It seemed just like another barn to me. It sat next to the road, and we drove past it all the time. But she said it fascinated her. Just beyond it was an old building. We thought that, perhaps, it was an old church or roadside store when the road that went by it was busy and full of life.

But if something as imanimate as a road can die, it has happened to this one.

There was also an old house nearby. It still looked to be in good condition even though it had been moved a couple of miles from its original place. But no one lives there, although a warm light can sometimes be seen burning in the window.

Then there's the road itself. Cracked and overgrown, I can just imagine it a century ago. It was at one time a major road in North Alabama that had since been bypassed for the concrete superhighways built around the small town. These buildings beckon to a time of southern belles and mint julips. But, as we all know, southern history has a dark side.

We call them the slave quarters. They are old, dilapidated, and quite frightening during the day or night. They are forgotten and at the mercy of the vines. They are quiet, but home to many shadows.

Welcome to the "Old Decatur Plantation."

This place we call the "Old Decatur Plantation" we're fairly sure is not a plantation or that the buildings aren't even related to each other. But, along this old forgotten road, this string of abandoned buildings have always fascinated us.

That's why on a bright spring day, I went there, alone, to take some pictures for this site. And an otherwise uneventful day lost all rationality.

I use a digital camera and take my photos in the daytime. I touch them up to look a little more menacing. I know that digital cameras are not protocal for serious paranormal investigation, but I'm not investigating. A place, to me, has an aura that can be captured by the naked eye. In other words, a spooky looking place will be spooky just because it's, well, spooky. No orbs or vortex's needed. And, I really never want to find any anyway.

I arrived after a brief but heavy rainstorm. The pavement was more cracked than I remembered. The brush had hidden the old road almost completely. I took a picture just to post as an introduction to the pictures of the buildings. Nothing special. Just trees over the road. I walked on, through the shrubbery, and into the clearing.

There, immediately to my left, were the two most frightening buildings on the "plantation." These were the two twin delapitated shacks that we had dubbed "the slave quarters." I felt especially unnerved there, but put those feelings aside. I snapped my photos and walked away.

I took more pictures of the old road, hoping to use the best one. But, as I walked, I almost felt as though those photos weren't the only things I was taking with me. So, almost at my car, I had the urge to do what I hadn't felt the need to do all day. I turned around, looked back down that road, and said a "cleansing" prayer.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I ask that you stay where you are intended and show me the same respect I have shown you. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen." I bowed my head, said one final thank you, and left.

I'm not an absolute believer in ghosts. It's more of a fascination than anything else. And never had I had the urge to pray the way I did that day. But I felt better. And now I know why.

I got to a friend's house, and through the LCD on my camera, we noticed that two photos of the same house may contain "orbs." I was okay with that. Then, I got home, uploaded the pictures, and blew them up.

Those two houses were surely strange, and more "orbs" were present when I blew them up. But, there was another picture. The first one, of the road before walking down. I remember after taking that picture, I wouldn't allow myself to look at it in the LCD, as if I might see something that would stop me from making the rest of the walk. And what I saw when I uploaded it surely would have stopped me dead in my tracks and walk the other way. And, it's put me one step closer to being an absolute believer.