The ‘Haunted’ Moonville Tunnel: Inspiration for The Hollows
By Jess Montgomery
January 10, 2020No butterflies were harmed in the researching of this novel.
Not long after I completed the final draft of The Widows—the debut title of my Kinship Mystery Series, inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff in 1925—my husband and I were enjoying a Friday night like the introverts we are: reading. (But in the same room.)
My husband happened to be reading an article online about quirky Ohio locations.
“Hey, have you heard of the Moonville Tunnel?” he asked. “It’s in southeastern Ohio—near where your novels are set!”
Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of it. So, of course, I started looking up information on the Moonville Tunnel.
And what I learned was compelling.
Moonville, it turns out, was a tiny village established in the 1880s in rugged and nearly impenetrable terrain in Vinton County, Ohio. The county is still the least populated in Ohio, and the most forested. Moonville served as a railroad depot for rail companies hauling coal and other goods through the region, and it served coal miners who worked in a small operation, as well as a few families tucked in the hills of the area. At its peak, it had about a hundred residents, and in addition to the depot, a schoolhouse, saloon, and cemetery. But the town was never accessible by other than foot, horse or mule, or a drawn wagon.
Learn More: The Battle for Blair Mountain
The Moonville Tunnel was blasted through a large hill to accommodate trains. It was a treacherous pass for trains, one that engineers dreaded, yet people would walk the track as a quick way to get to the village. People lived in Moonville through the 1940s. The track, though desolate and unsignaled until 1981, was used until 1985.
Of course, deaths on such a treacherous stretch of track are inevitable, and perhaps so too are the ghost stories that would follow. An engineer and fireman died in a wreck on the track in 1880, and not long after, stories began to abound of a ghostly engineer walking the track with his lantern. Then there was a brakeman, and a lady… All told, there were six reported deaths on the bridges along the track or in the Moonville Tunnel.
Well, how could I not be inspired by such a history, right in the Appalachian area of Ohio where my series is set? Particularly when Lily Ross, my protagonist inspired by the real-life Maude Collins, would have heard of the tales?
So, of course, my husband and I set out to visit Moonville Tunnel.
We went on a nice spring day, taking a major state route east out of our town, then once in southeast Ohio, turning off onto a smaller state route. Then a county route. Then a smaller county road. At one point, the route was so remote that butterflies were settled on the road in front of us. (They scattered as our car approached. No butterflies were harmed in the researching of this novel.)
Once we found signage for the Moonville Rail Trail and the Moonville Tunnel, we got out and started walking. We crossed one bridge, then got to the tunnel, which we walked through. I’d love to report a sense of ghostly tingles and spookiness, but I’ve always been nonchalant at the notion of ghosts. (Either they’re among us… or they’re not… and I have no control over them either way.) Once through the tunnel, I took off my shoes and socks and walked on the ballast for several yards as research for a scene in The Hollows. I was happy to put my socks and shoes back on! Oh, what we writers will do to get a scene description just right!
Even so, when we reached a washed-out bridge, our hike came to a stop. We didn’t trust ourselves to walk across logs and stones, and sloshing through the creek in jeans and tennis shoes, especially since we weren’t sure of the water’s depth, didn’t strike us as wise either. On the other side, we would have found the foundations and remains of the town of Moonville.
As we drove home, Moonville became Moonvale in my imagination, a place similar to Moonville but with its own history and backstory for the purposes of my novel.
And I also thought about how, not too far from Moonville, is Ohio University in Athens County. One of the buildings on OU’s campus is The Ridges, a magnificent structure that operated as an asylum for those with mental illness from 1874-1993, under various names. In the 1920s, it was known as the Athens Asylum for the Insane (renamed the Hollows Asylum for the Insane in my novel.)
See Also: The History Behind The Hollows
Eventually, I visited The Ridges for an exterior tour of the facility, learning a great deal about its history. The Ridges, too, is considered by many to be haunted.
And though as mentioned, I’m neutral on the notion of haunted places or ghosts, I do believe in personal and cultural ‘haunts,’ events or experiences from our individual or collective pasts that grasp onto our present and future. I began thinking about how such haunts might impact trails followed, might even goad someone to follow a path along a treacherous train track.
* * *
NOTE: To learn more about the real-life Moonville Tunnel and the current rail-trail, follow these links. If you decide to visit the Moonville Tunnel, do your research carefully, and follow the trail with extreme caution—there are destroyed trestles and drop offs along the way.
- https://www.moonvilletunnel.net
- Moonville Rail Trail Association on Facebook: @MoonvilleRailTrail
- https://vintoncountytravel.com/parks-and-recreation/moonville-rail-trail/
About The Hollows by Jess Montgomery:
The Hollows, Book #2 in the Kinship Mystery series, is a powerful, big-hearted and exquisitely written follow-up to Jess Montgomery’s acclaimed debut The Widows.
Ohio, 1926: For many years, the underground railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a short cut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of seeing a ghostly female figure dressed all in white.
Newly elected Sheriff Lily Ross is called on to the case to dispel the myths, but Lily does not believe that an old woman would wander out of the hills onto the tracks. In a county where everyone knows everyone, how can someone have disappeared, when nobody knew they were missing? As ghost stories and rumors settle into the consciousness of Moonvale Hollow, Lily tries to search for any real clues to the woman’s identity.
With the help of her friend Marvena Whitcomb, Lily follows the woman’s trail to The Hollows―an asylum is northern Antioch County―and they begin to expose secrets long-hidden by time and the mountains.
Comment below for a chance to win a copy of The Hollows by Jess Montgomery!
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The Hollows Comment Sweepstakes: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 years or older as of the date of entry. To enter, complete the “Post a Comment” entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/a-haunted-rail-tunnel-inspiration-for-the-hollows/ beginning at 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) January 10, 2020. Sweepstakes ends at 5:15 p.m. ET January 24, 2020. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see the full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Macmillan, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10010.
All Photos Courtesy of Jess Montgomery.
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interesting post
sounds like a fun one
Ohio looks and sounds like a land of eerie mystery!
Wonderful!
These books so fantastic! I’m shaking with excitement! Thanks for the chance to read and review!
Look forward to reading this one.
would love a copy
Sounds interesting!
I would love a shot at this, it really sounds great!
Sounds like one you pick up and can’t put down. A binge-reading session is wonderful.
Who doesn’t love a good popcorn-thrower? I can’t wait to read The Hollows. Thanks!
Yes!
very eerie, I love hearing stories of lost America. Very much looking forward to reading the 2nd book.
this looks like a great book, I love the local legends
O-M-G!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How eerily exciting!!! I would love to have the opportunity to read this book!!!
OMG! I have been there! It is such a creepy place at twilight. I travel to Ohio University three times a year to visit my daughter in college and this is one place I needed to see. I loved the electric poles hidden in the overgrown woods. I can’t wait to read this book!
Spooky! The book sounds great.
Looks like I know where my next adventure will lead. Thanks for the chance to get the second installment.
Hoping to win this for my niece, a huge ghost believer!
Sounds intriguing!
A good one for snowy evenings by the fire
I was intrigued by the title and cover. Now I am even more so by the theme and characters. I hope to win a copy.
Great Read I need to do asap
I love stories about isolated villages and the fact that this one is a real place makes it even better!
Well that sounds like a lovely, creepy spot! Would love to win the book and find out more.
sounds like something not to read right before bed, love a good scare
This looks great…a wonderfully creepy read.
Interesting how we consider this country as all settled yet there are areas like Moonville in every state.
This book sounds creepy good! I love a good mystery/thriller! Thanks for the chance.
wow! This sounds interesting!
The Moonville tunnel is well known to everyone in my part of the state. So excited to read this one!
The Moonville Tunnel sounds like an excellent day trip. I wish we were in the area, I’d love to see it too. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of The Hollows. crs(at)codedivasites(dot)com
Sounds like a great mystery book!!!
Yes!
Please enter me in this sweepstakes.
Thanks —
Sounds like a great book!
I greatly appreciate localized stories such as this. They bring not only the special flavor of a region to bear, but the peculiarities of people of those places as well.
Ok, you’ve got my interest piqued.
I love learning things like this. Sounds like a great story too!
It looks interesting I’m going to have to read it.
I love the Moonville Rail Trail…would love to win a copy of this book!
Captivating and intriguing novel. Thanks.
Thanks for this fascinating feature and giveaway.
I love near southeast Ohio. This sounds intriguing!
Thanks for the chance to win a copy!
Sounds really good. I’d love to win a copy!
After reading this post, I am very interested in reading The Hollows! Thanks for the chance!
Sounds fantastic. Registered as a newsletter subscriber. Thanks for the chance.
definitely looks good.
Sounds *very* intriguing!
Sounds like an excellent read! 🙂
I live in Ohio. In fact I live in southeast Ohio. A little town called Cambridge. This sounds like a spooky read. Want to read the first book too.I would like to visit the Moonville tunnel. Eerie and creepy.
Looks intriguing
I have been to Moonville Tunnel. It is like being in another world and time. I wait to read this book.
Sounds eerie.
Would love to read this mystery..looks to be a good one.
Sounds interesting!
This article pulled me right in. I’d love to read the book.
Looks like a good spooky book!
Would love to read this!
This sounds like a really good, spooky book. Would love to read!
What a great creepy read!
I am a big fan of suspense / psychological / horror thrillers, and “The Hollows” is the exact thriller that I would love to read!! Love how Ms Jess Montgomery got her inspiration for writing this novel. Thank you for the opportunity to know Jess Montgomery and her books.
I enjoy good ghost stories. Watching as one is dismantled sounds like fun.
How fascinating!
This sounds like the kind of story that I won’t be able to put down until it’s finished!
Land of my birth…this sounds so mesmerizing! Would love to read it! Thanks for the opportunity!
Sounds great! Would love to win.
Interesting to delve into the roots of these beliefs and the need to create them.
Thanks for the awesome opportunity!
Sounds like a good read!
The photos alone are enticing!
This sounds fantastic!
Wow. This sounds like a late-night pageturner.
This sounds fascinating. I loved The Widows when I read it so I’m planning on reading this anyway but the spooky locations add to the thrill. And as it happens I recently met a couple from this area while on vacation and we hope to go visit then some time. The Moonville Tunnel will be on the itinerary for sure.
Very interesting read. Looking forward to reading The Hollows
Sounds good!
This looks super interesting! I love anything paranormal that can actually be explained with facts.
Love stories based on real people and places. And this one sounds like I need to win and read!
What a fun/creepy bit of history!
This is definitely my kind of book!
Wow this looks amazing!
O boy, sounds like a wonderful read. What a great find your husband found for you and a super fun outing for ‘research’. Can’t wait for that one.
Sounds fascinating! I especially love the idea of a female sheriff in 1926. Would love to win.
Count me in, please!
Would love a copy. Sounds so good!
Eerie. Would love to check this one out!
creepy
Sounds like my mind of book!! 💞😎 Thanks for the chance to win this book!
*kind lol
This has all the makings of being a really good book. I am adding it to my wish list.
This sounds like a great book. Thank you for the giveaway.
This sounds like it would be right up my alley! Thanks for the opportunity!
I’m from Appalachia too
Thanks for the opportunity
I live in Ohio and have never heard of that tunnel, but it sounds very interesting, as does the story! I would love to feature it on my blog!
Now I want to visit Moonville and read The Hollows.
This sounds like the perfect read on a dark and stormy night…and a few of those are in our future here.
Places like Moonville Rail Trail and Moonville Tunnel shouldn’t be eerie places. Moonville reminds me of moonlight, so maybe the contrast adds to the spookiness for me…
Sounds like a fascinating story and one I’d love to read!
Thanks for the chance to win . .. . .. . .
Thanks for the giveaway
Looking forward to reading this novel and starting on a series by a new author. Thanks
I love it when a true happening influences an author to create a new world with new characters and plots! There was an old train trestle near me where I grew up that was from bygone days. Never attempted to cross it as it looked dangerous and probably was! By now it has probably fallen into the swamp’s marshlands in all its rusty glory! Looking forward to reading your books!
I too love it when the fiction is based on real people, places and events. Have discovered several places that way. Can’t wait to start reading your books!
What a great, interesting article. I can’t wait to read the book.
Looking forward to this one. Ghosts are always good!
Great research! And great photos!
It sounds like a really interesting book.
sounds good
this is going on my TBR list!!
Looks like a really exciting read!! Added to my TBR list.
Great read for cold. winter nights.
I love in Ohio and have not seen this.
Eerie and intriguing!
raveonyx@gmail.com
The Hollows is right up my ally! 😀
Since I was born and raised in nearby West Virginia, I find this genre and location fascinating. Can’t wait to read it!
My sister lives in Ohio. This sounds like an I teresting place to check out next time I visit.
Wow that is spooky and intriguing.
Looking forward to begin this series!
Whether I would win or not, will certainly be reading this one!
Sounds great would love to win read & review
This sounds like a very interesting book. History and fiction are my two favorite topics in a book!
I’ve never heard of Moonville Tunnel, either. I just found out about Boston, OH – so weird. You should also write about that!
Live in Ohio but have never heard of Moonville Tunnel. Sounds really interesting. Have seen the Ridges at OU.
Looking forward to reading both books in the series!
I can’t wait to read this book. It sounds so atmospheric and intriguing. I read a lot of murder mysteries and this one sounds like the kind I love most.
Every story about “Hallows” is a great story
An exciting read. I am definitely remembering this author so I can read more from this novelist
There was a train track behind my grandparents in central Ohio – and a trestle. As a small child walking across it was always scary. A tunnel would be much worse. (An asylum even worse than that.) So I’m sure this book would be properly creepy, with or without ghosts. Would love to find out.
This sounds very interesting! I love fiction that has real life elements. So excited!
This really sounds like a great mystery, with a beautiful cover! Even the title of the book has a mysterious feel. Would definitely enjoy reading.
Sounds eerie and interesting!
sounds incredibly interesting especially because I’ve always been into the paranormal being a sensitive (aka empath) myself!
Would love to read this!
Sounds really great. Thank you for the chance to win.
Interesting story. I live in Pennsylvania. It looks a literary field trip needs to be planned. I can’t wait to read this book.
The Hollows — what a fascinating book! I would love a copy.
I love stories about asylums!
WOW, what an awesome back story, I’ve gotta get the book! Around my part of PA we have the Lehigh Valley Tunnel (Night of the Living Dead, the original)
Would love to read!
Very nice blog post. I absolutely love this site. Keep writing!
Can’t wait to read it sounds eerie!
This looks good