Poor House Road Tunnel

Located in Lexington Virginia, Poor House Road tunnel was part of a railroad system that ran between Staunton and Lexington in the early 1900’s; and is steeped in local lore and legend. As was custom during the 18th and 19th centuries, Rockbridge County did in fact maintain a poor house farm here to care for its poor and homeless citizens. How many people were cared for on this farm is unknown and by 1927 it was closed.

Some of the more popular legends that surround the tunnel include:
(1) Two young girls being murdered in the woods nearby by an unknown male.
(2) A woman being raped and murdered in the middle of the tunnel.
(3) Many lynchings have allegedly taken place at the tunnel.
(4) There are claims of a mysterious black mist that surrounds you in the middle of the tunnel.
(5) There are claims of children whispering “Come on. Come on.”

Southern Paranormal Investigations arrived at Poor House Road tunnel on February 9th, 2008 at 430PM to begin a preliminary investigation. In attendance were: Lori, Claude, Angela, Andy, Scott, Dan and Chris.

The weather was fair but becoming partly cloudy with a temperature of 56 degrees and winds out of the SW at 14 MPH; gusting to 19 MPH. The barometric pressure was 29.80 and falling and the relative humidity was 36%. The moon was a waxing crescent at 9% full and the Solar X-rays were NORMAL with the Geomagnetic Field as QUIET.

Personal Experiences:

(1) Lori and Scott both felt as if they could catch moments of a conversation when in the middle of the tunnel. They attribute it, possibly, to the almost musical lyric of the constantly running water within the tunnel.

(2) Dan had the sensation of children at play. He was also extremely drawn to the top outer upper ledge of the tunnel; as though he would look up at any moment and see something there. He also noted a cold spot in the middle of the tunnel.

(3) Both Claude and Scott experienced complete equipment failure: Scott’s camcorder turned itself off while in the middle of the tunnel, while he was asking questions to any spirit that might be there. Claude received a maxed out EMF reading and then his camera completely died.

©2008