I know there are plenty of people who would disagree with that assertion, as there are countless contenders for that crown with a similarly valid claim to the throne. Earlier this year, we were treated to what I would argue is the clip that has come closest to unseating the Alabama Leprechaun when a lawyer uttered the words “I’m not a cat” after a feline-themed Zoom filter temporarily derailed a court case, but you could also point to many of the videos Ellen Degeneres relied on to keep her career afloat before she torpedoed it with her toxic personality.
What’s up with the Alabama Leprechaun?
Mobile is no stranger to celebrations, and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception – especially with our Alabama Leprechaun!
Whether you celebrate at O’Daly’s or Callaghan’s, there is something for everyone.
A signature symbol of St. Patrick’s day is the leprechaun, a part of Irish folklore for centuries.
Mobile St. Patrick’s day celebrations are often full of the phrase, “Who all seen the leprechaun say yeah.”
History of the Alabama Leprechaun
This phrase came from a news story from a little more than 15 years ago, when St. Patrick’s day in Mobile went viral as rumors of a leprechaun made the local news.
On March 14, 2006, only a few days before St. Patrick’s day, the Crichton Leprechaun made its debut on local news.
WPMI of channel 15 arrived in the neighborhood to understand why large crowds were gathering in the area.
The gathering grew so large that the police arrived to control the masses.
Crichton residents told reporters that they had seen a leprechaun in one of the neighborhood trees.
They said the Alabama leprechaun only comes out at night and disappears if a light is shined on it.
There was a Leprechaun Sketch
The original story featured an amateur sketch that gained popularity.
The sketch was later auctioned off and sold for almost $1,100, and the proceeds went to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life (love it).
This leprechaun sketch is still seen on shirts and other merchandise sold for St. Patrick’s day every year.
The original interview went viral on YouTube at the time and now has over 5 million views.
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The Voice Of Reason
Occum’s Razor dictates the most obvious explanation for a particularly intriguing mystery is usually the correct one, and the man who suggested the leprechaun sightings were simply the result of an optical illusion caused by a shadow cast by the limbs of the tree it was posting up in is probably the most reasonable person who makes an appearance in the segment.
However, he’s also the least entertaining one, which is why he ends up in the basement here.
The True Voice Of Reason
While the guy in the previous entry makes a compelling argument, you could also argue the woman who posited the leprechaun “could be a crackhead who got ahold of the wrong stuff” put forward an equally plausible theory—and based on a story that emerged eight years after the leprechaun was spotted, it turns out she was closer to cracking the case than anyone knew at the time.
In 2014, a couple of radio show hosts took a trip to Mobile in an attempt to get to the bottom of the case and managed to track down a little person who calls himself “Midget Sean,” who confirmed he had thrown on some green clothing and climb into the tree as a prank. While the investigators were offered the chance to buy some crack while conducting their investigation, there’s no reason to believe Sean was under the influence of that particular substance at the time, although he admitted he was doing some drinking with some buddies when the master plan was hatched.
While that may have effectively been the end of the saga, we’re just getting started.
Brian Johnson
Intrepid reporter Brian Johnson not only never received the Pulitzer he deserved for breaking this story wide open but was also deprived of any major screen time during his magnum opus, which is especially brutal when you consider you just know he spent years getting sent to cover animal beauty pageants and eating contests at county fairs before stumbling across the biggest story of his career.
He may have not gotten the time in the spotlight that he deserved, but I hope he can take solace in knowing that I consider him the local news legend that he is.
