The Silver Run Tunnel (tunnel 19), located in Cairo, WV. used to be part of the B&O Railroad tracks dating back to the Civil War. However, today, it is gravel path which is part of North Bend Rail trails. The tunnel is approximately 1,376 feet in length and is mostly brick. It is also reportedly haunted by a black-haired woman dressed in a white gown with pale white skin.
Many different stories surrounds this tunnel and the ghost of Silver Run. One story states that many conductors had spotted a woman standing on the tracks. As the train approached with its horn blowing to warn the woman, the woman just stood there motionless, starring right at the train coming straight for her. At the moment of impact, she would fly up in the air and disappear. Who or what was this woman? No one knows.
Who could the black-haired woman be? One explanation is that that woman was riding a train to Parkersburg to be married but never arrived. An extensive search for her was made, but the woman was never found. No one knew what happened to her. Stories say she fell off the platform to her death as the train approached. Another story is that she was beheaded, and continues to frequent the tracks... searching for her head. Some claim, perhaps, she was pushed to her death. Perhaps, this bride to be is the woman haunting the tunnel. However, there is also another explanation as to the woman's identity.
Another story states that there was an old abandoned house in Silver Run that was torn down long ago. Workers discovered a skeleton of a woman dressed in a bridal gown walled up inside the chimney. The remains were never identified or claimed. However, the remains of this woman were given a proper burial in a cemetery near the Silver Run Tunnel.
Oddly enough, it has been stated that during the tunnel updates several years ago, as part of the Rails to Trails Project, a body was exhumed near the tunnel site. Is this true? It is still uncertain whether this story is factual or not, but it does add to the mystery of the Ghost of Silver Run Tunnel.
Our Investigations:
10-29-2011 This was a daytime excursion mainly to check out the location. There were four of us on this trip.
One of our lead investigators, David while walking through the tunnel turned around and saw a shadow of someone behind him walking toward him. He explained afterwards that he thought it was one of us as if one of us was hiding in one of the many alcoves in the tunnel trying to scare him. He kept walking and as he rounded the curve in the tunnel and could see out he saw the three of us at the tunnel exit.
This same trip David and Jim saw what looked like a white mist form in the tunnel that would vanish shortly after forming.
This all happened during the day at the tunnel.
11-12-2011 This time we arrived at approx. 11:30 pm this time out there was four of us again Josh, Brittany, David and myself. We set up a camera at the entrance and started in placed a voice recorder about 1/4 of te way in in one of the alcoves.
We made it about 1/2 the way in and I heard what sounded like a womans voice. We stopped walking and listened and I was the only one who heard it. It sounded very faint like a voice in a far off room, you could make out that it was female but couldn't pick up any words or what was being said.
We went through to the other end and set up another camera and the went back into the tunnel in groups of two. Josh and I went half way in and sat in one of the alcoves and did an evp session Brittany and David went a 1/4 of the way in and sat in one of the alcoves.
Brittany and David experienced a cold spot in front of them but nothing else beyond that. On other hand Josh and I heard a loud sound (like someone jumping from a high area onto the ground) come from their area of the tunnel. I radioed them and asked if they had made that noise and they said they didn't make any noise and indicated that they didn't hear anything.
Shortly after that no longer than 10 minutes I saw a flash of light at the entrance of the tunnel and began to hear voices, several voices. I then realized we had a group of thrill seekers (one of them let out a shrill scream in the tunnel before they even saw us) coming to the tunnel to see what they could find so I radioed the other team to head our way and we gathered up our gear. Our Silver Run Tunnel investigation was very short lived that evening.
We reviewed the brief footage we had captured and voice recordings and got mostly nothing except for one sound which sounds like something hitting the ground in the tunnel among the many sounds of water dripping throughout the tunnel. (Listen below)
Unexplainable noise
We are planning another night investigation in the near future hopefully before it gets too cold.
