Haunted hotel guide · Selma, Alabama

The Haunted St. James Hotel, Selma: Jesse James, Lucinda and the Phantom Dog

Built in 1837 on the Alabama River and spared when Selma burned in 1865, the St. James reopened in fall 2026 and is still the place to look for Jesse James’s ghost.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

3.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1837Opened as the Brantley Hotel
214The room most linked to Jesse James

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The St. James Hotel faces Water Avenue a block from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, its two tiers of cast-iron galleries looking over the Alabama River. It opened in 1837 and is often described as the only antebellum riverfront hotel still standing in the South. It survived the Civil War, decades as a warehouse and factory, and several closures. The latest ended in the fall of 2026, when the hotel reopened with 55 rooms in Marriott’s Series collection after a year shut.

Its ghost stories revolve around the outlaw Jesse James, who legend says stayed here with his brother Frank in the 1880s. Guests describe a man in old-fashioned clothes walking out of rooms 214, 314 and 315, the scent of lavender that announces his companion Lucinda, and a dog barking in the halls when no dog is there. The James visit has never been proven, but the stories have made the St. James one of the best-known haunted hotels in Alabama.

St. James Hotel at a glance

3.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation4
History5
Ghost hunter access2
$ · Under $150Hotel embraces its ghosts
  • Address 1200 Water Avenue, Selma, AL 36703, on the Alabama River a block east of the Edmund Pettus Bridge
  • Opened 1837 as the Brantley Hotel; renamed the Troupe House, then the St. James in 1871; restored and reopened 1997, 2021 and again in fall 2026
  • Most haunted spots Rooms 214, 314 and 315, the corner of the bar, the courtyard and the hallways
  • Best-known ghosts A man in 1880s clothing believed to be Jesse James, a woman called Lucinda and a phantom dog
  • Booking the haunted room No haunted package. Call the hotel to request room 214, 314 or 315; it is a request, not a guarantee.
  • Good to know 55 rooms around an interior courtyard, a bar, meeting space and a fitness center. Managed by Spire Hospitality; reopened under Series by Marriott in October 2026.

Check availability

The ghosts of The St. James Hotel

Jesse James

The story goes that Jesse and Frank James passed through Selma in the 1880s and stayed at the St. James, and that Jesse liked it enough to come back. Guests and staff describe a man in 1880s dress, sometimes called cowboy clothes, walking out of rooms 214, 314 and 315, the rooms the outlaw is said to have used. He has also been reported sitting at a corner table in the bar.

No record proves the James brothers ever checked in, and Jesse was shot dead in Missouri in 1882, so treat this as a legend. It has been told for a long time, though: when Selma’s tourism office ran its Haunted History tours in 2013, the walk began at the St. James with room 214.

Lucinda and the scent of lavender

Lucinda is said to have been Jesse James’s mistress and a long-time resident of the hotel. Guests say they know she is near when the smell of lavender, said to be her favorite scent, suddenly fills a corridor or room. Some describe seeing a woman walking the hallways.

A portrait of Miss Lucinda hangs over the fireplace in the front parlor, and visitors have written that her eyes seem to follow them across the room. Look for it when you check in.

The dog that is not there

The third ghost is a dog, usually described as Jesse’s black dog. Guests report being woken by barking in the hall, or hearing a dog in the courtyard, and finding no animal anywhere. The 2013 Haunted History tour told visitors the same story.

The Civil War hotel

Some guests connect the building’s atmosphere to 1865, when Union troops under General James Wilson took Selma, made the hotel their headquarters and burned much of the town around it. There are no named ghosts from that time, but the courtyard and riverside galleries are where people say the hotel feels oldest.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • Room 214: The room named most often for Jesse James, and the first stop on Selma’s 2013 Haunted History tour.
  • Rooms 314 and 315: The other two rooms where the man in 1880s dress is said to appear.
  • The bar: Where Jesse is said to sit at a corner table. A good spot for an evening drink overlooking the river.
  • The front parlor: Home of Lucinda’s portrait. Worth a look even if you are not staying the night.
  • The courtyard: Where the phantom dog is heard barking.

History of The St. James Hotel

The hotel was built in 1837 beside the Alabama River docks as the Brantley Hotel, named for Brigadier General John Brantley, who led the group of investors that paid for it. Selma was then a busy river town shipping cotton from the Black Belt. Before the Civil War the hotel was renamed the Troupe House, and it was owned by Dr. James Gee.

Gee had inherited an educated enslaved man named Benjamin Sterling Turner and made him the hotel’s manager. When Gee left to fight in 1861, Turner ran the hotel through the war. In April 1865 Union cavalry captured Selma, used the hotel as their headquarters and spared it while much of the city burned; many people credit that to respect for Turner. After the war Turner became a businessman and, in 1870, the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama.

In 1871 Captain Tom Smith bought the hotel and renamed it the St. James. It did well until newer hotels opened, and by the late 1890s it had closed. Over the following decades the building held offices, storage, a feed store and a tire recapping plant, and its rear wings and courtyard were lost.

A public and private partnership restored the hotel between 1994 and 1997, and it reopened under the St. James name a block from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the 1965 Bloody Sunday march began. It closed again in the 2000s, was restored by Rhaglan Properties of Birmingham and reopened in January 2021 as a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel, later running independently. It closed in August 2025, and in the fall of 2026 it reopened under Marriott’s Series collection, managed by Spire Hospitality.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Call the hotel rather than booking online if you want to request room 214, 314 or 315.
  • Find Lucinda’s portrait in the front parlor before you head upstairs.
  • Walk to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the National Voting Rights Museum; both are a few minutes away on foot.
  • Old Live Oak Cemetery and Sturdivant Hall, two of Selma’s best-known haunted places, are a short drive from the hotel.
  • The hotel reopened in fall 2026, so check current amenities and dining hours when you book.

Want to investigate, not just sleep?

Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the St. James Hotel in Selma haunted?

It is one of Alabama’s best-known haunted hotels. Guests report a man in 1880s clothing in rooms 214, 314 and 315, the scent of lavender linked to a woman called Lucinda, and a dog barking where there is none. These are stories, not documented events.

Did Jesse James stay at the St. James Hotel?

Local legend says Jesse and Frank James stayed in the 1880s, but there is no record that proves it. The story is part of the hotel’s lore and is told on Selma’s haunted history tours.

Is the St. James Hotel open?

Yes. It closed in August 2025 and reopened in fall 2026 as part of Marriott’s Series collection, with 55 rooms.

Which room is haunted at the St. James Hotel?

Room 214 is the room most linked to Jesse James, with rooms 314 and 315 also named. You can ask for them, but the hotel cannot guarantee a room number.

Who was Benjamin Sterling Turner?

An enslaved man who managed the hotel through the Civil War. He later became the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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