The Ghost Train of Pepper Ridge County

There's a century old tale about a ghostly train that appears before the stroke of midnight in the quiet town of Pepper Ridge County in Columbia, Alabama. The train was derailed by another train during 1869. It killed over two hundred passengers. After this happened, the train track that the accident occurred on was closed off for future trains to go through. People claim to have witness to hear the distant sound of the whistle, the rumble of wheels click clacking across the old unused track, and seeing the eerie glow of the trains light. A writer named Melissa Robinson wrote an article about the ghostly train and stories that she had gathered from people in the county who claimed that they had seen the ghostly apparition of the train at midnight. The article was printed on the front page of the local newspaper, The Pepper Ridge Times. The article brought a number of paranormal enthusiast from all over the world to visit the town of Pepper Ridge to see if they themselves could witness the paranormal event. With all the tourist coming into the town, it brought a lot business to local shops and hotels of Pepper Ridge. The article of a famous paranormal investigator named Henry Ray Brown. After coming across the article in an online post, Henry became intrigued to wanted to witness this historical event for himself. Henry was a writer and photographer also from Patois, Maine. He caught a plane and was in Columbia, Alabama early that afternoon. Henry walked across the street from the airport and checked into the Morel Hotel. At the front desk Henry began to talk to a kindly older woman who checked him in.

“Where can I find a rental car?” asks Henry.

“At Hanks' Auto Rental,” said the Clerk. “It's just a couple of blocks from here.”

“Thank you,” said Henry.

“Your very welcome,” said the Clerk. “They close at 6:00 pm.”

Henry took the keys to his hotel room from the clerk and proceeded to go upstairs. He had wanted to freshen up from the plane ride. Pepper ridge was such a small town, that almost all the main businesses were close together. It wouldn't be hard for an out of towner to find his way around getting all that needed without having a car. Henry wanted to go to the abandon railroad tracks near Hobbs's Mills. He needed a rental car to get through the long roads that would lead him to his destination. After freshening up, Henry decided to walk to Hanks' Auto rental. It was a close to five o'clock and he wanted to get a rental car before the place closed for the evening. There was a tall, thin man dressed in a checkered board suit that greeted Henry before he walked into the car rental building.

“Hello, my name is Hank,” said the Man. “How can I help you this evening?”

“I'd like to rent a car,” said Henry.

“How long do you need it for,” said Hank. “Are you from around here?”

“I need it for a couple of days while I'm in town,” said Henry. “I'm from Maine.”

“Really, Maine you say?” asks Hank. “My ex wife was from Maine.”

“Okay,” said Henry. “Can you tell me how to get to Hobbs's Mill?”

“Yes,” said Hank. “I'll put it into the GPS navigator for you.”

“Thanks,” said Henry

After paying for the rental car, Henry left the rental service heading back towards the hotel. His stomach started to rumble. Henry hadn't ate anything since the airplane ride. There was a restaurant located beside the hotel, Henry decided to stop in to get him something to eat. He ordered a hamburger, fires and large diet coke to go. Henry would take the food back up to his before leaving the hotel for the night. The airplane ride and having a full belly ended up making Henry fell asleep at the foot of his bed. He awaken looking up at the alarm clock near the television. The clock shown 11:00 pm. Henry jumped from the bed and grabbed his keys. He had a long way to go to get to Hobbs's Mill. A dense fog covered the night skies, making it hard for him to see the road clearly. Henry finally reached his destination and parked along the windy dirt road to catch a glimpse of the famous ghost train. Henry unzipped his carry on bag and took out his camera. He wanted to document his findings to put into his newspaper The Maine Chronicles. As the clock neared midnight, the air grew unnaturally cold. The dense fog thickened to an almost impenetrable veil. Henry picked up his thermos of coffee to take a sip while he waited. In a distance, he heard a faint whistle that pierced the silence low and mournful echoing through the thick mist. Henry's heart began to race as he witnessed an ethereal glow emerge in the distance. The light grew brighter revealing the out line of an old steam engine. It's iron frame shimmering like moonlight on water. The ghostly train rolled slowly down the abandon railroad track. It's wheels turning soundlessly despite the decades of rust. Through the frosted windows of the train, Henry glimpsed at the shadowy figures seated within the train. Passengers dressed in clothing from bygone era. Their faces were expressionless and their eyes fixed forward unblinking. The air was thick with the scent of coal and the eerie silence of the otherworldly. The train paused on the tracks briefly ,as if it was waiting for something or someone. Henry felt an overwhelming urge to get out of his car. He reached across the passenger seat of his car and grabbed his camera. He wanted to take a picture of what he was seeing before the train disappeared into the darkness of the night. He began to snap pictures of the train uncontrollably. The train whistle began to blew again. Henry stood silent in disbelief of the sight that he was seeing. The ghostly locomotive began to fade away like a puff of smoke into the thick mist. Within moments it was gone, leaving nothing but the faint sound of the whistle echoing in Henry's ears. Terrified yet captivated, Henry vowed to uncover the truth about the ghostly train. Was it a remnant of a tragic accident, a vessel for lost souls, or merely the collective imagination of a town with too many secrets. That night left more questions than answers for him to figure out through the rest of his visit. Through his twelve years of research this was Henry's fist time ever witnessing a paranormal even for himself. With all the photos that he had taken of the train, this will be front news in his paper when he got back to Maine. Henry got back into his car and headed back to the hotel. He picked up his camera to take a glimpse of the picture of the train that he had taken. There along the abandon tracks were the photos of the ghostly figure of the train. Henry stood in amazement of the sight. At least no one would think he was crazy because he had the proof in his hands. The next morning Henry checked out of the hotel and returned the rental car to Hank's Car Rental. He was ready to return home. The rustling and bustling of the city streets were calling his name. Henry was never a big fan of quaint small towns. He was glad that he found what he was looking for and the answer to his quest. If the story of ghostly locomotive was really truth or fiction. This story is truly not one of a fictional tale. Henry Brown would never forget the midnight ghostly apparition on this engulf fog filled night in Pepper Ridge County.