Moonville Tunnel - Zileski State Forest, OH
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 39° 18.435 W 082° 19.330
17S E 386006 N 4351706
Located deep in Zaleski Forest in Ohio near Lake Hope State Park, the Moonville Tunnel is all that remains from a small mining town that exsisted in the late 1850's. For nearly 100 years folks have said that the Moonville Tunnel is haunted by ghosts.
Waymark Code: WM247N
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2007
Views: 280
All photographs here are my originals, but the narratives are from the web sites as referrenced.
From the site given in the primary link:
In the late 1850's the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad (M&C RAILROAD) was constantly striving to the west to reach the Cincinnati Area. The owner at the time was looking for ways to keep himself out of debt, so he made a deal with a man by the name of Samuel Coe. He allowed the M&C RAILROAD to be built through his property, he did this so he could use the train to haul out coal and clay that was on his property. As
the railroad was constructed Coe began opening mines on his property, and soon people came to the area searching for work. This is how the small town of MOONVILLE began.
Now I have heard many different stories about the ghost of the moonville tunnel, but the stories go back as far as 100 years ago. Many people believe that there are two ghosts that haunt the area, not just one. The most popular versions of the stories are of a headless figure who walks around inside the tunnel and around the area waving a yellow lantern in an effort to stop the train. The other story is of a woman in a night gown seen wondering around the area of the tracks at night.
On my visit to Moonville, as we were about to cross the raccon creek, I encountered a forest park ranger and interviewed him on my camcorder, he told me that the ghost of the man who haunts the tunnel was a train conductor who was drunk and fell in front of the train and was decapitated. Another theory says that the conductor was having an affair with the brakeman's wife and he was pushed out of the train and ran over.
Another local told me a story that Moonville was strucken with small pox, and sent thier most healthy person to the tracks to walk and get help, the fellow approached the tunnel, he was apparently sick and delerious from the small pox and staggered in front of an oncoming train waving his yellow lantern, and was decapitated.
As for stories about the woman, there are documented cases where a woman was killed about a mile from the tunnel while walking the tracks in 1886. and though this ghost story is not as popular as the headless ghost from the tunnel, the park ranger I interviewed did say that people have talked of a ghost that resembled a woman in a blue'ish night gown wandering around
I have heard that in it's prime the small town of Moonville only had about 50-65 people. The area was harsh terrain, and very hilly. Some folk say the small town only had about four real buildings besides the houses that were sparsly scattered about the area. The town had a schoolhouse, a post office, a general store, and a railroad depot.
Today all of these buildings are long gone, except for a cemetery (where some of the Moonville people are buried) and a few house foundations. There was also one Saloon, and the town people would often walk the railroad tracks to get to it. But the one thing that remains today that you can still see, is the haunted Moonville Tunnel.
GHOST . . . . OR GEOCACHER?
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The following narrative is from the Ohio Exploration Society which investigates reports of paranormal activity. The link to their web site is at the and of this description.
Moonville is in Vinton County along the Raccoon Creek in the densest wooded area in Ohio. Founded in the 1850s, Moonville was a mining town along the Marietta - Cincinnati Railroad. The coal mined in Moonville was used to supply the many furnaces in the area including the Hope Furnace. Moonville reached it's peak in the 1870s, and totally disappeared in the 1930s with the exception of the Moonville Tunnel and the Moonville Cemetery. The railroad ceased operation sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, and the tunnel has been abandoned since.
There are several legends and ghost stories surrounding the Moonville Tunnel. This first story is the most popular and familiar in relation to the tunnel. On a dark night in the late 1850s, a brakeman was killed by a train. He was drunk after playing cards with some others, and while walking through the tunnel, attempted to stop the train by swinging his lantern back and forth. It didn't work and he was hit by the train and decapitated. His ghost is now said to haunt the tunnel, swinging his lantern back and forth for eternity. This legend even inspired it's very own Bluegrass Song. America's Most Entertaining Bluegrass Band, The Rarely Herd, wrote a song entitled "Moonville Brakeman".
The second story is of a young lady who was on her way to see her lover in Moonville. As she was crossing the train trestle, she was struck and killed by a train. Her ghost is said to roam the old train trestle, looking for her head. Since the trestle is no longer there, we're not too sure where she's going to haunt now. Perhaps she will float along where the trestle used to be, or maybe she'll haunt the old stone bridge that now crosses the creek.
From: The Ohio Exploration Society
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Beyond the Moonville Tunnel is one of the more interesting geocaches in the region:
The Moonville Cache Project (GCJRR8). This cache gives further descriptions and photos of this historic site.
PLAQUE NEAR THE SOUTH END OF THE TUNNEL