Kathryn Tucker Windham biography
Date of birth : 1918-06-02
Date of death : 2011-06-12
Birthplace : Selma, Alabama, United States
Nationality : American
Category : Famous Figures
Last modified : 2011-11-24
Credited as : author, journalist, 13 Alabama ghosts and Jeffrey
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Windham got her first writing job at the age of 12, reviewing movies for her cousin's small town newspaper, The Thomasville Times. She earned a B.A. degree from Huntingdon College in 1939. Soon after graduating she became a reporter for the Alabama Journal.
Kathryn Tucker Windham wrote a series of books of "true" ghost stories, based on local folklore, beginning with 13 Alabama ghosts and Jeffrey (1969). Other titles were Jeffrey introduces 13 more Southern ghosts (1971), 13 Georgia ghosts and Jeffrey (1973), 13 Mississippi ghosts and Jeffrey (1974), 13 Tennessee ghosts and Jeffrey (1976), and Jeffrey's latest 13: more Alabama ghosts (1982). In 2004, she wrote Jeffrey's favorite 13 ghost stories, which was a collection of featured stories from the previous books.
On December 14, 1993, she was awarded the Honoroary Degree Doctor of Literature from the University of Montevallo.
On August 18, 2003, she was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, having been nominated by fellow Alabamian, novelist Harper Lee. In 2008, Windham was named ABA Citizen of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association.
The 2004 documentary film, Kathryn: The Story of a Teller, directed by Norton Dill, chronicles Windham's life and varied careers.
Author of books:
13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey (1969, short stories)
Treasured Georgia Recipes (1974, cookbook)
13 Mississippi Ghosts and Jeffrey (1974, short stories)
Alabama: One Big Front Porch (1975)
The Ghost in the Sloss Furnaces (1978, pamphlet)
Court Those Buzzards! Stamp Grey Mules! Superstitions Remembered from a Southern Childhood (1979)
Jeffrey Introduces 13 More Southern Ghosts (1987, short stories)
A Serigamy of Stories (1988, short stories)
Odd-Egg Editor (1990)
Twice Blessed (1996)
The Bridal Wreath Bush (1999)
Common Threads: Photographs & Stories from the South (2000)
It's Christmas! (2002)
Ernest's Gift (2004, juvenile)
Spit, Scarey Ann & Sweat Bees (2009)
