Don’t be scared, but… it is said that there’s a train tunnel in Vinton County that’s haunted. Legend states that a ghostly lantern can be seen hovering through the dark depths of the abandoned Moonville railway tunnel on stormy nights. Long ago, Moonville was a small mining and railway town that cropped up during the 1800’s iron boom and eventually disappeared just a little over 150 years later. The story goes that around 1859, a brakeman for the railway fell asleep and sometime during the night, he was awakened by the sound of his train leaving the depot. He arose, stumbling on to the train track and falling beneath the wheels of the train. The brakeman never recovered from his injuries and the ghost of the man is said to be seen stumbling down the tracks within the tunnel with lantern in hand, still trying to catch the train before it leaves Moonville Station.

Moonville Tunnel was added to the U.S. National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

The historic Moonville Tunnel and nearby King Hollow Tunnel are part of the 10-mile Moonville Rail Trail. Learn more at www.moonvillerailtrail.com.

Explore Vinton County: Investigate the hauntings at Moonville Tunnel

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