The Ghost of Silver Run
by Aaron
The Ghost of Silver Run.
Through a small isolated village in West Virginia called ‘Silver Run,’ runs a stretch of railroad track which is famous for repeated sightings of a female specter. During the 19th and 20th century, the stretch of track belonged to the B & O Railroad company, however the company no longer exists and the route has since fallen into disrepair. The stretch between Clarksburg and Parkersburg was approximately 90 miles long, and engineers who did the journey during the nighttime reported strange sightings.
According to an eye witness account from a 19th century engineer, the ghost of Silver Run is real. One night, while the engineer was doing his midnight run, he came around a bend and was approaching tunnel #19. Suddenly, he saw a girl with ‘pitch-black hair and bloodless skin,’ who was wearing a light colored gown, standing at the entrance to the tunnel. The man was afraid that the girl may have been a sleep walker from one of the near-by homes. He gave it all he could to stop the train, meanwhile the girl never looked at him or took notice of him. The train neared closer and closer, an impact was imminent and unavoidable. However, at the last second the girl screamed and shot straight into the air. Regardless, the man was spooked and stopped the train. He got out and checked for a body, or blood; anything to indicate that an actual person had been there. He found nothing.
This man was not the first engineer to report something like this, nor was he the last. After this sighting was heard about around the railroad community, another engineer by the name of O’Flannery, voiced his plan on what he would do if he saw the ghost himself. He said he not going to stop, but to go full speed ahead. One night the opportunity presented itself, and he did just as he promised. He saw the girl scream, and she she appeared to shoot straight up in the air like a white bat. At the end of his run, he pulled up at the 6th Street Station in Parkersburg, as he got out the station was in a flurry of activity. He asked what was going on. One of the railroaders told him that as he passed various stations, telegraph reports were sent out warning other stations that there was a girl riding on the front of the engine. In other words, the joke was on him.
Today the tunnel still exists, though it is overrun by weeds and foliage. Sightings in recent years have been scant, however there have been a few sightings in the late 20th century. One sighting involved a man and a woman who were hiking, and just so happened to venture into the tunnel on foot, when the couple saw the girl directly in front of them. They ran and would later hear about the famed ‘Ghost of Silver Run.’
There is no consensus on who the girl was to begin with, however there are some stories about what her circumstances may have been before she perished. Some accounts say that the girl was actually a young woman who was betrothed to a man in a distant city, who was afraid of riding on trains. Allegedly the girl had with her a gift from her fiance, a gorgeous necklace. Nobody is sure what happened next, however some believe that a jealous suitor followed her into the train, and threw her off, killing her. Other accounts say that she simply jumped off, however she had apparently been writing in her journal up until the very last minute. Her body was never located.
Through a small isolated village in West Virginia called ‘Silver Run,’ runs a stretch of railroad track which is famous for repeated sightings of a female specter. During the 19th and 20th century, the stretch of track belonged to the B & O Railroad company, however the company no longer exists and the route has since fallen into disrepair. The stretch between Clarksburg and Parkersburg was approximately 90 miles long, and engineers who did the journey during the nighttime reported strange sightings.
According to an eye witness account from a 19th century engineer, the ghost of Silver Run is real. One night, while the engineer was doing his midnight run, he came around a bend and was approaching tunnel #19. Suddenly, he saw a girl with ‘pitch-black hair and bloodless skin,’ who was wearing a light colored gown, standing at the entrance to the tunnel. The man was afraid that the girl may have been a sleep walker from one of the near-by homes. He gave it all he could to stop the train, meanwhile the girl never looked at him or took notice of him. The train neared closer and closer, an impact was imminent and unavoidable. However, at the last second the girl screamed and shot straight into the air. Regardless, the man was spooked and stopped the train. He got out and checked for a body, or blood; anything to indicate that an actual person had been there. He found nothing.
This man was not the first engineer to report something like this, nor was he the last. After this sighting was heard about around the railroad community, another engineer by the name of O’Flannery, voiced his plan on what he would do if he saw the ghost himself. He said he not going to stop, but to go full speed ahead. One night the opportunity presented itself, and he did just as he promised. He saw the girl scream, and she she appeared to shoot straight up in the air like a white bat. At the end of his run, he pulled up at the 6th Street Station in Parkersburg, as he got out the station was in a flurry of activity. He asked what was going on. One of the railroaders told him that as he passed various stations, telegraph reports were sent out warning other stations that there was a girl riding on the front of the engine. In other words, the joke was on him.
Today the tunnel still exists, though it is overrun by weeds and foliage. Sightings in recent years have been scant, however there have been a few sightings in the late 20th century. One sighting involved a man and a woman who were hiking, and just so happened to venture into the tunnel on foot, when the couple saw the girl directly in front of them. They ran and would later hear about the famed ‘Ghost of Silver Run.’
There is no consensus on who the girl was to begin with, however there are some stories about what her circumstances may have been before she perished. Some accounts say that the girl was actually a young woman who was betrothed to a man in a distant city, who was afraid of riding on trains. Allegedly the girl had with her a gift from her fiance, a gorgeous necklace. Nobody is sure what happened next, however some believe that a jealous suitor followed her into the train, and threw her off, killing her. Other accounts say that she simply jumped off, however she had apparently been writing in her journal up until the very last minute. Her body was never located.
No comments:
Post a Comment