The Boyington Oak — the tree that grew from a dead man's grave in Mobile, Alabama

The Boyington Oak in Mobile, Alabama, is a massive Southern live oak tree that, according to legend, grew from the grave of Charles Boyington, a man who was hanged for murder in 1835. Boyington was convicted of killing his friend Nathaniel Frost, though he maintained his innocence until the end. On the gallows, Boyington reportedly declared that an oak tree would grow from his grave as proof of his innocence. Shortly after his burial in the potter's field of the Church Street Graveyard, a live oak sapling appeared on his grave — it has since grown into a large, spreading tree that stands to this day. The Boyington Oak has been associated with supernatural phenomena for nearly two centuries. Visitors to the graveyard have reported hearing a man's voice proclaiming his innocence near the tree, seeing a shadowy figure standing beneath its branches at night, and feeling an intense sense of injustice in the tree's vicinity. Some visitors have described the leaves of the oak rustling violently on windless days, as though animated by an inner force. The tree has survived hurricanes, lightning strikes, and development pressures, and its persistence is seen by some as ongoing proof of Boyington's innocence. The Boyington Oak is one of Mobile's most recognizable landmarks and a favorite stop on the city's ghost tours.