For over 100 years the legendary Screaming Tunnel in Niagara-on-the-Lake has stood hidden at the tip of the Niagara Escarpment. Legend and ghost stories giving the location it’s infamy.
I knew the legends going into this professional visit. Part of a bus trip I helped coordinator over a decade ago. Yet I remember like it was yesterday. Not cause of the spooky excitement. Instead, due to sheer disappointment.
VISIT THE SCREAMING TUNNEL – Google Map
Legend
It was during a Ghost Bus Tour of Niagara Even back then I’ve known the legend for years.
Talks of a young daughter. From a family once living in a now disappeared village. Old foundations exist among the trees behind the tunnel.
Her father sent into a rage over his divorce and custody battle. One drunken night, he chased the girl into the tunnel. Set her on fire. It’s her screams which give the tunnel its name.
Today, local youth tell of an experience. Go to the tunnel at night. Walk inside. Stop in the middle and light a wooden match. You’ll hear the little girl’s screams, as a gust of wind blows out the match.
The Experience
I was ready! With a ten witnesses at my side. I walked to the middle of the tunnel. Took out one wooden match.
Struck the flame and held it high above my head. My drama was well rewarded. One witness whispered, “Did you hear that?”
I did. A high-pitched squeal above our heads.
Then I felt it. A light wind blew around us. Not strong. The flame still burned bright as the noise faded.
Disappointed!
You got to love that feeling. When something strange happens. The excitement of the moment. Giddiness to post this as proof ghosts are real.
Followed by the crushing defeat when someone yells from the entrance, “There’s a train!”
It wasn’t the little girl ghost reaching out from beyond the grave. Instead a train going by on the tracks above the tunnel.
One believed purpose for the Screaming Tunnel. Was to be a train line. Instead installing tracks on the hill above.
Not ghostly at all. But the squeal and wind due to the speed of a standard locomotive pulling some cars to their destination.
Don’t be discouraged
Don’t let my disappointing experience deter you.
The little girl of the Screaming Tunnel remains one of the most disturbing legends in Canada. Existing in a very creepy place you can legally visit.
2 replies on “Personal Experience in the Screaming Tunnel”
a warlock made our visit very interesting at 4:30pm on Saturday, 31 July, 2021. Even the warning blast of a long-obsolete train as we drove within 100 metres of the tunnel
What did you learn about the Warlock? Any connection to the legend?