Haunted Ohio: Ghosts of the Moonville Tunnel

Moonville Tunnel - Courtesy of the Vinton County Tourism Board

The Moonville Tunnel has a special place in my little ghost-hunting heart because it's close to where my parents grew up. They both came from the small village of Wilkesville in Vinton County, which now has a population of just 149 people. It's so small that friends from the area had never heard of it and when my uncle tried to find a home for sale in the area, he had no luck. My dad loved to tell me stories about trying to convince my mom to drive out to the old Moonville Tunnel and park with him. When she finally gave in, they ran into her grandparents out there!

Today, the Moonville Tunnel is just one of the many reminders in Southeastern Ohio of the railroads that were once so prominent. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Samuel Coe owned a large piece of land near Zaleski near what is now the Zaleski National Forest. When the M&C (Marietta & Cincinnati) Railroad wanted to expand their line, he offered them a deal: they could have the land for free as long as he could use the line to bring in new clay and coal.

As happened with other railroad lines in Ohio, the area around it quickly became a small town that went from around one hundred people in the early 19th century called Moonville to just another ghost town by the turn of the century. It turns out that when coal mines shut down, the railroad had nothing to ship along the line. Moonville families slowly moved to Vinton and other counties nearby or headed south to Kentucky before the town finally disappeared.

If you're lucky enough to visit Moonville today, you'll find just a few things. There's a small cemetery filled with former residents, the foundation of the old school, and of course, the Moonville Tunnel. You cannot think about haunted places in Ohio without thinking about the Moonville Tunnel. Despite being far, far, far, far off the beaten path, hundreds of people take a trip here every year in the hopes of seeing one of the local ghosts.

The most common story surrounds one of the poor railroad workers tasked with keeping the tunnel free. As the tunnel cut through the vast woods, many people used it to cut through the trees and get home faster. Unfortunately, not everyone was lucky enough to get out in time. When the trains came through, they took up so much of the tunnel that anyone trapped inside faced a certain death.

To make things a little safer, the M&C Railroad tasked a worker with the job of walking the Moonville Tunnel every night. Walking back and forth through the tunnel and around both sides to warn locals about incoming trains. One night, he befell the same fate that so many others did. Whether he misjudged the distance between the open ends or how far away the train was, he became trapped when the train caught up to him and took his last breaths inside the now abandoned tunnel.

A similar version of the story claims that the worker was in the depot on a long and lonely night in 1859 when he fell asleep. As the brakeman, he was responsible for applying the brakes as the train passed through to bring it to a stop. On that night, he was just a little too late. Hearing what he thought was a train leaving the tunnel, he jumped up and raced outside, only to find himself face-to-face with a massive and slow-moving train. Locals watched in horror as he stumbled through the tunnel with his lantern in hand until he passed away in front of them.

There's quite a bit of evidence to back up this story such as an article published in an 1859 edition of the McArthur Democrat. According to the report, the train drove his legs, leaving the brakeman battered and bloody. It went on to say that some of those who tended to his wounds could no longer even make out where his legs once were.

The one thing these stories have in common is that they all led to the haunting of the Moonville Tunnel. Many of the people who spotted the ghost claimed to see just an orb of light that floated through the air and moved in a back-and-forth pattern – the same way a railroad worker would move his lantern. Others claimed to see the apparition of a man in an old-fashioned outfit standing near one end of the tunnel.

Those from the Zaleski area know even more legends about the Moonville Tunnel. At least four locals died in the tunnel before the railroad company took action. Legend says that one was a pregnant woman. While trying to hurry home and make dinner for her family, she cut through the tunnel and met her fate when the train hit her head-on. A man standing eight feet tall was another victim of the tunnel during its early days. Both may still haunt their final spots.

Another intriguing story surrounds a train full of people heading to Cincinnati. Though a few people appeared ill when the train departed, more riders became sick as it moved through Ohio. Just outside of Moonville, the railroad decided to quarantine the train, hoping to prevent an outbreak of what some now claim was the plague or the flu. Legend says that nearly everyone on board died before medical help could arrive and that they now haunt both the tunnel and the surrounding woods.

No small-town legend is complete without at least a few versions of the same story, which is why there's yet another one that combines elements of both. On a stormy night in the mid-1800s, a railroad worker realized that the nearby river washed away. In the hopes of reaching the engineer, he grabbed his lantern and frantically rushed towards the oncoming train. Not only did the engineer fail to see him and crashed the train into him head-on, but the train went off the tracks and crashed into the water, drowning everyone who was on it.

Supposedly, both the spirits of the train and the railroad worker now haunt the Moonville Tunnel. On the anniversary of the accident, locals claim to see the worker's lantern bouncing around the unused tracks and seeing a train's lights in the distance. It's worth pointing out that the nearby “river” is more of a small creek that would not cause a derailed train, let alone a train of passengers to die. Some versions of this story claim that the Moonville Tunnel is a trestle going over the water, which isn't true. Also, there's no historical evidence of a train ever derailing in the area.

Even those who doubt ghosts are real would have a hard time with the Moonville Tunnel. Reports from locals about the eerie things seen and heard there date back to the 1890s. That was when people began seeing a tall man with a long white beard outside of the tunnel. Clad in overalls with a minor's hat perched on his head, he would often wave the lantern as if warning visitors. On a few occasions, he even screamed.

Then there's the story of the Lavender Lady. Nicknamed for the overwhelming scent of lavender that surrounds her, she wears old-fashioned clothing and stands close to the bridge. Though she doesn't scream or cry, she has an unsettling appearance and can make visitors feel sad just by looking at her. Rumor is that she was one of the train's victims, sentenced to death when she became trapped in the tunnel with a train coming her way. Others report seeing a woman in a long white dress who leaves behind the lingering odor of fresh flowers.

If you're lucky, a visit to the Moonville Tunnel might lead to a sighting of the ghosts of the Hope Furnace. While the work was hard enough on its own, many men worked through the night to ensure things ran smoothly. With no electric lights available at the time, they used lanterns to light their way. One night, a worker was too close to the top of the furnace and fell inside. The others heard only a slight scream before the molten ire did its job. Some claim to see him still standing around the furnace with his lantern in one hand or what looks like multiple lanterns bobbing in the air.

The hardest part of visiting the Moonville Tunnel today is simply getting there. Take OH-32 to OH-50 and then take a left onto OH-278. Follow the gravel road to the one-lane bridge and then park. Head over to Raccoon Bridge to find the trail to the tunnel. Alternatively, you can take US-33 and hop on OH-278 south to Lake Hope State Park. Drive past the park and take a left on Wheelabout Road. Keep going until the road becomes a gravel trail and you cross a one-lane bridge. You'll need to get across Raccoon Creek and find the trail that takes you directly to the Moonville Tunnel.

When my parents were still alive, we had the chance to visit the Moonville Tunnel along with my best friend and fellow haunted site enthusiast, BD. I cannot tell you what directions we took, but I know we did not cross a bridge. It's highly likely that my father decided to take his own route. We parked on the side of a major road and found ourselves crossing what was usually a small creek. Recent storms caused the creek to overflow, nearly doubling our trip time.

I can't count how many times myself or BD nearly slipped and fell in the water, but it was worth it once we picked up the trail and found ourselves in front of the impressive Moonville Tunnel. As a history buff, I was just happy to see a little part of the region's history in front of me. As a ghost hunter though, it was a somewhat “meh” experience. Our visit took place in the middle of the day with multiple people wandering around the tunnel and taking photos. The scariest part was turning around to find myself face-to-face with a horse. I still don't know how I missed hearing his hoof prints on the ground.

It was another thing completely when we stepped inside. Despite knowing there were people around, it was somehow incredibly quiet inside. It was like there was no one around for miles. The middle of the tunnel was so dark that we wound up pulling out our phones to see. It's easy to see why visitors might feel uncomfortable here, especially late at night.

Despite not seeing anything unusual on our visit, the Moonville Tunnel is easily worth the trip for anyone interested in Ohio hauntings or history.