The tracks at West Point

Virginia · United States · Haunted site

A conductor walking the line with a lantern was decapitated by a chain hanging from a passing train. The lantern still moves along the tracks.

The legend on this stretch of line at West Point, Virginia is that a conductor was walking the tracks with a lantern when a train went past. A chain hanging from it took his head off.

The lantern is what people report: a light swinging back and forth, moving up and down the line, searching.

There is a second part to the account involving the trees above the tracks.

The searching lantern is one of the most widely distributed railway legends in the English speaking world, with famous versions in North Carolina, Texas and South Carolina, and it is almost always attached to a decapitation. The consistency is striking and so is the fact that these stories cluster on lines that were genuinely dangerous. Brakemen and conductors were killed on American railways in enormous numbers before automatic couplers and air brakes.

These are live tracks. Walking them is illegal and lethal.

FAQ

Where is The tracks at West Point located?

The tracks at West Point is in Virginia, United States.