7. Shanghai Tunnels, Portland
In Portland, Oregon, there was once a horrible practice known as being shanghaied, in which people would be kidnapped and sent over to Asia. Men were made to work on the ships and sold as slaves while the women were sold as sex slaves and prostitutes. It is said that the victims were held and transported through the underground tunnel system that is located beneath Portland’s Old Town.
These are the legends that turned the tunnels into a must-see destination for ghost hunters, amateur and professional alike. People have claimed to hear male voices telling them to “go away” or more worryingly “stay.” Some have also stated that they saw a female figure down in the tunnel. The most seen of these spirits is Joshua, a 9-year-old boy who supposedly emptied chamber pots for money.
6. Church Hill Tunnel, Virginia
It is said that the Church Hill tunnel is not only haunted by ghosts but is also the den of a vampire. The tunnel was opened in 1873 and closed in 1902. It wasn’t until the 1920s that it was reopened because of the growth in the city’s population.
Men stood on flat cars that were being pulled along by a locomotive while they worked on the tunnel’s roof, reinforcing it so the tunnel could be used. The roof of the tunnel collapsed and buried the locomotive. The train’s fireman was burned by scalding steam was shot out by the locomotive after it was crushed. He later died from his injuries at the hospital after crawling out.
The engineer of the train was in even worse shape; he had a lever through his chest and his body was badly burnt, he was found after an eight-day rescue mission. The records from back them were poorly kept, but it is known that at least one body was never recovered. The entrances to the tunnel have been covered in concrete so no accidents can occur.
People that wander by the tunnel have reported hearing voices, sounds of digging, and even the locomotive’s wheels screeching. Now we get to the really strange part of the story.
It is reported that the Richmond Vampire, a figure of local folklore, was spotted by the rescuers. They say he was kneeling over the dead workers and feeding on the corpses, they chased him off and into the crypt of a man that had died in 1922.
Let’s say it was true, does this mean that the sounds people are hearing might not be ghosts but the undead vampires trapped in the tunnel, looking for a way out after 90 years so they can finally feed? Now THAT is a ghost story.
5.The Blue Ghost Tunnel, Merritton
On a rail line near Merritton, which is located near Niagara Falls, a horrific and fatal train crash occurred on January 3, 1903. Engine Number 975 left from Niagara Falls at 6:00 am and was scheduled to run through the city of Hamilton. That same day Engine Number 4, which was an express train, was scheduled to arrive in the town of Merritton at 6:28 am.
The fatal crash happened at exactly 7:03 am, the Engine 4 had just passed a small telegraph office when it met Engine 975 a in a head-on collision, creating a shower of fire and metal as the two crumpled in on one another.
Both engines were traveling around 22MPH and at full steam when they collided in the tunnel.
Miraculously both engineers survived and escaped the crash with only broken limbs and minor cuts to the face. Unfortunately, both firemen on the trains died. Mr. Charles Horning was jammed into the boiler, his body mangled beyond recognition. When rescuers tried to pry him from the wreck by grabbing his limbs they pulled right off his torso. While they freed what they could, his torso was pinned so hard that it had to be left there. It was noted by the rescuers that his wristwatch was still working.
Abraham Desult was the second firemen on Engine 975; his body was also smashed into the boiler. Being in the boiler caused him to receive burns to 90% of his body, he was rushed as quickly as possible to St, Catharines General Hospital were, after 5 hours in agonizing pain, he finally succumbed to his injuries.
4. Moonville Tunnel, Ohio
Engineer Frank Lawhead was taking the passage from Cincinnati to Marietta. In a blink of an eye, his life was stripped away after he collided with another train that was on the same track. This was neither of the engineer’s faults; the dispatcher had not told either of them that they were on the same track. Both the fireman and he were most likely killed instantly.
You would think that would be the end of the story, but then you would be wrong. Not long after the accident, witnesses reported seeing a ghostly figure dressed in white. Engineers running the route would report seeing a faint light in the distance accompanied by a white figure. As they neared it, it would dissipate into the blackness of the forest.
3. Gold Camp Road Tunnel, Colorado Springs
It is said that after a school bus had crashed into the ‘tunnel three’, the tunnel collapsed and killed all the children onboard. The bus driver appeared to have a heart attack while he was driving. These are not the only deaths that have happened at the tunnel, though, not counting the people that died making the tunnels. Every once in a while, a body will be found around the area of the tunnel. People say that the area is home to A LOT of Satan worshippers. The worshippers first moved there in the 1970s and are most likely still there. They have been seen carrying torches and wearing black robes, chanting as they walk by the tunnels. It is said that the rituals were meant to summon spirits or demons.
The laughs of children can be heard; they also report feelings of their clothes being tugged on. Child sized handprints can be found on cars parked outside the tunnel. However, the second tunnel has shown more violent spirits. People have said they have been scratched, hit, and even groped, and some have reported seeing a male figure at the end of the tunnel.
2. Hoosac Tunnel, Massachusetts
By the time the Hoosac Tunnel was finished in 1876, it had lived up to its nickname: The Bloody Pit. I will give you two examples of the tragedies that happened in this tunnel, the first being a possible double homicide.
In 1865, three explosive engineers entered the tunnel, but only one would emerge. Their names were Nash, Kelley, and Brinkman, after they set the explosives they all ran back to get behind cover, but Nash and Brinkman never made it. Kelley had “accidentally” set off the charges early, burying the other two under tons of rocks. Kelley disappeared shortly after, and he wasn’t found until a year later. His body was discovered almost exactly where Nash and Brinkman had met their unfortunate fates, and he had been strangled to death. The investigation of his murder brought forth no suspects; the other workers believed that Nash and Brinkman had come back from the grave to exact their revenge on Kelley.
The second example is the worst accident that ever occurred in the Hoosac Tunnel. On October 17, 1867, gas fumes filled up the cave and met with the flame of a candle. The gas ignited and shot a raging wave of fire down the main shaft. Thirteen people were killed in the explosion, and after a worker went in to investigate, he came out muttering the words “no hope, no hope.” Later on, the shaft flooded and the bodies floated to the top. 195 people were killed during the 24-year project.
There were some reports of harmful spirits after the 1867 incident, but not all the reports from the tunnel were bad. In the 1970s a man named Joe Impoco was working in the mines and reported that voices had warned him on two different occasions about the danger that was coming. The voices saved him from being crushed by an oncoming train.
1. Victoria Park, Brisbane
In a small and forgotten part of Brisbane lies a tunnel which captured the supernatural imagination of Australia over half a century ago. A group of teenagers on the night of Saturday 20, 1965, lit the flame that is still recalled by the people of Brisbane 50 years later.
After hearing the stories, the teenagers decided to go see if there was actually a ghost in the old Victoria Park Subway Tunnel.
One of the teenagers claimed to have seen the spirit, he described it as having no arms, legs or a head and that it was a blueish-white luminous, transparent figure – it was THE THING OF VICTORIA PARK!! DUN DUN DUUUUN!! (Did you get scared?)
The story sent the media into a frenzy; within days, hundreds decided they had to see it for themselves. By November the 22nd, 1500, people showed up. By 8 pm on November the 23rd, the crowd had grown to 2,000 people, they then stared at the concrete walls of the subway tunnel. Figures show that at one time 5,000 people decided to show up.
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The entire event was like a carnival with Ice Cream Trucks and fairy floss sellers catering to the crowds. It even got so crazy that elders and young children would don sheets and would dare each other to walk down the tunnel alone. Australia has never seen like it before or since.