Please welcome guest author Susanna Holstein. Professional storyteller, writer, poet, blogger and balladsinger Susanna Connelly Holstein is from Jackson County, WV. Her work has been published in anthologies, online journals and on four storytelling CDs. A West Virginia History Hero and founding member of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, Holstein has presented Appalachian and Celtic stories and ballads, world folktales, folklore and family stories, storytelling and writing workshops for over 25 years.
The North Bend Rail Trail in West Virginia is known for its tunnels. Especially its haunted tunnels.
The tunnels on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line between Grafton and Parkersburg, West Virginia were built just after the Civil War, between 1867 and 1870. By the late 1950’s, railroad freight cars were getting taller and wider. The narrow, low tunnels on the B & O line were creating a problem area referred to as “The Bottleneck” by railroaders because of the difficulty of getting the larger trains through the tunnels. B&O decided to do a “clearance” project, widening the tunnels and raising the roofs to accommodate the new trains.
Some of the tunnels were “daylighted”, or had their roofs removed so they were open cuts instead of tunnels as part of this project, but ten of the original tunnels remain today. Hikers and bikers pass through them regularly, most unaware of the ghostly legends connected with several of the tunnels—stories of grisly deaths, apparitions, strange noises, and frightening experiences.
The Lady in White
Of these tales, the most well known by far is the the Silver Run Tunnel’s Lady in White. Silver Run, or Tunnel 19, is located not far from the little town of Cairo, which was once famous for its marble-making industry. Today, the Silver Run tunnel and its resident ghost attracts hundreds of visitors annually to tiny Cairo.
According to the legend, a young woman waited for her betrothed at the Silver Run station. She was to be married, and was wearing a long white dress as she watched for her lover.
He never came. Did she fall accidentally? Or did she jump in grief and despair when she realized she’d been jilted? No one knows, but not long after her death whispers began to spread that her ghost had been seen in the tunnel. One night, an engineer reported a woman in white who appeared at the tunnel entrance just as his train was approaching. The engineer tried to stop, but there was not enough time. The train struck the woman, sending her flying off the tracks.
When the train finally stopped, the engineer and his crew searched in vain for the young woman’s body, but it was nowhere to be found. After that report, engineers regularly reported seeing the woman, and tried to avoid hitting her. Each time, the story was the same. She vanished into thin air.
One engineer decided he would not stop for the apparition. When she appeared in front of his train, he blew the whistle but did not brake. The train smashed into the woman and she sailed up and over the engine.
The telegraph office in Parkersburg began getting strange messages for every station between the office and Silver Run. A woman in white was riding on the cowcatcher of an incoming train! As the train pulled into the station, a crowd was waiting. But there was no woman in white, only a pale-faced engineer who looked like he’d seen a ghost.
The Lost Tunnel has its own tale
While the legend of Silver Run is often told, Tunnel 21, sometimes called the Lost Tunnel, has its own, lesser known but even more eerie tale. It is a story that I happened on accidentally, by getting lost one dark night: a story of tragedy, live burial, and a strange haunting.
My husband and I were traveling a dirt road in Wood County, West Virginia, looking for the community of Petroleum, a place steeped in oil and gas history. But we had no idea where we were, or if we were on the right road. It was pitch dark when to our surprise and relief we saw another vehicle approaching. The Jeep stopped when Larry rolled down his window and waved. “Are we on the road to Petroleum?” he asked.
“Yeah, but why do you want to go there?” Two sets of curious eyes checked out our van. “That’s an awful nice vehicle to have back in here.”
“I’m a storyteller,” I explained. “I like to find places with stories. I especially like ghost stories and thought there might be some connected with the town’s past.”
“Storyteller!” The Jeep’s passenger peered at me. “Have you ever heard of Eaton’s Tunnel?”
I had never heard of it, but it took only a few minutes for the man to give me the basics of the tale.
“You just passed it,” my informant said. “It’s back where you started up this road. People hear things there, voices, wails, train whistles and such. It’s haunted for sure. I’ve heard things there myself. You don’t want to be in there after dark. People say there’s an old tunnel nearby, and three men were buried alive in it.”
It was enough to make me want to learn more. Buried bodies, ghostly wails, voices–what was the story behind the tunnel’s haunted reputation? The next day I began my research. I found the story of Thomas Nashville Johnson, killed in a collapse at the tunnel in 1869, a young father of four. But I was sure this wasn’t the story I was looking for, since the man in the Jeep said three men were trapped in the cave-in. Before long I was reading about the problems with the narrow old tunnels and the decision to renovate the line for the newer, bigger trains.
It was this decision that created a ghost at Tunnel 21, Eaton’s Tunnel.
The day finally arrives: collapse!
On June 6, 1963, work on Eaton’s tunnel was progressing well until, without warning, the tunnel collapsed. Three men were working inside, and all three were trapped. It is not hard to imagine the panic that ensued as the other workers tried desperately to free their friends.
One of the men was quickly rescued and sustained only a broken ankle. Another was rescued after hours under the rubble but later died of his injuries. The third worker, Harry “Buck” Nichols, could not be recovered; each time the rescue teams tried, more of the tunnel gave way. Finally, with the consent of Nichols’ family, the tunnel was sealed, with Nichols’ remains still inside.
A new tunnel was constructed close by. No marker was placed at the site in remembrance of the lost worker, and today only a muddy footpath leads to the original tunnel.
Two men lost their lives in this tunnel. One of them, or perhaps both of them, is still there. Thomas Nashville Johnson’s spirit may still linger, his cries echoing off the surrounding hills.
And Buck Nichols still rests beneath tons of dirt in the collapsed tunnel. Most hikers trekking the North Bend Rail Trail will pass through the new tunnel, unaware of the tragedies that occurred so close by. But a few may feel the hair raise on the back of their neck, and perhaps hear the whispery voice of the ghostly inhabitant of old Tunnel 21.
More articles on railroad tunnel digs:
Worst industrial tragedy in WV history(Opens in a new browser tab)
The dust-choked air of the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel dig(Opens in a new browser tab)
John Henry was hammering(Opens in a new browser tab)
The post Haunted Tunnels: The Silver Run Ghost, and the Lost Tunnel appeared first on Appalachian History.
