The Haunted Cowee Tunnel and the Fugitive Ghost

My usual routine is to research a topic and write a blog about it. That blog then gets shared on Facebook, Twitter, and maybe one of the other social media platforms I play around on. However, there are times when just the opposite happens---I'll be inspired to write a blog post AFTER posting the information on Facebook.  And, that's the idea behind today's blog, lol. 

It all started with a video from one of my favorite YouTube explorers, The Carpetbagger. In one of his travels, he tells the story of the haunted Cowee train tunnel near Dillsboro, North Carolina. I've embedded the video below for you to watch, but the basic gist of the tale is both sad and horrific. 

On December 30, 1882, work was being done to dig a tunnel for the Great Smokey Mountain Railway, just outside Dillsboro, North Carolina. The digging was the work of an African-American chain gang, many of the group having been sent to prison over incidents of petty theft. To access the tunnel, the group had to take a boat across the Tuckasegee River from their camp on the other side.  On that fateful day, 19 men would never see the other side of the river alive again.  

The boat began to fill with water, and the men panicked. The more they panicked, the worse conditions got, and the boat quickly capsized. For 19 of the men, chained together, this was a death sentence. Tangled together, they sank to the bottom of the icy river.

Not all lives aboard the boat were lost, however. Anderson Drake was a black overseer who wasn't attached to the chain gang. Not only was he able to swim to safety, but he also managed to jump back into the river and save the life of a white guard named Fleet Foster.

Now, one would think that Foster would be grateful to have been pulled from the clutches of icy death, but it would seem that he felt offended that his life was in the hands of a black man, and a criminal at that. So, later that evening when his wallet went 'missing,' and the prisoners searched, it was found among the possessions of Drake. Drake, who should have been hailed as a hero, was severely beaten and had his sentence extended.

A few days later, the bodies of the 19 men who perished were removed from the river and buried in a mass grave near the site. Work continued on the tunnel, but the story does not end here. Many believe that to this day, the Cowee train tunnel is haunted. Even in dry weather, the tunnel is prone to vast amounts of moisture dripping from its ceiling and sides. Visitors attribute this to being the tears of the 19 deceased men. Also attributed to the men are the frequently heard voices and screams, crying out from the area around the tunnel.

Some even say the tunnel is cursed, possibly by Anderson Drake in response to his harsh treatment. Over the years, the tunnel has seen cave-ins, derailments, and other horrific accidents. But the weirdest ghost story associated with the tunnel wouldn't surface until decades after the incident.

When the movie, The Fugitive (1993) was being filmed, CGI technology was not what it is today. So,

to achieve the best possible shot for the iconic prison bus vs. train scene, a REAL bus and train wreck was staged on scene near Dillsboro, NC...only about a mile or so away from the haunted Cowee train tunnel!  After filming wrapped up, the remnants of the wreck were simply left on the side of the road, much to the delight of film buffs, urban explorers, and YouTubers. You can still visit the area and get up close and personal with the abandoned movie props....but that's not the most interesting part of this whole scene.

Allegedly, when that shot was being filmed, someone (or someTHING!) managed to show up on camera that shouldn't have been there. If you look closely at the part when Harrison Ford is looking up from inside the train crash, you can see what appears to be a face of a man, wearing a hat, peering down into the camera. This anomaly was confirmed by a member of production in an 'extras' interview, which can be viewed on YouTube.  He says that no one could identify the man  at the time and that his image was digitally removed from the DVD copy of the movie. You can still see it on VHS copies and throughout YouTube, with much speculation as to whether or not the image was a ghost.  Some say that he was probably a fireman on set that accidentally got caught on film.  Others believe he is a ghost associated with the Cowee Tunnel, located just a mile or so away from where the filming took place. Take a look at the footage from the link provided and let me know what YOU think!

Extra Links and Reading:
YouTube footage--DVD Interview and Ghost Scene from The Fugitive
Smoky Mountain News Article by Garrett K. Woodward
Atlas Obscura: The Fugitive Train Wreck
Dave Tabler article from Appalachian History
The Carpetbagger YouTube Channel

Utah's Haunted Train Depot

Welcome to another installment of Haunted America!  Utah isn't generally known on a national level for its ghosts, but there are still plenty of wonderful legends and hauntings to go around...such as these stories from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Train Depot, located in Salt Lake City.

Commonly referred to as just the Rio Grande Train Depot, construction for this depot was completed in 1910 by architect Henry Schlacks, and for many years, was the main rail line in and out of Salt Lake City.  In fact, it is noted that many celebrities came through this station, as well as scores of LDS missionaries, and even more soldiers on their way to and from Fort Douglas during WWI and WWII.  However, as personal automobiles replaced the train as the preferred method of travel, the station's usefulness steadily declined.  It did act as the area's Amtrak station from 1986 through 1999, but even then, its career as a train depot was nearly at an end.  The building was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was purchased by the state two years later.

In 1981, the Utah State Historical Society moved into the building and to this day, the old depot houses its many offices and facilities.  It also houses a couple of ghost stories!

Since the 1940s, sightings of what has been dubbed the Purple Lady have been reported at the depot, most often near the current cafe and mezzanine areas.  Legend tells that this lady was accompanying her fiance to the depot to see him off during his enlistment in either the First or Second World War.  The two allegedly got into an argument, breaking off their engagement, and a ring was flung or fell onto the tracks.  As the young lady went to retrieve the ring, she was struck and killed by an incoming train.

The most detailed sighting of the Purple Lady was recorded in 1992 by a staff member with the Utah State Historical Society.  While in the women's restroom near the cafe, she noticed a woman with black hair, wearing a purple sequined dress, sitting on the couch in the lounge area.  The woman apparently appeared very angry, and ran out of the bathroom before disappearing from view.  Her footsteps have also been reported throughout the northern section of the building.

The Purple Lady is not alone, however.  Another ghost is reported as being a man who was killed during the construction of a nearby train tunnel.  While it is not usually noted how this particular ghost makes its presence known, he is dubbed the Tunnel Ghost. 

Wikipedia
All Aboard!  Rio Grande Depot Turns 100 This Year!
Prairie Ghosts

The Pufferbelly Restaurant in Kent, Ohio

From UglyHedgehog.com

Inspired by a topic posted on the Mysteries of the Ohio Valley Facebook page, I did a little research and discovered (much to my delight!) that there are a TON of interesting places in Kent, Ohio believed to be haunted.  Hopefully I'll get around to covering a few more of those locations soon, but let's start with the place that started it all---The Pufferbelly Restaurant.

The city of Kent hasn't always gone by the name of Kent.  Prior to 1867 it was known as Franklin Mills, and was largely dependent on the canal system for its livelihood.  However, in 1863, Marvin Kent brought the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad through town and the area quickly became known as a railroad town.  As the popularity of rail travel grew, replacing the dependence on the canals, the small wooden depot became inadequate.  A new, brick depot was finished in 1875.

But again, progress and time would change the face of Kent, Ohio.  Rail travel declined rapidly during the 1930s and by 1970, the last Atlantic and Great Western train stopped at the old depot.  That would not be the end to the old building, though!  The next year, the Kent Historical Society was formed with a goal to save depot building.  Today, it is home to several small shops, including the Pufferbelly Restaurant, which opened in 1981.

And, like many locations with a long history, the Pufferbelly Restaurant is believed to be haunted!  In an article from the Kent Daily Star about Kent's Haunted Pub Crawl, two ghosts are mentioned.  The first is simply that of a train conductor 'who loved the station so much he refused ever to leave,' even in death.  The second ghost is that of a young woman who died on the nearby train tracks.  She and her boyfriend had been out drinking one night, and stopped their car on the tracks.  The girl fell asleep, and unable to be woken up, was hit and killed by a passing train.  Somehow she made her way to the Pufferbelly restaurant.

In a recent interview with TV2, the owner and manager of the Pufferbelly claim that the most haunted hot spot of the building seems to be the dungeon-like basement, where the ghost or ghosts like to play harmless pranks on unsuspecting employees.  There's even mention of an apparition wearing a hat...

Because of all this spooky stuff going on, several investigation groups have visited the Pufferbelly in hopes of capturing evidence.  One group, S.I.G.H.T., has gotten several odd pictures with different anomalies they believe are spirits trying to manifest.  And, World Paranormal Investigations-Ohio recently released on the Facebook page that they will be filming an episode of True Ghost Stories at the Pufferbelly this May!  I'll be sure to update if I see any updates!

Was it a Ghost Seen in Barboursville?

While doing some research on a completely different topic, once again I ran into an interesting newspaper article that something in me told me to save.  In fact, its such a small story, located several pages into the publication, that I'm not entirely sure what about it caused me to stop the microfiche reader and take a look.  But, I did, and here's the tale:

From the Huntington Advertiser, September 6, 1945:

Chief Deputy Sheriff One Dunfee reported today that the and aides were unable to find a body along the Chesapeake &  Ohio Railway Co. right-of-way near Barboursville after a freight train engineer had dropped a note to station employees of Barboursville saying that his engine "probably struck a man" just west of that town.  

Tracks and adjacent territory for several miles were searched by the deputies.  A later check-up with residents of the area failed to reveal anyone missing under unusual circumstances.

At first thought, one would assume that there is a logical explanation for this episode.  It is very likely that the engineer is mistaken.  Perhaps the train came close to hitting someone, but that someone made it to safety without major (or any) injury.  It's also likely that perhaps fatigue or other circumstance led him to misidentifying a deer, a tree, or even a simple mirage.

However, I'm a paranormal researcher...and as logical as I try to be, there's always going to be the side of me that WANTS this to be paranormal, lol.  There are so many ghost stories that are linked with the railways and train disasters, and one common theme that has come up in WV ghost-lore many times is the tale of a phantom pedestrian being hit.  Perhaps the most famous of these cases is actually Screaming Jenny from the Harpers Ferry area, who is seen running down the tracks, screaming, as she finds herself engulfed in flames. More than one engineer has claimed to have hit this fiery apparition.

Could there be a chance that this engineer DID hit someone...but that someone was a ghost?  This idea has intrigued me so much, that I'm trying to methodically research if anyone has been hit and killed by a train in that area, perhaps on the anniversary of when this event was reported.  And that is where I need YOUR help loyal readers!  If you have any information, even if its just legends that have been passed down, I'd love to hear them!  I'd love to hear if anyone else has seen or reported a possible pedestrian struck in this area, or if anyone knows of any actual deaths that happened.  I did search the next few weeks' worth of papers, and there was no mention of a body ever turning up, nor any further mention of the case at all....

...but it does bring up another interesting aspect.  If this WAS an actual person that was hit, and a body not found, could that have sparked a new haunting, as an unknown person searches for his own closure to his own death?  Contact me at theresarhps@yahoo.com if you have any information on this subject, and I'll update if I find anything of note.

Photo is of a train near Barboursville in 1955.  Property of the Doors to the Past website, Barry Huffstutler