Haunted Ohio-Haunted Places
Near Columbus
 Ash Cave has long been known for the haunting echoes of
waterfalls and the dark depression of its sandy recess cave. For
centuries, it has been visited by roaming Native Americans,
traveling churchgoers and sightseers awed by its beauty. But who
would have thought that there was more than a cascading waterfall
haunting the cave and some of the visiting spirits might still
linger under the cool, quiet recess.
On a dusky evening in late winter, a local college was taking
part in an educational hike with park staff. As the program ended
and the group was getting ready to be led out of the recess cave,
the hike leader asked if the students had any questions. One of the
students raised a hand, exclaiming, "Hey, what is that?" And pointed
into the woods opposite the cave to an area just beyond a huge
boulder called Pulpit Rock. Several witnesses watched as a pair of
greenish-yellow lights darted in and out amongst the trees. Up and
down, the lights danced while the onlookers stared in wonder. .
.and a bit of fear. They watched for several minutes until the lights
disappeared into the dark of snow-covered forest.
So how did the hike leader answer the student? He actually
had no immediate response. The lights went too high for a flashlight
and darted in and out of the trees much too quickly for even the
fastest marathon runner. The park closes at dusk and the only people
allowed on the trail were the ones being led by the park staff
person. Besides, there were no footprints around.
He could only suggest later that it might be a couple flying
squirrels covered in one of the varieties of phosphorescent
(glow-in-the-dark) fungi called foxfire. Hmmm. Sounds like a good
answer to me. But I'd still make sure I wasn't the last one in line
for any of the park's night hikes! (Oh and please don't go wandering
around after dark in any of the park areas. Yeah, it's dangerous,
illegal and enforced by friendly park rangers that aren't so
friendly when they have to go chasing ghost hunters in the dark.
Besides, they won't give me any more ghost stories if you do.) The
park has many night hikes and you can see if there is one soon at
www.thehockinghills.org. |
