When I decided to start writing a series about unexplained and unsolved phenomena, I knew I wanted to start with something so remote that most people probably would not have heard of it before. So, when I recently heard mention of Jack Cole Road and it's odd and unexplained happenings, I knew it had to be my first topic.
Jack Cole Road is a remote, unpaved road in the woods off of Highway 7 in Hayden, AL. I grew up just a short drive away from the area, and I had never heard of it until very recently. It is not a well-known area, but those who have traveled this winding and secluded path have described it as creepy at best and terrifying at worst. Those who have researched and studied its otherworldly atmosphere describe it as one of the most haunted places in Alabama, and maybe even the whole United States.
68 people have died on Jack Cole Road since 1890, which especially odd since the road is less than half a mile long and has very few houses on it, several of which are uninhabited by anything living and have been for several years. Many of those deaths occurred in 1900 as the result of a massive cholera outbreak at a hospital that existed on Jack Cole Road at the time. Those spirits are said to still haunt the area, and travelers and residents of the road have reported seeing them on more than one occasion.
There have been many notable deaths, including a mysterious and gruesome murder on Jack Cole Road since the deaths of the cholera patients. Sometime in the early 1900s, hunters reportedly discovered the mummified remains of a woman inside of a cabin on Jack Cole Road. Many people at the time believed the woman was a witch, and the cabin has since burned down. Legend says her spirit still haunts the land where the cabin ones stood. In the late 1960s, a local fruit grower was found slaughtered with an axe inside his home on Jack Cole Road. This murder is still remembered as one of the most gruesome crimes the small town of Hayden, AL has ever endured. More recently in 2003 a famous civil rights photographer was found dead in his home just a few days after he reported seeing strange and unexplainable things inside his residence on Jack Cole Road.
Arguably the most startling thing to have happened in recent years on Jack Cole Road is the mysterious disappearance of Lisa Weaver, a disabled 52 year old woman who resided on the road in 2015. Her house caught on fire on February 5, 2015, but no trace of her was found in the rubble, nor have her remains or any signs of her been discovered since. Weaver was physically unable to leave the house on her own, so there is no way she would have been able to leave the residence or escape from the fire without help. As far as her family knew, there would not have been anyone there with her at that time. She had just texted her son moments before the fire started, so it is unlikely that she was taken from the house. Firefighters were able to recover the remains of 3 family dogs, but nothing was found to suggest that Weaver died in the fire, or that she was even in the house during the fire at all.
Just a couple of weeks ago on the night of Easter Sunday, a huge sinkhole appeared where Jack Cole Road meets the main road, making Jack Cole Road, and the remainder of the main road past it, completely impassible. Very few people still reside on Jack Cole Road, and those that do have reported seeing lights in the woods, strange moving figures, and even a big foot like creature amongst other things.
If you ever decide to visit Jack Cole Road, be prepared to be sufficiently creeped out, especially at night. If you're looking to live in a potentially haunted house, a quick Google search shows a few houses available for purchase on the road.
