Playing Pranks Before High Heaven
In July of 1877, the Daily Silver State and other newspapers in Nevada reported on a mysterious, if not otherworldly, red light repeatedly seen waving “in orthodox danger signal fashion” along the tracks of the Central Pacific Railroad in northern Utah. To be sure, the light was clear enough to stop trains, but “despite the most vigilant search” in surroundings “absolutely affording no cover,” no physical explanation for it could be discovered. This phantom signaler was “nightly playing pranks before High Heaven,” giving “engineers and train men passing this point … a most uncanny feeling.”
The reporter explains that a “fireman lost his life some years ago” near the manifestation, adding:
[O]ur ghost displays a knowledge of railroading that could only be acquired in the flesh, and Engineer McNevin is ready to swear the strange visits are due to the perturbed spirit of the defunct fireman.
My hunt for details about that fireman’s death went nowhere, the same destination I arrived at after looking for other information on the haunting. The case, as it stands, remains pretty flimsy.
Monument Point Points the Way
The location of the haunting, however, is rock solid. The spectral light appeared at Monument Point, an elevation at the northern tip of the Great Salt Lake. What the reporter said in 1877 might still apply today: “A gloomy place is Monument Point, just such a place in fact as a bone fide goblin would delight in.” Even now, other than a lot of impressive geology, you won’t find much there besides a historical marker for “a siding and wye for the railroad” that once were.
In fact, Monument Point—and the other stops on the route to and beyond it—might have more appeal for railroad historians than for paranormal investigators. This is partly because it’s about twenty miles west of Promontory (a.k.a. Promontory Summit or Promontory Point), where the last rails of the first transcontinental railroad had been pounded into place eight years before this ghost report appeared. In addition, quite a few of those other stops are now ghost towns with railroad roots, places such as Blue Creek, Kelton, Ombey, Matlin, and Terrace.
If there’s no longer a railroad ghost at Monument Point (or if there never was), there are several confirmed railroad ghost towns in the vicinity.
Visiting the Site Today
Monument Point can be reached either from Promontory to the east via Salt Wells Road or from Kelton to the west via Old Railroad Grade Road. The latter way sure seems as if it runs along or close to the old Central Pacific train line. While Promontory is home to the Golden Spike National State Park, a visitor to the area might have to look farther afield to find lodging. Ogden, which is at the top of that old Central Pacific train schedule, might serve as a good base camp, especially since it has a long list of haunted sites all its own. Personally, I wouldn’t mind snooping for spooks in the Egyptian Theater there.
If you go exploring for any of the area’s ghosts or ghost towns, please tell us about your experiences in the comments below.
Discover more “Railroad Hauntings You Can Still Visit” at the page for
After the End of the Line: Railroad Hauntings in Literature and Lore.
BROM BONES BOOKS 