Story and video below
Total lives lost during construction of tunnel = 195
Click arrow above to start video
Click on movie to enlarge to full screen
Karen Isaksen wonders what the white
figure in the dark was? Was it the
apparition of "Kevin", one of the men who
died in the tunnel?
figure in the dark was? Was it the
apparition of "Kevin", one of the men who
died in the tunnel?
Ghostly Hand Slaps Vehicle
- story continued
As we pulled away from the deserted clearing in the woods, we all heard a loud thump from the back of the
vehicle. “Somebody just hit my car!” said the driver. “It sounded like someone slapped it!’ We all heard it and
thought the same thing. When we looked we saw there was no human outside the vehicle. I turned all the way
around and I saw nothing. We rushed to get out of the scraggly woods and get back to civilization.
I still wonder if it was Kevin’s ghostly hand that slapped the vehicle.
As we drove back to town Diane performed Reiki on Kim, who had stayed in the SUV while the ten of us hiked
to the tunnel and back. Kim had reported feeling ill from the spiritual activity at the site.
The eerie feeling that surrounded us in the tunnel clung to us like a shroud for the rest of the night.
Diane reported feeling uneasy, almost depressed. “As we left the tunnel, I turned around several times to
take photographs of the tunnel’s opening but my camera didn’t work,” Diane told me. “I was able to take
photographs of the bushes and trees beside the tracks, but every time I tired to shoot a photo of the tunnel. the
camera didn’t work! I was glad someone was walking with me and could validate what was happening.”
-30-
- story continued
As we pulled away from the deserted clearing in the woods, we all heard a loud thump from the back of the
vehicle. “Somebody just hit my car!” said the driver. “It sounded like someone slapped it!’ We all heard it and
thought the same thing. When we looked we saw there was no human outside the vehicle. I turned all the way
around and I saw nothing. We rushed to get out of the scraggly woods and get back to civilization.
I still wonder if it was Kevin’s ghostly hand that slapped the vehicle.
As we drove back to town Diane performed Reiki on Kim, who had stayed in the SUV while the ten of us hiked
to the tunnel and back. Kim had reported feeling ill from the spiritual activity at the site.
The eerie feeling that surrounded us in the tunnel clung to us like a shroud for the rest of the night.
Diane reported feeling uneasy, almost depressed. “As we left the tunnel, I turned around several times to
take photographs of the tunnel’s opening but my camera didn’t work,” Diane told me. “I was able to take
photographs of the bushes and trees beside the tracks, but every time I tired to shoot a photo of the tunnel. the
camera didn’t work! I was glad someone was walking with me and could validate what was happening.”
-30-
To the sides of the railroad tracks are narrow streams that reach
depths of ten feet. A mis-step into this water could cost a life. It has
in the past, said Paul Oleskiewicz, a 911 dispatcher and field
investigator and EVP technician for the Berkshire Paranormal
Group.
depths of ten feet. A mis-step into this water could cost a life. It has
in the past, said Paul Oleskiewicz, a 911 dispatcher and field
investigator and EVP technician for the Berkshire Paranormal
Group.
Diane Hill performs Reiki on Kim, who
stayed back in the SUV while
investigators went to the tunnel. Kim,
a psychic, felt sick from all the spirit
energy she felt while we were gone.
The dead were all around her.
stayed back in the SUV while
investigators went to the tunnel. Kim,
a psychic, felt sick from all the spirit
energy she felt while we were gone.
The dead were all around her.
"Kevin? Who are you, Kevin?"
- Joseph Flammer searching for answers
in the haunted Hoosac Tunnel
- Joseph Flammer searching for answers
in the haunted Hoosac Tunnel
"I heard what sounded to
me like the muffled voices
of men. In addition to the
murmur, I heard what
sounded like a large drill
far off in the distance.
That was my experience."
- Erica Guerne/Paranormal
Investigator P.A.S.T (Long Island).
me like the muffled voices
of men. In addition to the
murmur, I heard what
sounded like a large drill
far off in the distance.
That was my experience."
- Erica Guerne/Paranormal
Investigator P.A.S.T (Long Island).
From Scribner's—December, 1870
"This ride into the tunnel is far from being a cheerful one. The fitful glare of the lamps
upon the walls of the dripping cavern,—the frightful noises that echo from the low roof,
and the ghoul-like voices of the miners coming out of the gloom ahead, are not what
would be called enlivening".
"This ride into the tunnel is far from being a cheerful one. The fitful glare of the lamps
upon the walls of the dripping cavern,—the frightful noises that echo from the low roof,
and the ghoul-like voices of the miners coming out of the gloom ahead, are not what
would be called enlivening".
 | |  | |  |
Photo by Joseph Flammer
Karen Isaksen, of Bay Shore, Long Island (foreground) tells ghost
hunters of her experience of seeing a white figure walking beside
Joseph Flammer just after Joseph identified himself to a ghost hunter
as "Kevin" as he walked along the railroad tracks with the ghost
hunters to the Hoosac Tunnel. "Why did I say that?" asked Joseph,
shaken by the experience. "Was someone named Kevin speaking
through me?"
Was Kevin someone who died in the explosion in the Hoosac Tunnel
that fateful day of the terrible explosion? Later Joseph will call out to
Kevin in the tunnel, hoping to get Kevin to show himself again (See
Video above).
hunters of her experience of seeing a white figure walking beside
Joseph Flammer just after Joseph identified himself to a ghost hunter
as "Kevin" as he walked along the railroad tracks with the ghost
hunters to the Hoosac Tunnel. "Why did I say that?" asked Joseph,
shaken by the experience. "Was someone named Kevin speaking
through me?"
Was Kevin someone who died in the explosion in the Hoosac Tunnel
that fateful day of the terrible explosion? Later Joseph will call out to
Kevin in the tunnel, hoping to get Kevin to show himself again (See
Video above).
Are we
being
watched?
being
watched?
Below - Walking along the railroad tracks to the Hoosac Tunnel:
The group of ten investigators - four from Long Island - first drove down an
overgrown dirt road in woods before having to trek a half mile to the tunnel. On
both sides of the tracks were deep narrow streams where people have drowned.
If a train came through the tunnel now there would be no place to escape. A
freight train roars through the tunnel once every three hours.
The group of ten investigators - four from Long Island - first drove down an
overgrown dirt road in woods before having to trek a half mile to the tunnel. On
both sides of the tracks were deep narrow streams where people have drowned.
If a train came through the tunnel now there would be no place to escape. A
freight train roars through the tunnel once every three hours.
Photo by Joseph Flammer
Photo by Joseph Flammer
Photo by Diane Hill
Photo by Joseph Flammer
Photo by Joseph Flammer
Photo by Erica Guerne
Photo by Erica Guerne
Large orb with
Investigators
Investigators
Enlargement
The Men Who Died
Inside
Inside
The Hoosac Tunnel
Are Calling Out To
Be Heard!
Be Heard!
The Story of the Hoosac Tunnel
By Joseph Flammer
Nearly 200 men lost their lives in construction mishaps while working on the
Hoosac Tunnel in North Adams, Massachusetts.
The tunnel took twenty years to complete.
Twenty million big stones compose the walls of the tunnel. The blood and bones of some of the one
hundred ninety-five men who died in the tunnel lay in the earth. Most of the dead were poor Irish
immigrants. The tunnel was completed in 1875 and is still used today for the transport of freight.
- more below
By Joseph Flammer
Nearly 200 men lost their lives in construction mishaps while working on the
Hoosac Tunnel in North Adams, Massachusetts.
The tunnel took twenty years to complete.
Twenty million big stones compose the walls of the tunnel. The blood and bones of some of the one
hundred ninety-five men who died in the tunnel lay in the earth. Most of the dead were poor Irish
immigrants. The tunnel was completed in 1875 and is still used today for the transport of freight.
- more below
The Investigation
We drove deep down a dirt road in the chilled night and parked the fancy white SUV in the middle of
nowhere. All around us were scrub bushes and waste vegetation. We were in North Adams, Massachusetts.
We four Long Islanders - me, Diane Hill, Erica Guene of Holtsville and Karen Isaksen of Bay Shore -
were in town for a paranormal conference at the haunted Houghton Mansion at 172 Church Street. We are
members of the Paranormal Activities Study Team (P.A.S.T.) of Long Island.
The Houghton Mansion is the old house where Mary Houghton pursues her love interests with John
Widders. They are the ghosts of the mansion. Mary’s father, Albert Charles Hougton, the first mayor of
North Adams, is a ghost there, too. Even in death he disapproves of Mary’s love for John Widders because
John was a mere chauffer for the Houghton family. John Widders was Mary’s lover. He committed suicide
the day after Mary died in an auto accident. He felt it was his fault she died because he was driving the car.
Through some bushes was the start of a trail that led to the haunted railroad tracks leading into the
Hoosac Tunnel a half mile away in the darkness.
Ten of us took to foot on the rugged trail to pursue the ghosts of the terribly haunted tunnel. I know this
because I had stopped to count the members of the group when we all got out of the two SUV’s.
The night was cold. Kim, the wife of the driver in the white SUV is a psychic. She complained of suddenly
feeling nauseous and refused to leave the vehicle. She said she was getting bad vibrations. Later, when we
returned to the vehicles after hiking the railroad tracks to the tunnel, Kim reported she felt very odd
things in our absence. She said she experienced ghosts.
But I get ahead of myself.
The night smacked us in the face as we walked the rocky terrain beside the railroad track in the
September night. We had to walk carefully because we were told by Paul Oleskiewicz, a 911 dispatcher
who is also a field investigator and EVP technician for the Berkshire Paranormal Group, that the streams
running on both sides of the tracks were sometimes ten feet deep and people had drowned in them in the
past thinking they were shallow insignificant rivulets they could step over. Those streams sure looked
innocent enough (See picture of stream below).
- more story below
We drove deep down a dirt road in the chilled night and parked the fancy white SUV in the middle of
nowhere. All around us were scrub bushes and waste vegetation. We were in North Adams, Massachusetts.
We four Long Islanders - me, Diane Hill, Erica Guene of Holtsville and Karen Isaksen of Bay Shore -
were in town for a paranormal conference at the haunted Houghton Mansion at 172 Church Street. We are
members of the Paranormal Activities Study Team (P.A.S.T.) of Long Island.
The Houghton Mansion is the old house where Mary Houghton pursues her love interests with John
Widders. They are the ghosts of the mansion. Mary’s father, Albert Charles Hougton, the first mayor of
North Adams, is a ghost there, too. Even in death he disapproves of Mary’s love for John Widders because
John was a mere chauffer for the Houghton family. John Widders was Mary’s lover. He committed suicide
the day after Mary died in an auto accident. He felt it was his fault she died because he was driving the car.
Through some bushes was the start of a trail that led to the haunted railroad tracks leading into the
Hoosac Tunnel a half mile away in the darkness.
Ten of us took to foot on the rugged trail to pursue the ghosts of the terribly haunted tunnel. I know this
because I had stopped to count the members of the group when we all got out of the two SUV’s.
The night was cold. Kim, the wife of the driver in the white SUV is a psychic. She complained of suddenly
feeling nauseous and refused to leave the vehicle. She said she was getting bad vibrations. Later, when we
returned to the vehicles after hiking the railroad tracks to the tunnel, Kim reported she felt very odd
things in our absence. She said she experienced ghosts.
But I get ahead of myself.
The night smacked us in the face as we walked the rocky terrain beside the railroad track in the
September night. We had to walk carefully because we were told by Paul Oleskiewicz, a 911 dispatcher
who is also a field investigator and EVP technician for the Berkshire Paranormal Group, that the streams
running on both sides of the tracks were sometimes ten feet deep and people had drowned in them in the
past thinking they were shallow insignificant rivulets they could step over. Those streams sure looked
innocent enough (See picture of stream below).
- more story below
PHOTO ABOVE
Are the faces in front of the wall to the left of
the photographer the shades of humans who
died in this tunnel? Or are the faces merely a
darker area of the wall?
"Considering that we all felt we were being
watched inside the tunnel, and heard voices
and screams, we'd have to leave the option
open," says Diane Hill. "Especially since a
white figure was seen walking beside Joseph
Flammer just before Joseph introduced
himself to a fellow investigator as 'Kevin',"
said Hill
She added, "Joe knows his own name. Why
would he call himself "Kevin" unless
somebody named Kevin channeled through
him and made him say it? This is the kind of
thing that can happen when you pursue the
paranormal. Be careful what you wish for."
Are the faces in front of the wall to the left of
the photographer the shades of humans who
died in this tunnel? Or are the faces merely a
darker area of the wall?
"Considering that we all felt we were being
watched inside the tunnel, and heard voices
and screams, we'd have to leave the option
open," says Diane Hill. "Especially since a
white figure was seen walking beside Joseph
Flammer just before Joseph introduced
himself to a fellow investigator as 'Kevin',"
said Hill
She added, "Joe knows his own name. Why
would he call himself "Kevin" unless
somebody named Kevin channeled through
him and made him say it? This is the kind of
thing that can happen when you pursue the
paranormal. Be careful what you wish for."
- story continued
We walked about a half mile before we came to the cave-like mouth of the gloomy Hoosac Tunnel. It
loomed before us like some ancient tomb. There were no lights. Its large mouth looked monsterish. I felt like
we were being watched by unseen eyes. One hundred and ninety five men died in the tunnel as the result of
construction mistakes. Locals say the tunnel is a place of torment for the spirits of the men who can’t leave it.
Just moments earlier, as we were half way to the tunnel, I stopped to introduce myself to a woman I had not
said hello to since I arrived with Diane Hill in North Adams. She was a passenger in the other SUV. I was
introducing myself to Judy Oleskiewicz, Paul Oleskiewicz’s wife, when I said, “Hello Judy, I’m Kevin.”
I was stunned upon saying the words “I’m Kevin” because I had never in my life misidentified myself by name.
My name is “Joseph,” not Kevin. I was appalled that my mouth had uttered the words “I’m Kevin.”
Why had I said that?
A minute later, Karen Isaksen, a paranormal investigator with P.A.S.T. of Long Island, interrupted my
progress along the tracks to tell me she saw a white figure walking beside me just before I had introduced
myself as “Kevin.”
I tried to tell her I also saw a white figure beside me at that time, but somehow the communication was
interrupted at the moment and I saw she did not hear what I was telling her, and I let it go because there was
too much other stuff to concentrate on at tha minute. Cooler airs were swirling around us. Photographers were
suddenly reporting orbs in their pictures. Contact with the other side was now in progress. Suddenly, we were
in the middle of a paranormal experience. I did not want to question it to death. I wanted to experience it. I
knew “Kevin” was trying to lead me into the tunnel, maybe appear to me, or talk to me in the darkness.
Karen unexpectedly pulled away from my attentions and drifted into the night like a ghost herself.
Inside a few minutes we were all standing inside the Hoosac Tunnel. It was black inside the tunnel.
“What’s that noise?” somebody asked. “Is that a voice?”
“Kevin, are you here?” I asked. “Kevin, who are you?”
No answer.
I had only one question on my mind: Why had I told Judy I was “Kevin” when my name is "Joseph?" I
intuitively knew the answer - the ghost of Kevin, who died inside the tunnel, was trying to talk through me.
Why didn’t Kevin have anything more to say than his name? Why didn’t he tell me what it was like on the
other side?
Maybe none of us are supposed to know before our time. I contemplated this as we walked back to the SUV’
s. -more story below
We walked about a half mile before we came to the cave-like mouth of the gloomy Hoosac Tunnel. It
loomed before us like some ancient tomb. There were no lights. Its large mouth looked monsterish. I felt like
we were being watched by unseen eyes. One hundred and ninety five men died in the tunnel as the result of
construction mistakes. Locals say the tunnel is a place of torment for the spirits of the men who can’t leave it.
Just moments earlier, as we were half way to the tunnel, I stopped to introduce myself to a woman I had not
said hello to since I arrived with Diane Hill in North Adams. She was a passenger in the other SUV. I was
introducing myself to Judy Oleskiewicz, Paul Oleskiewicz’s wife, when I said, “Hello Judy, I’m Kevin.”
I was stunned upon saying the words “I’m Kevin” because I had never in my life misidentified myself by name.
My name is “Joseph,” not Kevin. I was appalled that my mouth had uttered the words “I’m Kevin.”
Why had I said that?
A minute later, Karen Isaksen, a paranormal investigator with P.A.S.T. of Long Island, interrupted my
progress along the tracks to tell me she saw a white figure walking beside me just before I had introduced
myself as “Kevin.”
I tried to tell her I also saw a white figure beside me at that time, but somehow the communication was
interrupted at the moment and I saw she did not hear what I was telling her, and I let it go because there was
too much other stuff to concentrate on at tha minute. Cooler airs were swirling around us. Photographers were
suddenly reporting orbs in their pictures. Contact with the other side was now in progress. Suddenly, we were
in the middle of a paranormal experience. I did not want to question it to death. I wanted to experience it. I
knew “Kevin” was trying to lead me into the tunnel, maybe appear to me, or talk to me in the darkness.
Karen unexpectedly pulled away from my attentions and drifted into the night like a ghost herself.
Inside a few minutes we were all standing inside the Hoosac Tunnel. It was black inside the tunnel.
“What’s that noise?” somebody asked. “Is that a voice?”
“Kevin, are you here?” I asked. “Kevin, who are you?”
No answer.
I had only one question on my mind: Why had I told Judy I was “Kevin” when my name is "Joseph?" I
intuitively knew the answer - the ghost of Kevin, who died inside the tunnel, was trying to talk through me.
Why didn’t Kevin have anything more to say than his name? Why didn’t he tell me what it was like on the
other side?
Maybe none of us are supposed to know before our time. I contemplated this as we walked back to the SUV’
s. -more story below