Synopses & Reviews
Jeffrey is the mischievous “something” that has headquarters in the Windham home in Selma. He first made his presence known in October 1966, and since then he has continued, at irregular and infrequent intervals, to clump down the hall, slam doors, rock in a chair, frighten the family cat (now deceased—through no fault of Jeffrey), move heavy pieces of furniture, cause electronic equipment to malfunction, and hide objects.
He frequently accompanies Mrs. Windham on her travels, and tales of Jeffreys antics are widely recounted. “Nobody has ever been afraid of Jeffrey,” Mrs. Windham says. “He is very convenient to have—we blame everything that goes awry on him. His only purpose for existing (if that word is proper) is to prod me into collecting and preserving ‘true ghost stories from throughout the South.”
Synopsis
Jeffrey is the mischievous "something" that has headquarters in the Windham home in Selma, Alabama. He first made his presence known in October 1966, and since then he has continued, at irregular and infrequent intervals, to clump down the hall, slam doors, rock in a chair, frighten the family cat (now deceased, through no fault of Jeffrey), move heavy pieces of furniture, cause electronic equipment to malfunction, and hide objects
About the Author
Kathryn Tucker Windham grew up in Thomasville, Alabama, the youngest child in a large family of storytellers. She began her writing career reviewing movies for her cousin’s weekly newspaper, in exchange for a pass to the local theater.
After graduating from Huntingdon College, Mrs. Windham was a staff writer for The Alabama Journal in Montgomery and for The Birmingham News. Following the death of her husband, Amasa Benjamin Windham, and after their three children (Kitti, Ben, and Dilcy) were all in school, she joined the staff of The Selma Times-Journal. Her feature writing, reporting, and photography won top Associated Press awards for excellence.
Her books have led to many honors, including the Alabama Library Association’s non-fiction award, an honorary degree from Huntingdon College, and the 1985 “Living for America” award.
Mrs. Windham still lives in Selma, where she does free-lance writing, collects folklore (also insulators, doorknobs, and dirt-dauber nests), and photographs the changing scenes of her native South. She is a nationally recognized storyteller and a frequent commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”