Railroads made this country. The history of the railroads is deep and, not surprisingly, sometimes haunted. Thanks to mysteriousheartland.com and ghostcitytours.com for helping us come up with this list of hauntings on the railroad.
The Albino Tracks
In St. Clair County, Illinois, a long abandoned set of tracks came to be known as the Albino Tracks. The legend goes that in the 1800s a mysterious epidemic ripped through the area. The locals, being a superstitious bunch, blamed a pair of albino children that lived nearby. Some of the townsfolk took matters into their own hands and kidnapped the children. To end the curse upon the land, the abductors tied the children to the railroad tracks and watched as a train ran them over.
From that time, visitors to the tracks reported ghostly activity. Some whose cars got stuck on the tracks said that their vehicles were pushed by unseen hands to safety before a train came. The locals believe it was the albino children saving others from their fate. Today the tracks are gone, but it seems like the ghosts remain.
The River Styx Bridge
With a name like River Styx, it’s no wonder supernatural stories swirl around this bridge. The legend that surrounds the bridge near Rittman, Ohio tells the heroic tale of railroad engineer Alexander Logan.
A Scot by birth, Logan came to America and devoted his career to the railroad, eventually rising to the rank of engineer. One spring day, something went wrong with his speeding train and the locomotive jumped the tracks and overturned, crushing Alexander to death. Newspaper reports from the time noted that he had time to escape the doomed train, but stayed at his post in an effort to save his passengers.
To this day, if you find yourself near the River Styx Bridge at night, you may see a ghostly vision of the fiery crash that took Alexander’s life play out before it vanishes and you’re left alone once more.
Tara Bridge
Near Tara, Iowa there is a old railroad bridge that some people have taken to calling Terror Bridge. If it is to be believed, the history of this bridge is downright horrific. It’s said that a mother took her children to the tracks and, in a fit of insanity, threw her children under a speeding train as it passed. Today, if you stop your car near the bridge, the mother’s ghost appears and drags you out of your car, throwing you on the tracks just as she did her children.
Another legend talks of a farmer who lived nearby. One day, frustrated, he cursed the land and suddenly dropped dead. From that time on, people have reported being chased by a frightening apparition that some claim to be the ghost of the farmer.
Satan’s Bridge
I mean, the place is called Satan’s Bridge! As the story goes, this now abandoned railroad bridge was the home to three mysterious deaths. The first was a man who was struck by a train while walking along the bridge, falling to his death. A second story tells of a man who was lynched nearby. The third is the story of a homeless man who lived below the bridge. One day, he was found dead, a look of terror twisting his face.
Between these three legends, it’s no wonder that Satan’s Bridge is reported to be haunted.
The Ghost Children of San Antonio
The strange tale of the ghost children of San Antonio, Texas has become a well known one over the years. The tragic story begins with a nun driving a school bus full of children home one moonless night. The bus became disabled upon the railroad tracks near Villamain and Shane. The nun tried to get the bus started again, but it was in vain. Because of the darkness of the night and the burned out light on the locomotive, she didn’t see the train barreling down upon the bus until it was too late.
The bus was struck and all of the children were killed. The nun was thrown from the bus and injured, but survived. She recovered physically, but her guilt overwhelmed her. One night, she drove her car to the site of the accident and parked on the same spot on the tracks where the bus had been. There she sat, waiting for a train to come and end her grief.
In due time, a train appeared and raced toward her car. Then, in the darkness, the nun heard the sounds of small children around her. She looked, but the night was empty except for her and the oncoming train. To her shock, her car began to roll forward on its own and just cleared the tracks before the train roared past.
When she got out of the car, she looked on her rear bumper and noticed the tiny handprints of children. Overcome by the miracle, the nun devoted her life to helping orphans and the less fortunate until the day she died.
Today, it is said, and I don’t recommend doing this, that you can park your car on or near the tracks at night where the accident occurred. After a time, you can get out and take a look at your bumper and you may find the handprints of ghost children who are determined to ensure another tragedy on the tracks is avoided.