On February 4th, from about 8 pm to 10 pm, we finally did it.
A late evening walk out to Moonville Tunnel in McArthur , headlamps and flashlights cutting through the cold air, snow still thick enough to slow our steps. What was supposed to be just Kylie, my new headlamps, me, and Luna turned into a small night crew. Kylie was still a little freaked out about going at night, so her sister Adi and her partner Houston came along. Kelsey my partner decided they would come too.
The Walk In
There is a bridge right off of the trailhead not even a hop, skip, and a jump in. The fence on the bridge is threaded with hair ties and locks sticking in the metal. Little offerings, remnants, signs that people come here holding onto something.
Moonville Tunnel
The tunnel is not far past that bridge.
Though, we did about 1.5 miles total. The mostly flat terrain was covered in snow. I would call this a highly accessible trail in better conditions depending upon what the material the ground is composed of under the snow. The snow slowed us down, almost mid-calf in some spots,so we were thankful the grade itself stays gentle.
At night, the tunnel does not announce itself. It absorbs light. Our headlamps and flashlights carved the dark into sections of stone, ice, breath, and silhouettes of my friends. I got some shots of the tunnel mouth, and others where my homies looked like figures in a story.
I have been trying to do this walk for a while. Doing it at night made it better.
A Railroad That Refused to Die Quietly
The Moonville Tunnel stands as the most prominent vestige of a once-bustling mining community. Thriving in the mid-to-late 1800s, Moonville was a vital coal and iron hub along the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad. While the town faded into the forest by the mid-1900s following the decline of the mines. The stone tunnel completed in 1856 remains a haunting monument to Appalachian industry and the ghosts of its labor
The area now connects to the Moonville Rail Trail, a corridor through the Zaleski State Forest and surrounding public lands. Tracks that once groaned under the weight of coal and passengers now carry hikers, ghost hunters, and those of us simply wanting to see what the dark does to a place left behind.
The Haunted Stories, Lavender Lady and Lantern Light
Moonville Tunnel is considered one of the most haunted locations in Ohio folklore.
Of all the restless spirits said to walk the Zaleski woods, the Lavender Lady is the most gentle. Legend says she was struck by a train near the tunnel’s mouth, some say while gathering wildflowers, others say while simply walking home. She is rarely seen, but often sensed; a sudden, misplaced drift of lavender perfume cutting through the damp, mossy scent of the stone tunnel.
The Brakeman the most famously seen or sensed apparition of them all. His story is etched into the local records of 1859, a man named Theodore Dixon. He was caught in the path of the very iron beast he served. Now, visitors speak of a rhythmic, swinging lantern cutting through the pitch-black bore of the tunnel. They hear the heavy crunch of boots on gravel where no one stands, and voices that bleed through the stone, echoing a warning that arrived a century too late
Shadows here have a way of detaching themselves from the walls, and the air can turn bone-cold even in the humid swell of an Ohio summer. Whether it is the weight of collective grief, the power of suggestion, or something older that refuses to vacate the line, the stories cling to the stone like the moss that feeds on the damp. Decades of paranormal investigations have only deepened the silence that follows when the laughter of unseen voices fades.
Devils Head Table, A Daytime Return
I have heard I will need to go back during daylight to see Devil’s Tea Table, a nearby rock formation. Night swallowed everything beyond our immediate beam range. The snow kept us focused on footing.
So yes, I will be back. In daylight. Different lens, different mood.
What the Night Actually Felt Like
It was not terror.
It was tension, yes. Curiosity. A little adrenaline. A little laughter. Snow crunching.
It felt like reclaiming space. An abandoned industrial scar turned into a nature trail. A haunted legend turned into a group walk with queer love, chosen family, and muddy boots.
Accessibility
Accessibility wise, outside heavy snow, the grade is gentle and mostly straight. Minimal elevation change. Wide enough for side by side walking in most sections. If clear, this could be a solid accessible trail option for many people.
At night though, accessibility shifts. Vision narrows. Shadows distort depth. It becomes a different terrain entirely.
Moonville Tunnel is not just a haunted hotspot in Ohio folklore. It is a relic of Appalachian labor, industrial rise and fall, and the way stories survive longer than towns do.
Walking it at night with people I trust made it less about ghosts and more about presence. Snow slowed us. The dark sharpened us. The tunnel held all of it.
I will go back in daylight for Devil’s Tea Table. But I am glad my first full walk out there was under headlamp beams and winter air, because some places deserve to be met in the dark first.
