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The Moonville Tunnel is located off Shea Road in the Zaleski Forest in Vinton County. If you'd like directions, click here.

The old railroad tunnel is located along Raccoon Creek in the one of Ohio's densest wooded areas - the Zaleski Forest. The woods around it is so dense that you can't even see the tunnel until you're on the path right in front of it!

The small mining town of Moonville, which was founded in the 1850's, was once located around the tunnel which was used by the Marietta-Cincinnati Railroad. The town really was tiny, during it's peak in the 1870's there were maybe 60-100 residents living there. The town totally disappeared sometime in the 1930s...now all that's left is the tunnel, the cemetery, and a few old house foundations. The railroad stopped using the tracks in late 1986, and the tracks were torn out in 1988.

Many people consider the Moonville Tunnel one of Ohio's most haunted locations. Here are the ghosts I have heard about:

Railroad worker: The ghost that is most often seen at the Moonville Tunnel is the ghost of a railroad worker. On March 29, 1859 a Marietta-Cincinnati railroad worker fell onto the tracks outside the tunnel and was hit by a train. Today people claim to see his ghost walking along the tracks with a lantern. He is always seen wearing his railroad uniform. One legend has it that his head was decapitated when the train killed him, so some claim the ghost is headless.

Young woman: In 1905 a young woman was walking home along the tracks when she was killed by a passing train. Today people see her ghost walking along the tracks just outside of the tunnel, carrying a lantern and dressed in a flowing white dress or robe.

Black miner: In 1920 a group of black miners were playing cards in a shack near the roalroad. They were drinking very heavily. When it was time to go home, one of the workers was walking along the tracks. Since he was so drunk, he wasn't paying too much attention to things going on around him. He heard a sound behind him, and when he turned around he saw a train heading towards him! He wasn't alert enough to get off the tracks, so he started waving his lantern in an attempt to stop the train. Obviously, the conductors didn't have enough time to stop the train and the miner was killed. Today people claim to see the ghost of a tall black man with a gray beard and miner's hat waving a lantern in the tunnel.

Man murdered at the inn: In 1936 a man was murdered at the inn that sat to the right of the tunnel. Many people claim to see the murdered man standing near the top of the tunnel where the inn used to stand.

Young man: In 1954 a young man was waiting for a train to pass before crossing the tracks. The train passed, and he started to cross the tracks. However, one of the cars on the train had broken free and it ran over him. Today many people claim to see a red, glowing form near the tunnel, who they believe is this young man.

Ten year old girl: The last death at the tunnel was that of a ten year old girl in 1986. She was playing near the tracks when a train came through and killed her. Today people claim to hear a little girl laughing near the tunnel.

Penny Lott, a website visitor, sent me a couple e-mails about her eerie encounters at the Moonville Tunnel:

"It was cool. I did not have a camera so my boyfriend and I stopped at walmart on the way out and bought a Kodak Advantix 35mm. We stopped and took 2 pix of the sunset cuz it was really beautiful last evening, then when we got to the tunnel we took 1 pic of the entrance and 2 inside the tunnel and then the flash stopped working. We tried to finish up the roll of film by pointing our flashlights at the walls and taking pics but I figure they will turn out all black. Don't know if the camera was defective or if something out there did not want to be photographed! Have never had a camera do that."

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