Haunted Hocking Hills

The Hocking Hills are filled with the whispers of legends and stories centering around the unexplained.  For as many of those who will turn a cold shoulder to these tales, there are countless others who will feel the chill of goosebumps run along their arms at just the mere thought of seeing a ghost slinking across some  cemetery grounds.

This page, Haunted Hocking, is for both the nonbelievers and the believers of a haunted Ohio. It is for those who are skeptical so they may take an adventure just to prove the tale wrong and perhaps find something in the meantime. And it is for those, too, who might just believe enough to experience the thrill of seeing something-but then realize maybe they didn't want to see it in the first place.

One of the most popular tales in the Hocking Hills is that of the Moonville Brakeman. Not far from Old Man's Cave, the area surrounding Moonville near Zaleski State Forest is said to be haunted by more than one ghostly apparition.

 

 

Moonville Tunnel

 

No trains have passed through the towns of Hope, Moonville or Ingham for well over twenty years but nearly hidden behind years of thick forest growth, the old Cincinnati and Marietta Railroad tracks still run noiselessly through this section of southeastern Ohio. But the locals here in Vinton County say the railway tracks aren't the only remnants of the iron furnace days still hanging around. In fact,  stories tell of a railway brakeman that haps by the old Moonville Tunnel in the dark of night...

It seems that back around 1859, after stopping in Moonville, a brakeman for the railway had been passing his break time away with a lantern in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other. He fell asleep and some time during the night, he was awakened by the sound of his train leaving the depot. Unsteadily, he arose, stumbling on to the train track and falling beneath the wheels of the train. The brakeman never recovered from his injuries and the ghost of the man is said to be seen stumbling down the tracks within the tunnel with lantern in hand, still trying to catch the train before it leaves Moonville Station.

 

 

 

 

Getting there:

From State Route 93-Take State Route 56 to State Route 278 south-following the signs toward Lake Hope State Park. You will pass the iron furnace on the right and then the park lake. After the lake, make the first left on to Wheelabout Road. Almost immediately, the road will fork-veer to the left side of the fork. Follow this road until you get to a metal, one-lane bridge crossing over Raccoon Creek. Just before the bridge and on the left, you will see a pretty well-worn dirt trail that will lead along the bottomland and then up a gravel incline to the old tracks. The Moonville Tunnel is on the left. Watch out for poison ivy all along the trail!

Want more ghost stories in the Hocking Hills, try www.hauntedhocking.com!