The OES visited the Moonville Tunnel on April 6, 2002. 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 its peak in the 1870s, and totally disappeared by 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 stood abandoned since. In early 2009, the fictional book "An Incident At Moonville: The Conductor's Revenge," by William M. Cullen was released. The fictional horror story was based on the history of Moonville. The OES and our experience at the tunnel as described below was cited in chapter 20 through one of the characters in his preservation report for a school project.

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. The brakeman was drunk after playing cards with some others and while walking through the tunnel, attempted to stop an oncoming train by swinging his lantern back and forth. This didn't work and the brakeman was hit by the train, decapitating him. His ghost is said to haunt the tunnel, frantically swinging his lantern back and forth for eternity. This legend has inspired its very own bluegrass song and fictional horror story. America's most entertaining bluegrass band, The Rarely Herd, wrote a song entitled "Moonville Brakeman." You can listen to the song in its entirety below.

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 would haunt today. Perhaps she will float along where the trestle used to be, but there have been no reports of such. There were two other recorded deaths at or near the Moonville Tunnel, but we have not received any hauntings or legends about them.

During our visits, we obtained very high electromagnetic field (EMF) readings within the tunnel. Our first attempt to record for electronic voice phenomena (EVP) when the brand new microcassette tape snapped in half near the middle of the tunnel. If there was something there, it sure didn't want us to hear it. In June of 2003, we returned to Moonville hoping to finally record some EVP. We were not let down. Not only did we capture a few strange occurrences on audio equipment, one of our members actually witnessed the ghostly lantern for himself and others witnessed a dark shadowy figure at the western end of the tunnel. The group also experienced lighting changes in the tunnel, becoming slightly darker for brief instances of time, despite it being a clear night. A female member had extreme cold-chills and pictures taken near her showed strange blue balls of light. While she was recording EVP, a voice said "I got you."

We returned to Moonville Tunnel with a documentary team on October 19, 2004 around 6:30 PM to conduct a paranormal investigation. The tunnel was unusually dark when standing at its center due to a dense fog that had rolled in. After walking the entire length of the tunnel and not picking up any out-of-the-ordinary readings on the EMF meter, we decided to stand in the center of the tunnel with the lights out. A few minutes passed as we stayed quiet in an attempt to record EVP. We heard a sound come from the Raccoon Creek end of the tunnel that was most likely water dripping from the ceiling. As everyone was looking in that direction, OES Founder Jason R. looked to the other end, seeing a dim light...almost like candlelight. He informed the group of eight people about the light, but as with many things paranormal, the light disappeared as soon as everyone turned to look.

As the group stood looking toward where the light had been seen, there was a sudden scuffling sound of someone or something coming down the hill just outside the tunnel. The very distinctive footsteps walked to the middle of the gravel path and started sprinting directly toward the entire group. At first, thinking it may be someone playing a prank, two people immediately turned on their flashlights and shinned them in the direction of the running. The running immediately stopped but nothing was seen. Jason R. and the head of the documentary crew walked to the end of the tunnel, not seeing the source of the running sound. However there were other signs of paranormal activity taking place. When the two reached the end of the tunnel, the temperature dropped a measurable 10-15ºF to 40ºF and the EMF meter was at the top of the scale and did not budge. There was a very thick static electricity feeling in the air and the fog had become so thick it allowed for only 10 feet of visibility. As the remainder of the group arrived at the tunnel's end, a very strong smell of musk cologne overwhelmed everyone. The thick fog, the coldness and the smell dissipated after about one minute. An EVP captured by the documentary crew stated "come closer" just before the running noise began. It was truly one of the most intense moments the OES has experienced while conducting an investigation.

Below are the photographs we took while at Moonville Tunnel. There is also a fully interactive 360º panoramic photo from within the tunnel, EVPs that were recorded at the tunnel and videos of possible paranormal activity taken in or around the tunnel. Website visitor Michelle Schrader sent us a remarkable photo of a possible apparition at the tunnel taken in October 2004. The photo is also below, but click here for her full story.