The legend of the Anniston High School locker room is well-known throughout the student body. Upperclassmen often share the story with incoming freshmen to give them a scare, warning them of a vengeful ghost that haunts the area. While the specific details vary from person to person, the core facts remain consistent: the haunting is tied to a girl who was late changing for P.E. and returned to the locker room alone to retrieve a precious item, only to encounter a violent intruder.
The true incident that sparked this legend occurred in 2001. During the last period of the day, a student and her best friend were hurrying to change after P.E. so they wouldn’t miss their bus. After leaving the locker room, the girl realized she had left her purse—which contained all of her money—in her locker. She insisted her friend go ahead to hold the bus while she ran back down the steps to get it. As she closed her locker, she heard the door creak and footsteps approaching. Thinking it was her coach, she called out for her to wait, but received no answer. Suddenly, she heard loud breathing directly behind her.
As she tried to flee, a man cornered her, strangling her and tearing at her clothes. In a final, desperate attempt to defend herself, she pulled a heavy set of lockers down on top of him. He was crushed and appeared to be killed instantly. The girl fled to the bus stop, but she had been gone too long and the bus had left. After she told her mother what happened, the police inspected the scene. They found the overturned lockers, her purse, and a pool of blood, but the man’s body was gone.
The girl was so traumatized that her family moved away and was never heard from again. Since then, many believe the man’s spirit lurks in the locker room waiting for a girl to be alone so he can take his revenge. The story gained more credibility after a similar incident involving a band student who was found bloodied and bruised after being left alone to change. Today, students still report hearing phantom footsteps, lockers slamming shut, and the sound of heavy breathing right behind them that ceases the moment they turn around.
