Screaming Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Screaming Tunnel is a small limestone tunnel, running underneath what once was the Grand Trunk Railway lines, located in the northwest corner of Niagara Falls
, Ontario
, Canada
. The actual location of the attraction is just off Warner Road. Often thought to be a railway tunnel, it was actually constructed only as a drainage tunnel so that water can be removed from the farmlands. This water would go underneath the Grand Trunk Railway and down to the valley below. Farmers used this tunnel to transport goods and animals safely underneath the busy railroad above.
The tunnel, constructed in the early 1900s, is 16 feet (4.9 m) in height and 125 feet (38.1 m) long.
A local legend recounts that the tunnel is haunted by the ghost of a young girl, who after escaping a nearby burning farm building with her clothing ablaze, died within its walls. Several variants of the legend exist locally, one version has the girl set on fire by her enraged father after he loses custody of his children after a nasty divorce. Another tells of a young girl being raped inside the tunnel and her body burned to prevent any evidence from being found. All variants involve a claim that a match struck within the tunnel's recesses will produce the sound of the young girl's dying screams, this purported phenomena is alleged to be the origin of the tunnel's name.
The tunnel was used as a set during the filming of David Cronenberg
's 1983 film adaptation
of Stephen King
's horror novel The Dead Zone
.
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The actual location of the attraction is just off Warner Road. Often thought to be a railway tunnel, it was actually constructed only as a drainage tunnel so that water can be removed from the farmlands. This water would go underneath the Grand Trunk Railway and down to the valley below. Farmers used this tunnel to transport goods and animals safely underneath the busy railroad above.
The tunnel, constructed in the early 1900s, is 16 feet (4.9 m) in height and 125 feet (38.1 m) long.
A local legend recounts that the tunnel is haunted by the ghost of a young girl, who after escaping a nearby burning farm building with her clothing ablaze, died within its walls. Several variants of the legend exist locally, one version has the girl set on fire by her enraged father after he loses custody of his children after a nasty divorce. Another tells of a young girl being raped inside the tunnel and her body burned to prevent any evidence from being found. All variants involve a claim that a match struck within the tunnel's recesses will produce the sound of the young girl's dying screams, this purported phenomena is alleged to be the origin of the tunnel's name.
The tunnel was used as a set during the filming of David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
's 1983 film adaptation
The Dead Zone (film)
The Dead Zone is a 1983 horror-thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by David Cronenberg, the film stars Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Tom Skerritt...
of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's horror novel The Dead Zone
The Dead Zone (novel)
The Dead Zone is a horror novel by Stephen King published in 1979. It concerns Johnny Smith, who is injured in an accident and enters a coma for nearly five years. When he emerges, he can see horrifying secrets but cannot identify all the details in his "dead zone", an area of his brain that...
.
External links
- Current Images of the Tunnel Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.)
- More Screaming Tunnel Information Weird Places to Visit