Ghost or Guise?

Something eerie may be lurking in the Colbert County EMA office. On the surface, his office appears normal, but EMA Director Mike Melton is convinced that he may be sharing his office space with the paranormal.

"It appears that there's some type of dimension or something that a flash of the camera can pick up that we might not be able to see," said Melton.

That's because of a photo taken of Mike's office during it's renovation several years ago. The original image is covered in blurry white spots with faint outlines of human figures in the background. EMA employees agreed it looked peculiar. 

John McWilliams, a local historian, enhanced the clarity of the image, revealing what appears to be a line of ghostly figures.

"When I saw it, I didn't realize it was a saloon scene," said McWilliams, of Tuscumbia. "I could just see the people. It was not until I started processing it that I saw that it was a saloon scene."

That prompted McWilliams to do a little homework on the building. After looking at old maps, he determined what's now the Colbert County EMA office was a saloon and bowling alley back in 1884.

"I have records here to find out what was in those buildings at that time during that period," said McWilliams. "The picture meets that criteria."

He said that explains why the figures appear to be waiting in line, while others appear to be perched at a bar.

Photos snapped at the EMA console reveal what appears to be three figures in the foreground, wearing microphone headsets. Mike suspects they once worked in the building.

"Evidently, we're sharing their space and they're not sharing ours," said Melton.

Photos taken since the construction work suggest there could still be some sort of supernatural activity in his office.

We wanted to check it out for ourselves, so we posed for the camera after our interview with Melton. John processed the image for us and revealed nine ghostly figures after enhancing the photo clarity.

Ghosts or not, Melton and other EMA employees aren't spooked.

"It is something to be lighthearted about," said Melton. "It's just an unknown, something creepy you can try to figure out and try to understand what it's about."

Melton and McWilliams both joke they know it sounds crazy, but can't help what they see.

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