Moonville Tunnel
near Zaleski, Ohio, United States
Road or bridge · local-legend
The Story
On an Ohio rail trail, Moonville’s brick tunnel preserves a railway ghost story centered on a moving lantern. Nineteenth-century newspaper material reproduced by a modern researcher gives the tradition unusual depth. The trail welcomes paranormal investigators during public hours, with a permit required for late-night visits.
The Hauntings
The railway has gone, but its passage through the hillside remains. Here the ghost story follows the work of the old line: a signal, a light and a figure appearing before a train. Different tellers remember different lantern-bearers, leaving one recurring image along this wooded trail. Researcher Kit Gentry reproduces an account from the Chillicothe Daily Gazette dated January 23, 1895. In that telling, a white-robed figure carrying a lantern appears ahead of a freight train and prompts the engineer to stop. The figure then leaves the track and disappears among nearby rocks. The report describes a story already familiar to its readers, rather than introducing a newly named spirit. Later retellings often make the lantern-bearer a railway worker who died near the line. They differ over his role and the circumstances of his death; some place the moving light near the tunnel and others connect it with the cemetery. The recurring image is the light itself, sometimes accompanying a figure and sometimes appearing without a visible carrier. These variations belong to Moonville’s folklore. They should not be used to assign one historical death to every reported sighting.
The History
The Moonville Rail Trail Association dates the tunnel to 1856 and describes repairs around 1903. Its brick-lined passage is a surviving piece of the region’s railway infrastructure. It is not the same structure as King’s Hollow, also called King Switch Tunnel, whose timber-lined interior belongs to a different location on the trail. The Vinton County Park District operates the modern trail, supported by an association established in 2001. Preservation has given the former railway a new public use while retaining its distinctive tunnels.
A sense of place.
Visitor Experiences
Have you experienced something here?
This future chapter will bring together stories from the PHASM community. An unexpected encounter, a lingering feeling, or a quiet visit—your experience will be welcome.
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Sources & further reading.
Plan Your Visit
The trail’s published public hours are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and paranormal investigators are expressly welcomed during those hours. A Special Use Permit is required for visits after 11 p.m. and for specified organized or public activities. Consult the Park District through the association’s visitor page before arranging an event. Camping, fires, motor vehicles, graffiti and littering are prohibited; check current notices before traveling.