Heather 
Could Disasters in Mines Create a sinister force?
In the quiet and picturesque landscape of Southwestern Pennsylvania lies a network of abandoned mines. Okay, a network is an understatement. Chances are if you live in Southwestern Pa you’re either on a mine or very close to a mine. The specific area that I’m focusing on today is the Mon Valley.
All those purplish/pink lines are the coal mines. I grew up in this area and actually used to play in them. There was an entrance near my grandparents house and it was great exploration territory. At least until it was concreted so nobody could go back inside.
Their house was only a mile from where the Naomi Explosion happened. 10 miles from Darr Mine.
There was also something I started to notice growing up and even now….there are a lot of reported hauntings. A lot. My grandparents home that my aunt now lives in, my aunts house which is approximately 5 miles away from there, my mothers house, and countless friends all report very, very similar experiences.
I started thinking and started digging. As with so many mines, there were disaster that lead to a lot of deaths. December 1907 was an awful year for miners in the area.
On December 1, 1907, in the Naomi Mine, a catastrophic explosion occurred approximately 2 miles from Fayette City, Pennsylvania. The incident resulted in the deaths of at least 35 miners. The Naomi Mine was operated by Hillman Coal and Coke Company.
The explosion happened at about 7:15 on the night of Sunday, December 1, 1907. Inadequate ventilation allowed pockets of explosive gas to accumulate in the interior of the mine. The gas was most likely ignited by an open light or electric arc, both of which would have been present at the time.
Several miners who lost their jobs in the closing of the Naomi Mine would soon find work in the Darr Mine located in nearby Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Many of these displaced miners would be killed in the Darr Mine Disaster, the deadliest coal mining disaster in Pennsylvania history.
On to that disaster. Did it happen months or years later? No, it happened 18 days later. The Darr Mine Disaster claimed the lives of 239 men and boys. At approximately 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, 1907, an explosion deep inside the mine hurled chunks of stone, coal and broken wooden supports from the mine entrance. The concussive force demolished nearby coal wagons and knocked horses and men from their feet. Plates fell from cupboards in nearby homes. People miles away heard the blast.
The explosion happened 2 miles away from Fayette City.
But could there be more to these mines than meets the eye? Could they serve as conduits for something otherworldly, a paranormal highway through which sinister forces traverse to haunt the living?
Could the sheer magnitude of sudden loss and the suffering experienced by the miners who tragically lost their lives have left an imprint on the mines? Could their sudden demise and the horrific circumstances that led to it have kept them trapped in the dismal space they worked? Could that suffering have created a manifestation of evil that is now terrorizing parts of the Mon Valley?
The labyrinthine nature of the mine tunnels, stretching for miles beneath the earth’s surface, provides the perfect environment for entities to move unseen and undetected.
I’ll recount a few of the stories that have been told to me.
Let’s start with grams and pappy’s house. I remember a few things from even when I was a kid. I used to sleep in a room that was on the opposite side of the house from their bedroom. The bed was right next to a window that faced their garden. There were many nights I would be woken up by someone knocking on the window. Whenever I would move the curtains to the side, nobody would be there.
There were a few times I would get up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and see a shadowy person walking down the hallway. Thinking it was one of my grandparents or another cousin who was spending the night, I’d check the rooms and everybody would be sleeping.
More recently, now that my aunt is living there, my mother recounted security footage (which I’m still waiting to be sent to me) of a tall shadowy figure on the front porch knocking on the door at 3 am.
Another aunts house which is only a few miles from grams and pappy’s. It’s also fairly close to a mine entrance. In fact, the house was built for miners and their families when the mines were still operational.
My cousin, aunts daughter, was standing at the bottom of the stairs and saw a tall shadowy figure standing at the top of the stairs. Things being thrown at people. Objects moving from place to place. That general feeling of unease and creepiness.
Mom’s house. This happened just a few weeks ago. She was walking into her living room and a tall shadowy figure just stood up in the corner of her living room. She hears people walking around. Feels people get into her bed.
A few friends who have told me their stories have recounted similar things. Menacing black shadowy figures. Hearing people talking when they’re home alone. People walking up and down hallways. Things being thrown. Objects moving from place to place.
Is it just all coincidental? Or is it the trapped souls of miners who were gone too soon?
Do you live in the Mon Valley or the Southwestern Pa area with a similar experience? Email us and let us know! We are super interested to investigate this theory.
Or are your experiences so bad/often that you want your location investigated? Reach out!
