The Train Tunnel
My name is Jocelyn Lanefield and I have always been a thrill seeker. I love mysteries, photography, horror stories and action. And I’ve always wanted to go through this one tunnel that’s rumored to be cursed. I happened to walk by my dad reading a newspaper and the word missing passenger caught my attention. In one of the articles I noticed it said that most trains that have gone through the tunnel have had a passenger go missing. The first time a passenger was reported missing was in 1982.
32 year old Julian Santos, she was traveling to New York for the first time. Her husband said she always wanted to travel the world and was going to stay in New York for two months. As they were about to go through the tunnel Julian reached across the table to hold her husband's hand. Her husband said she always hated going through tunnels because she thought they were too dark to see. Julian’s husband's name wasn’t disclosed in the article but he said that through the entire time they were in the tunnel he could feel her hand, but when they emerged from the tunnel and light came through the windows no one was sitting across from him. After spending hours looking for his wife he couldn’t find her anywhere, only her luggage remained. After another hour he got off the train he contacted the police, but of course they did not believe him.
27 year old Sasha Murray and 22 year old Estelle Durand were also passengers on the same train once and they were both reported missing by the end of the ride to New York from New Jersey. In 1994 Sasha’s sister Cameron told the police that while going through the tunnel Jackson was holding her up to help her reach her luggage and as the lights in the train car dimmed to the point where you could hardly see she still felt her hands on her waist but when the lights came seeping into the train windows again Sasha was gone. Estelle Durand was on the train with her mother in 2006 and at the time before the train went into the tunnel Estelle’s mother said she was in the dining car and as the train was about to go into the tunnel she tried the grab Estelle’s drink as the lights dimmed to sneak a sip but Estelle grabbed her mothers hand in an attempt to stop her. As the lights came seeping back into the trains windows she could still feel her daughters hand be she couldn’t see her daughter. No evidence of the missing passengers were left in the train car but the police thought too many people were going missing so they closed the tunnel and shut down the train that led to New York.
And of course after finding this out I went to school the next day excited to tell my best friend Tammy Larsen all about it. I watched Tammy as she walked into class and sat down in the seat next to me.
“Tammy!” I said.
“Good morning to you too.” Tammy said.
“I found out about this super cool abandoned train tunnel where people went missing and is said to be cursed that isn't too far from my house!”
“Don’t tell me you want to go there, I know how you are.”
“That's why you're my best friend, and I'm inviting you to come with me!”
“Jocelyn, why would I go to an abandoned train tunnel with you?”
“Because I want to take pictures of it and you want to be there to support me. You wouldn’t want me to go all by myself would you? What if I get scared?”
“If you're scared you shouldn’t be going at all. Even if the tunnel is cursed, a myth is only an explanation not an exploration.”
“That’s not going to get in the way of me taking pictures of the tunnel though!”
“I know..so when do you want to go?”
“After school! Make sure to bring a flashlight, then meet me at my house.”
I left school at 4:00 and I walked home thirty minutes later I heard my doorbell ring. I run to my door and see Tammy standing at my doorstep.
“I brought my flashlight.” Tammy said.
“Good! Now let's go.” I said.
“So where is this abandoned tunnel anyway?”
“Just up the street, and a mile away.”
“You really want to walk a mile just for a picture?”
“If you don’t mind princess Tammy. I know you don’t want to dirty your shoes.”
“You should be thankful to even be walking next to royalty.”
Tammy and I talk and laugh together as we make our way to the tunnel.
“Wow this tunnel is really overgrown.” Tammy said surprised.
“Well yeah it hasn’t been used in twelve years.” I said.
“Why was this place abandoned anyway?”
“The police thought that closing down this tunnel was a better solution than trying to find out how people went missing”
“And how’d they go missing?”
“The people who went missing were always a duo, they traveled together and usually they would be touching each other as they went through the tunnel. As the train came out of the other side of the tunnel and you could see again the person who the missing person was traveling with would immediately realize the other person was missing despite still feeling their touch in the dark.”
“That is so creepy.” Tammy said.
“And interesting, I know.”
“Well I'm glad you're in a good mood.”
“I am!”
“That's great but can you hurry up and get that picture? This place is really starting to scare me.”
“Alright, Alright, I’ll make it quick.”
Tammy and I go further into the tunnel.
“Oh, look at that lever! You should pull it, see what it does.” I told Tammy.
“No!”
“It does look very old, but If your scared your hair will get caught in it you can just cut it.”
“I'm not playing with it and I'm not cutting my hair! Now what happened to “making it quick” huh?”
“I’ll take it once I find a good spot.”
“The sun is setting, come on.” Tammy says, grabbing my shoulder.
“Already? Alright I think I found a good angle. Shine your flashlight this way”
I can still feel Tammy’s hand on my shoulder as I take the picture. While i'm checking to make sure the picture looked good, Tammy’s flashlight flickered as I heard it drop to the ground.
“Tammy? Are you okay?”
I look over at her.
I hear the wind blowing as the panic sets into my heart.
My stomach turns into a twisted knot.
“TAMMY?” I yelled. My voice was shaking and full of dread.
There was no response.
A myth is only an explanation not an exploration. - Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
I’m not playing with it and I’m not cutting my hair - Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder