Screaming Tunnel
An Ontario Ghost Story
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
There is a tunnel under the old railroad tracks just to the west of the Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara Falls. It is known locally as the Screaming Tunnel. A path wanders through the tunnel and then up to an empty field on the hill. But the field was not always empty.
At one time, a large farm house stood in the field at the top of the hill, and in it lived a happy family. Then one night, the house caught fire. A young daughter was trapped in the house, and the only way to escape was through a wall of flames. The brave young girl covered her face with her arms and ran into the fiery doorway. Her long hair and her long nightgown began to smolder as she burst through the flames and rushed out of the house.
When the night air struck her smoldering clothing, it burst into flames, enveloping the girl in a raging inferno. The girl screamed in agony and ran blindly down the hill, away from the fire-stricken house. She staggered into the tunnel under the train tracks, her screams echoing and re-echoing through the night. Overcome by the flames, the girl fell to the floor of the tunnel, wailing in agony. She rolled frantically on the floor of the tunnel, trying to douse the flames, but her efforts were weak and ineffective. She was quickly overcome, and burned to death in the tunnel under the tracks.
After that night, anyone that dares strike a match in the tunnel under the tracks will hear the agonized death screams of the burning girl, and a ghostly wind will instantly blow out the match.
You can read more Canadian folktales and ghost stories in Spooky Canada by S.E. Schlosser.
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Comments
This is a good story.I love this story.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 8, 2010 12:47 PM
not bad no bad
Posted by: Anonymous | July 11, 2010 02:57 AM
that was realy good i like it.
Posted by: sophia casey hunt star! | July 17, 2010 03:46 PM
this site is so cool i cant wait to read the next one
Posted by: natasha wood | July 19, 2010 09:55 AM
Great story! CREEEEEEPY!
Posted by: Josie Ong | July 19, 2010 03:58 PM
dont really understand the story???
Posted by: priscilla alexandra | July 19, 2010 08:34 PM
Wow, I wanna see if that's true, lol.
Posted by: Dozer | July 19, 2010 10:11 PM
It was absoloutly great i really wanna get the autograph of the author
Posted by: miley.s | July 21, 2010 02:48 PM
poor little girl, and now i am starting to feel very scard....
Posted by: kristina | July 23, 2010 06:56 PM
wow...
Posted by: Demauddrei | July 26, 2010 12:26 AM
Now this is scary !!!!
Posted by: Nelitza del Carmen | July 26, 2010 10:34 AM
I've heard scarier..
Posted by: Anonymous | July 26, 2010 01:51 PM
thisis a mad story man i want to blow a match and c if its true hahahaha lol
Posted by: Anonymous | July 30, 2010 11:30 AM
aw poor little girl i have to say idk if i could b as brave as her she was probaly my age but good story
Posted by: taylor | August 5, 2010 12:55 PM
If this story is tru I wanna go 2 that tunnel and light a match lol!!!
Posted by: athena | August 13, 2010 06:15 AM
Could be the greatest paper that I have read in my life :)
Suzette
Posted by: loffler insurance | September 23, 2010 05:00 PM
Great post! Maybe you could do a follow up to this topic :D
Posted by: east west insurance | September 25, 2010 05:58 AM
... lawlz if i had the gutz i wood light a match
Posted by: pud | September 25, 2010 10:19 PM
i wouldn't want to light a match if it meant hearing those screams if the story really is true i wouldn't want to cause her anymore pain.
Posted by: lily | September 28, 2010 07:47 PM
Sounds more like a local legend but there might be some truth behind it. Ghosts are barely "triggered" by a certain action, they're just hanging around. But is the story of the fire and the girl is true, she might haunt that tunnel and some people might have met her, with or without lighting a match.
Posted by: Herne the Hunter | October 4, 2010 02:24 PM
Oh my gosh! i am not gonna be able to sleep tonight! this is the scariest story i've ever read!!!!
Posted by: Alec | October 12, 2010 07:02 PM
It's AWESOME
Posted by: Anonymous | October 16, 2010 02:09 AM
I'm from Niagara Falls and yeah the stories true. My dad was telling me him and some friends went to the tunnel when they were kids. The tunnel is pitch black and you cant see the exit from when you go in. His friend lit a match and it blew out instantly, and he heard the girls scream. BUT what is not included in this story is that he also heard a man's voice yelling. The other part to this story, the reason the fire started, was that a man had broken into the house while the family was sleeping, and set the house on fire, and followed the girl into the tunnel and set her on fire. The reason a "match" will instantly be blown out by wind in a windless tunnel is because the man who set the house on fire used a match to start the fire. I hope my input helped you guys learn more about the story.. I'm going there next weekend with my girl, shes totally up for it and I'm terrified!
Posted by: Michael | October 17, 2010 10:22 PM
i loved this story .its something i like it seems reall is it? well i think it is .it caught me i cant believe that happened to her
Posted by: rachelle | October 21, 2010 09:09 AM
wow what an amazing story
i feel bad for the little girl
though .
such a sin for that to happen to
her.
i believe in this because
i actually believe in ghost myself
hah wow great story (:
Posted by: Anonymous | October 22, 2010 01:45 PM
fricken scary!
Posted by: sketched | October 24, 2010 05:03 PM
You believe in ghosts? I kinda do, but not very much. Do yo u believe in zombies too?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 25, 2010 12:47 PM
I LOVED IT!!!!!!
MAN I WANT TO TRY THAT IT WOULD BE AWESOME
I MEAN IM ONLY 19 BUT WOW I REALLY DO WANT TO SEE IF ITS TURE
IT WOULD ME MY LIFE EXPERIENCE IF I DID LOL:)
Posted by: rachelle | October 27, 2010 08:46 AM
this is my first time ever reading this and it gives me the chills just imagining her screams!!!
Posted by: Alexis | November 10, 2010 10:49 AM
I live about 20 away from Niagara Falls. I should find out if its true and creep a few friends out with this story >:)
Posted by: Anonymous | November 14, 2010 09:55 PM
I dont think im ever gona light a match again...
Posted by: Anonymous | November 27, 2010 05:27 PM
ive heard it before but exept the
girl comes back in another form and can breath fire
Posted by: FARAAZ | January 6, 2011 05:36 PM
wow! i feel sad for the little girl!!
i actually kinda wanna try lighting a match in that tunnel!
and when she was rolling on the trian tracks, i thought that a trian was gonna come or something..
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2011 08:36 PM
Cool
Posted by: Anonymous | January 26, 2011 04:02 PM
This was kind of dark.... Very creepy.
Posted by: David | February 9, 2011 12:16 PM
cool
Posted by: Anonymous | February 26, 2011 06:37 PM
MOM!!!... I NEED A NEW PAIR OF PANTS!!!
Posted by: Anonymous | March 1, 2011 12:09 AM
i heard a story kinda like that but it wasnt the same plot. 3 workers were trying to fix a train track in a tunnel, wen the train was coming too fast, the workers couldent get out in time, in the tunnel there were these little cubbies to hide in as the train passed, and only one worker hid in a cubbie and got out alive.....
Posted by: ray <3 | March 19, 2011 12:32 PM
i loved it so good
Posted by: Anonymous | July 15, 2011 10:09 AM
great story it is very simular to screaming jenny
Posted by: pie lover | July 24, 2011 01:17 AM