40 replies to this topic

[DSF]

dresmith,

I am not familiar with the area of that road.  I live about 15 minutes north of Pittsburgh and have been to the Ellwood City area, but not to really explore it.  You said your about 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh, are you in the Cranberry area?

Have you checked out any sites in Pittsburgh?

I think we are definitely going to have to organize something for the spring.  Johnstown would be great because it is centrally located for a lot of people here.

Let me see what else I can dig up from Johnstown.  there is a lot of stuff there worth checking out.  Wish I had been in to this when I was in college and already there, but at least I know my way around there.

[dresmith]

My mistake, I work in the cranberry area but live in ellwood city which is about a half hour north.  I don't know much about Johnstown, but with several thousand people dying so quickly, its bound to be a hot spot for paranormal activity.

[DSF]

dresmith,  I am going to send you a PM as I have a question for you about the Thorn Hill Industrial Park.

[RequiemEternum]

The Johnstown disaster always caught my interest...too bad its all the way on the other side of the state (I'm from NEPA, near Wilkes-Barre) I'd love to check it out. This area, the Wyoming Valley, has had a share of urban legends tagged to it from Flood Agnes in 1972. One place in particular, Forty Fort Cemetary, was completely washed up in the flood, and caskets and bodies were flushed right from their graves (I even heard a story that a dead man was actually washed up onto the porch of his own home). A lot of bodies were never actually recovered, and most of those which were were buried in another cemetary in Dallas (I'll have to get the name again). I've heard rumors of stuff happening because of this disturbance, though Forty Fort Cemetary is considerably quiet and inactive (went with 2 friends back during the summer one night, only noticed a few faint energy signals and an odd howling noise, but nothing major). The other cemetary might be worth a gander...I'll post it when I get the name again and get a chance to check it out.

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

DSF, on Nov 27 2002, 04:10 PM, said:

Johnstown, PA is a little industrial town in Cambria County.  I lived in this community for 4 years while I was in college.  Johnstown is known for it's steel production, the fact that the movie "Slapshot" was filmed there, and it's great floods.

The worst flood occured May 31st, 1889.  Some of the remanents of the flood are still in Johnstown.  There is a church in downtown, right on the square, that withstood the force of the wave and has a plaque on the wall marking the location of the water line.  I kid you not when I say that this if about 30 feet up the building..

I have visited the site where the dam was, seen what is left of the dam, and even watched the movie that was put together at the museum.  But nothing has creeped me out as much as the bridge.  Even before I knew the history of the bridge, it disturbed me, every time I drove by it, it sent chills down my spine.  I thought that it was just because it was an old bridge.  Here is a picture of the present day bridge.....


It was this bridge that created a temporary dam that held the massive wall of water.  There was so much debris in the water from the 1600 homes that were destroyed along with the 280 businesses that were lost, it all became trapped in this bridge.  Many people who could have survived the watery ride, were trapped at this bridge.  The pool turned into a massive whirlpool and the debris caught fire, making a bad situation even worse.




This bridge still stands today and is a very eerie place to visit.  If you ever get a chance, visit Johnstown, a very haunted place indeed.  2209 people died in the flood of 1889 and there is a lot of history about it.

Some other places to check out in Johnstown......
The cemetary where the 777 unidentified victims were buried....Grandview Cemetary.....here is an old picture of the cemetary
 I have visited this place and it has a very depressing atmosphere.

You can read a thorough history on the flood, just do a search on the internet and tons of stuff will pop up.  

I grew up in J-town. I walked past the stone bridge and the Rolling Mills Mine opening for years. I never once had any premonitions or felt at all uncomfortable, nor did I see anything unsual.

There are reports of some folks seeing miners along the hiking trail below the Inclined Plane, but I never hiked that area so can't comment on whether it is true or not.

As a teen I did live in an old house in Cambria City and did have a ghostly encounter there. I later found out that a friend of mine and my sister too saw a little girl out of the corner of their eye but assumed it was my younger sister. it wasn't. In addition, my grandma and I saw some spectral nuns coming out from beside St. Mary's Church in Cambria City as we were approaching the "singing bridge" into Minersville. That was way back in the middle to late 60s.

[GhostDog]

was wondering if you can email me the pics as i cant seem to see them

[suzi98babe]

This is my first post. And it's really odd because I have never been on this website before & to be honest I don't know how I even found it...lol....

But I have been to Johnstown many times & can actually picture the church you are talking about, I think I know the bridge as well. Where is it located??

[Russ]

dresmith, on Jan 2 2003, 10:35 AM, said:

BTW,

I would love to check out Johnstown and learn more about the flood.

Hello all I am new to this site i am mostly in to it for the hunt and found you all talking about my home town there is alot to the flood as well as the 1936 flood and the 1977 flood and there are alot of other places to see if your into ghost hunting let me know and ill dig up a list for you

[Spooky_Lover]

for some reason those pics aren't workin for me.

anyway, I am moving to Johnstown in september. Are there any other places there you found interesting? Just wondering. I love this sort of stuff.

[ksharbaugh]

I thought I'd add what I can to the discussion...

My mother grew up in Johnstown and our family would return frequently to visit my maternal grandmother (the last visit was a few years ago to retrieve her property following her passing). It's interesting to note that we had to drive under the infamous stone bridge to get to the funeral home, which kept a logbook in the lobby from the days following the flood in which they documented the bodies that were recovered/identified. The fact that the bridge that stands there today is actually a replacement does little to lessen the feeling of mournful awe.

While I was working on a book about the flood (since relegated to the backburner I'm afraid to say) my grandmother brought up an intersting bit of info she encountered back when she served as her church's historian. While thumbing through the older records she found an entry made after the flood which stated that the pastor, upon returning to the ruins of the church, climbed back up on his horse and rode out of town, never to be heard from again.

[Kterreble1]

Hey I live in Johnstown Pa , has anyone ever been to any of these places and had personal exp???
I would like to go to some of these places , but i dont want to waste my time if anybody is interested in group ghost hunting adventures post back and maybe we can create a small ghost hunting mob... let me know if any locals are interested i had a paranormal exp when i was about 15 and it has been bothering me ever since, I am now 25 and I would like to know whats out there... so what are some good "hot spots" for ghosts in Johnstown PA ???

[270 / 161]

Hello Everybody! I hope all is well!


I have lived in Johnstown all my life as well. When I saw this post it took me a little while to figure out how to read all the reply's. LOL But I got it.

Anyways, Ive had, what I would say, an above average amount of paranormal experiences in my life starting when I was very young. Ive seen apparitions and a Shadow Ghost. Ive lived in a few houses that were ABSOLUTLEY haunted. Confimed by me and several roomates. Id love to meet up with some others and visit/re-visit some of these places.

However, about the "Old Stone Bridge" Ive never had an uncomfortable feeling about it. Ever. I drive under it daily. So ????? Who Knows. I wouldnt call it a "Hot Spot" but would definatley like to do some further investigations.

Im new to Ghost hunting. They usually find me. But if anyone is interested, Im game to get some of these places Confimed. Johnstown has ALOT of Ghosts, Im positive of that. Im SURE there is plenty of paranormal activity to be experienced here and look forward to any Replys.

J.

[brucekp]

Here is some information regarding the flood:

http://www.jaha.org/...um/history.html


Bruce

[bjshaffer40]

I would just like to add to this that I've been doing a lot of research about the Johnstown Inclined Plane and its relation to the Rolling Mill Mining disaster of 1902. I am hoping to one day get enough people interested in investigating the reports of seeing the ghostly miners that walk along the one trail near the Inclined Plane where these "ghostly miners" have been reportedly seen. I am also hoping to get permission to investigated there as well. If you're interested in checking this out, please feel free to contact me and we'll see what we can do.