graveyard shift," the period between sunset and sunrise, at the furnaces. He died in 1906 when he fell into a pool of molten iron ore from the very top of the furnaces, known as "Big Alice." It was reported that he became dizzy from the gas produced by the furnace and lost his balance, plummeting to his death. But, it's also said that he had never set foot on the top of the furnace in all the time he worked there. Some say that his employees had grown tired of the mistreatment and shoved him in. But, there was no workers who were brought to trial. After this happened, his former coworkers complained about seeing him and feeling his presence while working.

In 1926 a night watchman was injured when an invisible force pushed him and a disembodied voice shouted at him to "Get back to work!"

In 1947, three supervisors were found in the boiler room knocked unconscious. When they woke up, they all claimed to have seen an angry man with severe burns all over his body that demanded that they had to get back to work.

In 1971, another night watchman, Samuel Blumenthal, encountered, what he describes as, a "half human, half demon" who tried to push him up the stairs, he refused to go upstairs which actually resulted in him being beaten by the entity. He was examined by a medical professional, Dr. Jack Barlo, it was shown he was covered in burns. He died before he could return to Sloss.

There have been more than 100 reports of paranormal activity that goes on here in the Birmingham Police records. From minor incidents like equipment making sounds on their own, to apparitions, to rare physical assaults. The majority of these incidents happen between the months of September and October during the time of the dreaded "graveyard shift." Could it simply be Halloween hoaxes, or could it be the restless spirit of the angry, slave driving foreman.

Although James Wormwood is the most known ghost, he is most definitely not the only ghost. It is estimated that 47 men actually died here and hundreds were severely injured. James Wormwood would not allow breaks or time off and there was absolutely horrific working conditions. Working here was literally called a "living hell" and only extremely poor workers would work there. Temperatures would get up to 120 degrees. Sleep deprivation and the heat, along with not being able to clearly see, this is the reason only people who were really desperate for employment worked there.

It is now a great place for tourists to come and visit, investigate and even volunteer. There have been many investigations of this place throughout the years and each time the investigators had concluded that whether a person is skeptical, or believes, there is absolutely no denying that there is a sinister presence at the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama.

For more information, visit their official website:

http://www.frightfurnace.com/