<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4O6yEF_1Gdjz1B100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4O6yEF_1Gdjz1B100" width="640" height="360" ></figure>DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) -- What appears to be your average hardware store turned museum in downtown Dothan was recently discovered to be one of the hottest spots of paranormal activity in the circle city.The ER Porter Hardware Store is a historic landmark in Dothan that opened in 1889 by Edwin Russell Porter, the first fire chief in Dothan, and Joel Murphee."It has remained a hardware store for 137 years; it is a huge historical part of Dothan, Alabama," said Teresa Fikes with the Webb Paranormal Group.While they strive to preserve history, researchers say some mysteries remain. One is a vault that was used by people, mainly farmers, to store their money in efforts to keep it safe before Dothan got its first bank."The vault is actually sealed up; you can't open it without tearing it up. They are not even sure what's in the vault; it was used even after the first bank came here," said Teresa Fikes.After speaking with Russell Conway, the great-grandson of ER Porter, about the history, the Webb Paranormal Group researched and toured the place, finding some spooky mysteries. They identified the second floor as one of the hot spots of paranormal activity."I had a couple investigators doing EBP recordings, and they asked for a name, and whatever was up here touched her on the leg, and she scurried away," said Stan Fikes with the Webb Paranormal Group. "Just beside the lady getting touched on the leg, they heard voices, footsteps up and down, and nobody was up here. We don't call things paranormal right off the bat; we explore that, and if we can't, we go a different way."Another mystery that remains upstairs is a window that keeps opening after it was closed."We have tried to make it open, but we never could make it work. The night we investigated it was open, but we closed it, went downstairs, and it was open again a couple hours later. Was it opened by a ghost? I don't know, but it's a mystery."While the upstairs is a known hotspot, the paranormal researchers found the most activity in the basement of ER Porter Hardware, a hidden mystery many did not know existed. They discovered the 'legend' of the place, a tunnel said to run all throughout downtown Dothan, where a light shines through the dark hole at times."It went from here to the courthouse. After the Dothan riot, they would bring them here and bring them up to the courthouse when they had their court appearance to keep the riots down," said Teresa Fikes.Researchers described an eerie experience while in the basement."They had belts hanging up above, and they were thrown at us, and we were asking questions about people who came down here, and there are bullet holes," said Stan Fikes.They also used a static box that they hooked Russell Conway up to, where he experienced ladies touching him and a whiff of perfume. Investigators also used a rimpod device that can be used to detect human interupptions..And…It did.Conway is fulfilling his great-grandfather's wish by keeping the hardware store open. While it closed as a retail store in 2014, four years later it reopened as a museum.The hardware museum is right across from the Dothan Opera House.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.</div></body>

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DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) -- What appears to be your average hardware store turned museum in downtown Dothan was recently discovered to be one of the hottest spots of paranormal activity in the circle city. The ER Porter Hardware Store is a historic landmark in Dothan that opened in 1889 by...

HAUNTED WIREGRASS: An eerie experience at E.R. Porter Hardware in Dothan

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DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) -- What appears to be your average hardware store turned museum in downtown Dothan was recently discovered to be one of the hottest spot

HAUNTED WIREGRASS: An eerie experience at E.R. Porter Hardware in Dothan

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